Battling some of the most testing conditions in the race's history, African Wildlife Safari’s rider Sean Lake rode to victory in the 54th Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic on Saturday.
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Lake seized an opportunity in the final few kilometres to ride away from four other riders who elected not to chase, and crossed the line in six hours 40 minutes and 26 seconds, an average speed of 34.2 kph. Oliver Kent-Spark of Searchto-Retain was second and Kristian Juel of Budget Forklifts crossed in third place.
The race became a war of attrition for the last 110 kilometres as the heat on the Tablelands took effect and hot, blustery winds met them head-on.
Skybridge Financial B-Grade was a triumph for Liam Kelly of Caravello who outlasted Tom Gollins of Lifecycle in 7 hours 11 minutes 31 seconds, and Lewis Garland of Hunter District was third.
A three-up sprint in Inverell RSM Club C-grade saw Jacob Patterson of Northern Sydney prevail over Inverell's Brett Newton and Simon Anderson of Eastern Suburbs.
Among the locals, Ryan Thomas finished 14th in A Grade, and Dan Wilks was 8th in B Grade.
Newton said it was a slow haul across the plains into Glen Innes.
“Most obviously, the range is the challenge, but I’ve always found the most difficult part of the race is when you leave the prison farm and you get out in the open plains between the prison farm and Glen Innes,” he said.
“The wind was certainly up this year, so we were riding a fair bit slower through there than we normally were.”
Newton crossed the finish line in seven hours 35 minutes and said it was overall a good ride.
“I had a really good day, and when you have a good day things seem to fall into place,” he said.
“It was certainly a tough day, it was a bit slower than we normally ride, but the tough conditions, with the heat and the wind, certainly played into my hand.”
Budget Forklifts took the teams classification, Kristian Juel was crowned King of the Mountain and Edward White of GPS Sultz was Sprint King
The final race of the Subaru National Road Series did not impact on the overall standings with Joseph Cooper (33rd) protecting his title for Avanti, and Avanti winning the NRS teams title.
The new finish line in Vivian Street proved a winner with a good crowd enjoying pre-race entertainment and the shaded areas before welcoming the cyclists.