AFTER some near misses recently in some of the Bathurst Cycling Club's major events, it was Ryan O'Donnell's turn to shine on Saturday as he claimed the prestigious Rockley Cup crown.
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The race was first held in 1969 and prizemoney was increased for 2016 while a shorter support event called The Little Rock was added.
In the Cup itself, the backmarkers were giving away nearly 30 minutes' start to some of the other contenders and initially it was a handful of the frontmarkers who set the pace including Jette McKellar, Donna Scott, Roy Barlow and Scott Allan.
A group led by Mark Simons, Brian Draper, Rob Barlow, Nev Krahe and Steve Jackson caught them and took over the lead while Stacey Fish, Rob Stephen and Darren Fenton were the main players in the pursuit.
Mark Windsor made the first attack on the final climb with Richard Hobson, O'Donnell, Dubbo rider Chris Couper and four-time winner Dean Windsor all close behind.
A big burst from O'Donnell saw him run down the leader, winning ahead of Couper and Dean Windsor with Hobson and Mark Windsor rounding out the top five.
Steve Bennett, Luke Gilmer, Brad Roughly, Jim Lavis and Jodie Martin all made the top 10.
Martin's impressive effort against the backmarkers meant that she was the top female finisher.
Fish, Scott and McKellar all crossed the line with identical times in the female category.
The Little Rock was claimed by masters champion and club legend Rosemary Hastings who was strong enough to defeat Hayden Booth, though Booth recorded the fastest time for the race.
Young gun Isaiah Bennett took third in front of Wayne and Jed Powell.
