The popular event, which is broken up into three stages, is somewhat unique and also very technical, with tactics and planning playing a big a role as well as the on-track effort. Teams are handicap based on their ability and their results on stages.

Bennett and Peadon took the trophy ahead of the Endura team of Dean Windsor, Bruce Goddard and Steve Brilley with the Hotrods team of Geoff Short, Rod Esdaile and Craig Eves coming home third.

The winners were the most consistent team over the entire event, finishing fifth, first and third in the stages to take the win. They were registered with Team Howard, which also included Kirsten Howard who was a late withdrawal.

The Budget Forklift team of Blair Windsor, Mark Simons and Graham Wheeler were joint leaders after two of three stages, but finishing second in stage two saw them as the last team to start in race three and that prevented them from catching those ahead of them and cost them any chance of a place in the top three.

Conversely the Endura team chose to pace themselves in the early stages and make their charge in the final stage, which was worth more points. They were able to take the stage win but Team Howard did enough to hold on for the overall win.

"Being a handicapped event, teams are penalised when they win stages," Bathurst Cycling Club member Mark Windsor said.

"Often what teams do is they manage their early results and focus on the last stage, which is worth more points. Dean is a bit of a mathematician so he knew what they needed to do and while they went out and won the final stage, they weren't able to shake the pair enough to get ahead of them in the overall points," he said.

"It's quite a tactical event and there are other aspects to it, like the fact that everyone has to have a go at captaining, which means that everyone has to ride for each other.

Team Adams of Ali Corcoran, Cathy Adams and Renee Covington took out the women's event from Kim Baker, Rosemary Hastings and Peta Kingham in Team Rose.

"There weren't as many teams as we would normally have and that is probably because it clashed with the Clarence St Cyclery Cup which Mark Renshaw was at. Ideally we wouldn't put it on the same weekend as a big event but Sydney's program generally doesn't come out until long after ours," Windsor said.

"Given that clash, it was a pretty good turnout. We would really have liked to have had Mark there competing but he was contracted to Clarence St Cup."

The announcement last week that Bathurst will be getting a new bike park in the future means that the format may be further utilised.

"It's quite a unique event. I don't really know of anywhere else that an event like this is run," Windsor said.

"When we get the bike park we will be able to run these more seriously but for now, while we are competing on public roads, we like to keep it more social."