Earle, Garfoot crowned Santos North Western Tour winners

Jordan Payne (Racing Kangaroos) has claimed the final stage of the men's Santos North Western Tour on Saturday, having made the selection of the late-race breakaway while Nathan Earle (Huon-Genesys) was confirmed as overall winner in his team's fourth National Road Series tour victory of the season and Earle's second.

Payne won in a five-man sprint for the finish, ahead of Jeremy Scott (St George Skoda) and Aaron Donnelly (Huon-Genesys) in the 135km stage.

The men's result seemed a little less assured with the overall race lead changing at the end of each day of the tour, Earle the latest to wear the leader's jersey following his win in on Friday's mountain-top finish at Siding Springs. The previous day's stage winner and race leader, Cam Bayly (search2retain-health) was next best five seconds back with Earle's teammate Jack Haig a further nine seconds in arrears.

The peloton took a while to settle with plenty of attacks animating the early kilometres with no move able to stick with Huon-Genesys patrolling the front of the bunch.

With Jesse Kerrison just one point off the Sprint Classification lead of Bayly at the start of the day, it was an aggressive Budget Forklifts that delivered the top-three placings at the intermediate sprint at Tambar Springs, halfway through the stage. Kerrison took maximum points ahead of Jack Anderson and Sam Horgan giving the young Queenslander the lead in the classification. Kerrison has cemented himself as the classification's rider to watch, having claimed the three sprint classifications from the three NRS events he has competed in.

Just before the peloton took the turn from the Black Stump Way onto the Oxley Highway, a group of 15 riders broke clear with most teams represented. A lack of leadership doomed the move to failure and with the turn onto the highway, the bunch was back together with 32kms left to race.

Any reprieve was short-lived with a group of eight next to move clear. The breakaway containing Aaron Donnelly (Huon-Genesys), Fraser Northey (Euride), Horgan, Jordan Payne (Racing Kangaroos ), Nick Woods (Pro Team Downunder), and Jeremy Scott (St George Skoda HP Team). With 10km remaining, Northey attacked the break but he was only able to gain as much as 20 seconds before slowly being reeled back in as the race reached the outskirts of Gunnedah.

Garfoot earns second NRS victory of the season as Hodges wins from breakaway

Kendelle Hodges (Composite Team 1) has won the final stage of the Santos North Western Tour for women, a 107.1km stage between Coonabrarbran and Gunnedah.

Hodges, a former Australian and Victorian Junior Female Road Cyclist of the Year, took out a sprint finish from breakaway companions, Brittany Lindores (Team BikeBug), Shannon Malseed (Holden Women) and Cassandra Dodd (Specialized Securitor).

It was unlikely that the general classification should fall into the hands of anyone other than Ruth Corset who held a nine-second lead from Pensar SPM teammate Katrin Garfoot with close to three minutes separating second overall from Miranda Griffiths (Holden Women) in third place however six riders ensured an exciting finish.

Corset, finishing safely in the bunch which could only get as close as 24 seconds on the race-dominating breakaway, maintained her overnight lead to claim her second NRS victory of the season following her other win at Battle on the Border.

After an initial break formed early in the race before the peloton was brought back together, a group of six riders had gone clear just before the 40km mark. It was a dangerous group containing Hodges, Lisa Keeling (Bicycle Superstore), Lindores, Emma Viotto (Suzuki Bontrager), Malseed, and Dodd with a minute's advantage on the largely downhill section of the Oxley Highway. Keeling was the best-placed of the six, in 10th overall 8:13 in arrears of Corset.

The gap hovered at just over a minute as the group of six reached the halfway mark but this was a break destined to succeed.

Men - Full results

Women - Full results

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