TAMWORTH teenager, Tori Saunders, won all four stages of the Tamworth Two Day Tour to stand on the top step of the Loomberah Town Hall on Sunday afternoon.
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The Two Day Tour started off well with riders and families from over 20 clubs from across the state, and even one north of the border, arriving at Loomberah Hall with one famous local proclaiming, “it never rains in Tamworth”.
The skies held tight until just after the JM17 started Stage 1 and then the deluge hit creating challenging conditions for riders and sending everyone else rushing for the hall. After a bit of panic and a solid block of rain, the weather calmed again before the downfall resumed – this time just before JM17 started Stage 2.
Despite the cold and wet there were still some highlights on display from the first two stages.
Day two had its own weather problems with a thick fog rolling across the valley in the morning.
With no wind and visibility around the 100m mark official decided to postpone Stage 3, the individual time trials, until 10.30am.
The fog cleared and the riders hit the road racing against the clock to climb the ratings.
Dubbo’s Dylan Eather did a clean sweep of the JB13 class winning all four stages over the two days to claim top spot on the podium.
It was clearly Asher Fawle’s day in the JB11 as the Coffs Harbour rider won both the time trial and Stage 4 Road Race. Alex Jones from Northern Sydney CC put up a good fight but despite Asher’s wins, clubmate Anton Lupinski had enough of a buffer from Day One to take the GC by three seconds.
In the JM17, Illawarra’s Cam Scott left his two second places from the day before behind him and convincingly won both of Day Two’s stages and secured the overall lead he held in the morning.
Olivia Saunders tried to emulate her sister’s amazing efforts, winning one stage and coming second in another on day two, but it wasn’t enough.
Dubbo’s Haylee Fuller took two thirds on day two but her two stage wins on day one kept her at the top of the overall GC in the JG13.
Ashlee Jones from Northern Sydney CC was expected to make an impression and she did, winning both JW15s Stage 3 and 4.
Jones’s huge effort in the time trial netted her enough time to take the overall win from Wagga’s Kate Vickers who had a great first two stages but dropped off on day two.
Tamworth Cycling Club president, John Saunders, said there is definitely a friendly rivalry that they will be watching with keen interest in future events.
Mitchell Wright from Illawarra CC won both the time trial and final stage and put huge amounts of time into the field securing the GC by over two and half minutes in the JM15.
In the JM17, Cam Scott from Illawarra CC left his two second places from the day before behind him and convincingly won both of Day Two’s stages and secured the overall lead he held in the morning.
This year was the first time that the event was used as a state selection event, with all winners of the final stage set to represent the NSW Road Racing Team.