Wet weather made things difficult for riders during round five of the Footscray Cycling Club’s winter road season on Saturday.
Slippery conditions on the tricky Brisbane Ranges circuit at Sheoaks forced many cyclists to put on extra layers to ward off the rain.
But once things dried up and the sun started to show, overheating competitors began removing as much clothing as they could.
Adam Trewin took out the tortuous A-grade race, with a small field eventually broken up by the difficult climbs out of Stieglitz.
‘‘It was tough,” Trewin said.
“Jason Costin put the pressure on for the first climb and from then on there were numerous attacks which opened gaps that then closed.
‘‘Sam Lane from Warrnambool hit it on the climb out of Steiglitz on the second lap, and Josh Zammit and I just got across to him.
“We opened up a good gap and stayed away for the next lap. Sam and Josh were strong and I started to fade, so I regrouped and jumped in with the next two guys to go past and we worked well.”
Mitch Armstrong proved too good in the B-grade race.
The Yarraville resident recorded his maiden win after officials had debated which grade to put him in.
Armstrong, who regularly rides with A-graders, showed he will be tough to beat in future races.
