TOLLAND Cycling Club's Rebel Brooker made the most of a fleeting chance to race by upstaging fellow Wagga talent Bronte Stewart to claim the Hanwood Cup on Sunday.
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Emerging star Stewart was looking to continue her winning run after consecutive victories at the Hunter Junior Tour's road race and the junior state criterium championships.
But after making a move toward the end of the final 10km lap of the 40km event, Brooker held off noted sprinter Stewart's attack to claim the win.
The podium was an all-female affair with Griffith's Bronwyn Jones coming third, well behind the leading duo.
All three on the podium started in the second bunch, with blustery conditions making life difficult for competitors.
"She (Brooker) raced last week at Gunning (Ken Dinnerville Memorial Handicap) and didn't expect to finish the 90km distance after so long not racing," her mother Roseanne said.
"Bronte is a really good sprinter and Rebel wasn't expecting to outsprint her, so she thought the only chance she had was to take off towards the end of the last lap and back herself to stay in front.
"Bronte caught her with about 100m to go but didn't have much left, and Rebel dug in."
Cyclists are making the most of chances to race, with recent NSW Health recommendations meaning riders can only compete in the Riverina region.
"We thought there would be a possibility for a bit more racing to happen, but Cycling NSW released an email last week saying they've zoned areas now," Roseanne said.
"Rebel had previously gone over to Canberra to race over there but we're now excluded from that. We can only race in Wagga, Cootamundra and Griffith."
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