With trophies at stake in both the category two and junior races, the heat was on from the start.
Stu Thomas claimed the Hanifin Outram Cup in a sprint finish, while Georgie Wood beat the boys home for the Challenge Cup in the junior handicapped race.
The race took place on the popular 10km Woodside circuit. Category one and two completed five laps, category three four laps, and the juniors two laps.
In the category one race, Chapman brothers Tim and Joe were first and second. With average speeds of 40-45kmh, an early escape by Stu Crooks and Tim Chapman was quickly shut down.
In the penultimate lap as fatigue began to set in, Joe Chapman, Geoff Keogh and in-form veteran Ross Gamble got away.
Not wanting to be left out, Tim Chapman rode across the gap to join them.
In the last 5km, these four began to attack each other.
In a perfectly timed sprint, the younger legs of Tim Chapman proved too strong for his big brother.
The largest field of the day was the category two race with 19 riders.
This group largely stayed together, with the work on the front shared among the main contenders.
Mary Gray showed she is in great form for the world junior mountain bike championships with a strong presence at the front.
Several riders made unsuccessful breakaway attempts but, with an average speed of about 40kmh, they were quickly caught.
In the final lap, the bunch was still intact but quickly splintered when the sprinters made their move in the home stretch.
The seasoned legs of Stu Thomas came through in front of Guy Carter, with Elyse Fraser third.
Category three was dominated by newcomer Muir Gold who, in a stunning display of power, rode away from the field and overtook the category one bunch.
In his wake, the rest of the bunch stayed intact to battle it out in a sprint finish. Bruce Blackburn had the best legs on the day over Jordan Gilmore and Jan Brosnahan.
In the junior handicapped race, scratch riders Campbell Mann and Patrick Williams had 7min to catch the front markers, with the middle mark on 3.5min.
The boys worked well together to catch the front markers in the last 3km, but the five girls in the middle mark were already on their way to the line.
This middle bunch put on the pace in the final stretch and Georgie Wood took line honours in the sprint finish.
Fastest time went to Campbell Mann, in 35min 30sec.
By Janice McClelland.
