SAM Hill splashed his way to a deserving victory in yesterday’s Gunnedah To Tamworth Road Race.
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The 20-year-old Canberra university student beat his older brother, and coach, Ben Hill with his GPM teammates Joel Walsh and Nick White third and fourth.
Walsh, White and Ben Hill all managed to ride off the front of the peleton to join Sam, who had made a solo break with around 40kms to go.
“I was a bit confused at first,” Sam Hill said when his teammates and brother joined him in the lead with about 4km of the 100km race left.
“But then they told me they were riding for me after I had done a lot of hard work,” he said.
So the final few kilometres into Tamworth and the finish along Burgmann’s Lane was a lot easier for the young man studying sports science at University of Canberra.
“I work in a bike shop at Fishwyck as well,” he said through a big beaming smile after a hot shower.
His smaller, but older brother, was second in the A Division race with Joel Walsh third and Ed White fourth to cap a great day for Sam.
“I finished with the fastest time yesterday too,” he said of the not so wet Sundowner, Coona to Gunnedah race.
“Ben was the second fastest too.
“Today was a lot harder. It rained heavily the last two hours.”
Sam, who was born in Scone, raced in the Sundowner and Gunnedah to Tamworth last year but was nowhere near right.
“I was recovering from an injury last year and just getting back into it,” he said.
“But I was really happy with my preparation for this year’s race.”
It was something of a family effort too with Sam and Ben’s father, David Hill, riding in D Division.
“It’s the wettest ride of my life,” David Hill told wife Kimberley after his race finish in drizzling rain.
The droplets easing off his and his bike’s frames warmed up considerably when Kimberley told him their sons had finished one-two in the main race.
For Sam, who turns 21 in August, there are some major races looming large.
“I’ve got Wagga in a couple of weeks then the Tour of the Great South Coast.
“That’s our first NRS (National Road Series) race,” the talented and tall young rider said.