YOUNG Dubbo cyclist Haylee Fuller was able to defend one final push by world champion Darrell Wheeler in Saturday's senior road race on the South Geurie course and win Dubbo Cycle Club's final points race of the season, and in the process secured the title of the club's overall points standings winner.
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Fuller and Wheeler had sat first and second respectively in the club's overall points standings leading into Saturday's event and only 16 points separated the pair.
It was however, 11-year-old Fuller (+15 minutes), who was able to use her diminutive stature to her advantage over the rolling South Geurie course and hold off a strong field of riders who had the benefit of a strong tail wind on the second half of the course.
Chris Couper (+28 minutes) was unable to catch the runaway Fuller and ultimately finished second, while Craig Granger (+15 minutes) was only a short distance away in third.
Couper however, recorded the fastest actual time for the event - completing the course in one hour, four minutes and 45 seconds at an average speed of 39.85 km/h.
Catherine Fuller (+15 minutes) was the fourth across the line ahead of Michael Ticehurst (fifth, +28 minutes), Luke Ensor (sixth, +24.30 minutes), Darrell Wheeler (seventh, +24.30 minutes), Adam Mitchell (eighth, +28 minutes), Max Newton (ninth, +24.30 minutes) and Kurt Eather (tenth, +24.30 minutes) rounded out the top 10.
Tim Hines (+28 minutes), Evan Goodstat (+28 minutes), Sam Fitzgerald (+21 minutes), Heather Ticehurst (+21 minutes), Vaughn Eather (+24.30 minutes), Justin Brooks (+24.30 minutes), Matthew Singh (+21 minutes), Gary Barber (+21 minute), Jason Canobie (+0 minutes) and Brodie Wheeler (+0 minutes) finished eleventh to 20th respectively.
In taking out the overall points standings with 426 points, Fuller contested 16 events throughout the road season - five of which she won. She finished second in a further four races and third in one other.
Of the remaining seven races she rode, Fuller finished outside the top 10 on only three occasions in what was a remarkably consistent season of racing from the 11-year-old, who also won all three events at August's Club Championships to be crowned D-grade champion.
Darrell Wheeler, who in only five weeks will ride his first event at the Masters World Track Championships in Manchester, finished second in the overall standings with 392 points, while Catherine Fuller was third on 364 points.
Lachlan Clark (352 points), Goodstat (347 points), Ann Clark (343 points), Dylan Eather (338 points), Mitchell (335 points), Hines (330 points) and Brodie Wheeler (313 points) finished the season in the top 10 of the overall points standings.
On Saturday, September 5, Dubbo Cycle Club will conduct its final race of the road season in the form of an 18km Horse and Cart race on the Benalong Road course.
The cessation of the road season paves the way for the start of the track season, which will commence on Tuesday, October 6.
Prior to the commencement of the track season, Dubbo Cycle Club will be holding track training sessions at Victoria Park No. 1 Oval on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from September 15.