Ninety riders competed in Cycling Otago's race around the Wingatui block on Saturday.
Shane Melrose claimed victory in the mass graded start race, jumping for the line and holding off Mark Spessot and Chris Henderson in one of the season's most impressive sprint finishes.
Category 1 racing was fast and furious on the 6km circuit, with wave after wave of attacks, but it was always going to be a day for the sprinters as no-one was allowed to get away.
Glen Todd and Paul Whitley nearly spoiled the sprinters' day with calculated attacks close to the finish.
Whitley attacked off the front halfway around the last lap but was chased down with 2.5km to go.
With just over 1km left, Todd attacked off the front while the rest of the field was playing cat and mouse before the final sprint.
The sprinters then came to the front, with Brad Evans going too early and paying the price after a great ride that included a lap in a lone breakaway.
The average speed for category 1 was more than 40kmh, and maximum speed around the back of the circuit was 65kmh.
A big field of women showed up to race in category 2, including Amy Pearce, Alisha Keith, Katri Laike and Sequoia Cooper, who was often prominent up the front.
Tamsyn Hayes and Katie Menzies rode well to finish within the top four in their first appearance in the category.
Things did not pan out quite so well for Pearce, who punctured with two laps to go.
Rebecca Grant also had a puncture but put her transition skills to work and jumped on to a spare bike owned by a nearby marshal. Laike went on to win the category, with Craig McKibbon second, Neil Derbyshire third, Stephen Grant fourth and Cooper fifth.
Category three raced eight laps, with newcomers and mentorship programme riders Reta Trotman, Libby Vermunt and Becky Ward enjoying their first race on the challenging circuit.
The bunch flowed evenly for much of the race before a group of eight riders became prominent leading into the last couple of laps.
Jason Palmer pulled away on Factory Rd on the final lap and won the race ahead of Richard Findlay and Trotman.
The category 4-5 winner was Tony Chapman, with Maaike Duncan second and Jude Kelly third.
