CAMERON Scott and Tristan Ward put on a thrilling show for spectators with their final sprint at the Bathurst Cycling Classic’s men’s division one criterium on Saturday.
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Only 19 riders finished the race due to a lightning quick start and among that group it was Scott and Ward who had the legs to battle it out for a win.
In the end it was current Australian under 23s criterium champion Scott who got to got the nod over Ward in a photo finish.
Scott (St George Cycling Club) won in a time of 54 minutes and 35 seconds ahead of Ward (Sutherland Shire CC) and Stephen Cuff (Penrith CC).
“Being the Australian champion there’s always a bit of pressure going into races like these but I had a couple of teammates out there,” Scott said.
“There were a couple of guys out there eager to have a bit of a crack but we kept things under control and it played into our hands at the end there.
“It can nervy towards the end when people start moving forward and the pace picks up but I felt okay at that point.”
Ferocious pace quickly took the field apart. More than 70 starters took part but at the halfway point only 21 riders remained.
Scott’s Australian Cycling Academy team, GPM Stulz and Oliver’s Real Food Racing had the strongest presence in the reduced field.
There was rare attempts at a breakaway in the first half of the race but all were unsuccessful.
Michael Potter and Ben Dyball were always present towards the head of the race while Bathurst Cycling Club’s Will Hodges also spent time controlling the tempo.
Toby Orchard led the sprint for home but Scott and Ward edged past him on the run up Russell Street.
Scott’s last kick gave him the edge.
“I had to use everyone else because I had no teammates out there but it worked out perfectly with guys like Dyball riding super aggressively,” Ward said.
“He gave it a red hot crack and that helped me because I could look at the guys who had teammates and say ‘chase that’.
“I nearly pulled the pin in the first 10 minutes. I was on the rivet.”