Joe Chapman staged a late attack to claim victory in the Cycling Otago race on the Wingatui circuit on Saturday.
With an earlier start, riders had calm conditions to begin with until the wind started to get stronger and the mist fell upon the Taieri.
Category 1 featured 10 laps of the Wingatui circuit.
A fast pace was established from the gun, with Chapman pushing the pace.
It was pleasing to see Alex McGregor back on the bike after his recent neck injury.
McGregor managed to stay with the pace for more than half the race.
With four laps to go, Phil Turnweld attacked the field, Chapman bridged the gap and the two riders stayed away from the chasers to build a lead of more than a minute.
As the last lap approached, Chapman attacked Turnweld to ensure victory.
Turnweld held on to second place, with Chris Henderson winning the bunch sprint from Paul Gough.
The category 2 riders had nine laps of the gruelling circuit to reach the finish line, with 16 starters.
With three laps to go there had been no real attacks until Matt Seeley rode away from the peloton.
There was no real reaction from the rest of the riders and Seeley stayed away to take the win.
There was again then a bunch sprint for second place, with Bill Murphy keeping his wheel in front of Liam Scanlan.
In the junior race, Johnathon Atwell claimed the win from Sam Pilley, who unfortunately punctured while racing.
- Steve Havard
