17 Division 1 and eight division 2 riders competed for the Curtis Dunn Memorial Trophies this year.
Division 1 rode from Gorge Road and this turned into an extremely fast race for the scratch and break riders trying to catch the limit riders.
Tom Sexton off scratch (10min) averaged 41kph hour in a solo effort to try to catch break riders of Hamish Beadle, Brayden Stevens and Hayden Strong (9:30) but was unable to make any impression as these three worked well together and averaged 43kph and extended the margin. Another strong group off first break (7min) was Hamish Buchanan-Keast, Sam Miller and Jack Pedler averaging 39 kph. The next bunch off 4mins was where two of the place getters came from. This group was off 4mins and also averaged 39kph to haul in the 3min and limit riders in the second half of the race. A sprint finish saw Emma Cumming, averaging 35kph and riding off limit, hold out Will Sutherland and Hamish McHugh/Smith for second and third. Also in the sprint finish were Matt Nunn form the 4min mark, Makayla Smith from 3min and Lucy Timpany from limit.
Fastest time honour went to Hayden Strong in 37:14 (43kph)
Newcomers to the road were track riders Brayden Holland and Mitchell Morris and both had good rides to finish mid-pack.
Jack Cannon riding off three mins had the misfortune to puncture early making it a hard day at the office.
8 Division 2 riders road from Mokotua. The scratch riders of Ronan Ferguson, Josh Millar, Madeline Gough and Jordyn Whyte had the task of catching two minutes to Emily Paterson, Hunter Gough and Joshua Scarlet. Hunter, Emily and Joshua set a blistering pace to make for an extremely hard chase for the scratch bunch. Emily got the sprint over Hunter with Ronan from scratch rolling in for third and taking fastest time.
The sprint and hill climb prizes were shared amongst most of the riders as they were awarded to each bunch.
In recognition of this being the 30th anniversary of the event, certificates were awarded to all competitors and medals to all place getters.
Curtis Dunn's father, Allan, spoke to the riders before the event highlighting safety and enjoyment were the goals for the riders. Allan also gave a moving speech after the event that will in no doubt inspire even more competition for the trophies. Allan also sorted out some very nice prizes.
Thanks to Allan and his family.
Report courtesy of our top fella Paul Sexton