A LATE charge saw top South Australian elite class rider Chris Jongewaard snatch yesterday's Ballarat Australian Cycling Grand Prix men's time trial at Learmonth.

The mountain bike specialist, who was a last-minute omission from the Beijing Olympic team, took out the 38.5km sprint with a time of 50min 08.96sec, beating front marker Joseph Lewis by 47 seconds.

Lewis, 19, had set the benchmark of 51:21.21, a time that appeared increasingly likely to be the winner as more and more riders completed the loop.

Until Jongewaard, one of the backmarkers, flashed across the line, Lewis appeared to have won an unlikely victory.

"I am very happy to be up here (on the podium) with this quality of rider," Lewis said.

His fellow New South Welshman Peter Milostic finished third with a time of 51:25.91, ahead of Queensland's David Kemp (51:29.39) and Victorian Dylan Newell (51:53.06).

The Ballarat Australian Cycling Grand Prix, which includes today's criterium and tomorrow's road race legs in addition to yesterday's time trial, is the second round of the Scody Cup.

Series leader Bernard Sulzberger (Tas), who won the Tour of Gippsland earlier this month, set the 12th fastest time of 53:49.50, the difficult conditions taking their toll on the riders.

Ballarat rider Damien Turner came in 24th.