The attention of Warrnambool once again went to Raglan Parade as the top male cyclists in Australia fought out the street circuit in the heart of the coastal destination.

It was an exciting race at the Warrnambool KFC Criterium as Tristan Saunders benefitted from his teammates’ work to position him in the final move, then sprinted to the win ahead of Liam White (Oliver’s Real Food Racing), just edging the Ballarat local in a close throw to the line.

“It was a harder sprint than I expected,” said Saunders, “a little uphill and with the headwind Liam (White) came back to me and it was pretty close there at the end.”

It was a fast and attacking criterium around the Raglan Parade circuit, with the famous finish of the Warrny maintained as the crowds gathered to watch the top cyclists battle it out for the win. They were treated to an excellent spectacle as the attackers took the race away from the sprinters.

“I knew that everyone would have tired legs from yesterday, so it would pretty hot from the start,” said Saunders. “It was a bit of a free-for-all and we managed to get three guys in the move.

“Liam (Johnston) and Conor (Leahy) did the job of responding to everything and I sort of got an armchair ride to the finish.”

Saunders capped off what was an impressive weekend for him after being one of the chief instigators in the late attacks during the Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool. Liam White added a Warrnambool KFC Criterium second to his sixth place the previous day, with Zack Gilmore (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) rounding out the podium.