Round 10 of the RROTY competition was fought out on Boorolong this afternoon with league leader Luke ‘San Remo’ Milan grabbing fastest time and beating in-form scratch rider Ben Harris by 2 bike lengths to further extend his lead at the top of the table. A good roll-up of 25 riders prepared to do battle on the hilly course with a slight head-wind on the way out meaning placings at the turn would be significant for the rapid descent home.

Go rider, Jo Wauch held off the chasers with a great first leg and made the turn with a 29 second advantage from a chasing group of 5 riders consisting of the combined Go and 2:00 minute group. These riders were being chased down by the 6 minute group – half a dozen strong riders who had stayed together and eroded the margin down to 1m:30s at the half-way mark.  The 7-minute group that followed had just 3 riders and only managed to reduce their deficit by 30s when the intimidating scratch group loomed large at the cones having averaged over 34kph for the outward, uphill leg.

With the bunch now 10 in number, the earlier groups were quickly swallowed up on the homeward run.  The high speed of the growing bunch made any kind of attacks difficult to maintain but it didn’t stop perennial die-hard, Mick Hoult having a sustained dig on the long drag up from Dumaresq Road which strung the riders out until the top when everything came back together for the final run-in. With an obvious bunch sprint just 4KM away, things eased for a while and it took a move of presidential proportions from Mr Tindale to liven things up again.

The finishing line cones were discretely positioned in the long grass to the side of the road so timing of the final sprint became a tricky decision, but that didn’t stop San Remo powering through yet again, demonstrating great turn of speed to take the win and 10 RROTY points with an average speed on the return leg of 46.7kph. Ben Harris grabbed third and Sam Jenner making a welcome appearance fresh from NRS racing, eased home in third spot.

Thanks to Brendon for putting the signs out and running his first trouble-free race, and thanks to Swanny for lending a helping hand just to make sure things would start on time 🙂

Note: The results below are open to challenge as the finishing line photos were taken looking directly into the sun so silhouetted rider identification was performed on the basis of rider shape and bike geometry. The only rider definitely identified was Kirky who of course rolled over the line facing backwards. Note to future photographers, please position yourself with the sun behind you where possible!

At the top of the RROTY league, although there is plenty of racing still to come this season, Luke is pulling out a sizable lead – now 17 points from Billy Mara and Jo Wauch. Next week we’re back on Dangarsleigh for a Team Time Trial before returning to Boorolong on 7th June for Round 11.