LIAM White has broken through for his first open road cycling victory.
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The Ballarat teenager led home a bunch sprint to secure the Cecil Shore Memorial Handicap at Hamilton on Saturday.
He proved the strongest in an uphill finish, breaking away from a group of nine mainly six-minute riders.
Horsham’s Mark Kelly (also 6min) was second, with Olympian and now masters rider Stephen Fairless (6min) third.
White covered the two 64-kilometre circuits in three hours, 20 minutes, 51 seconds – and just missed out on claiming the fastest time.
The six-minute bunch caught the out-markers with 12 kilometres to go and then dictated terms in the windy conditions.
White, 19, from the Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club, has had several top 10 finishes in feature open handicaps around the state, his previous best being second in the 2011 Fred Icke Memorial at Creswick.
His next major event will be the 104th edition of Melbourne to Ballarat on Saturday, July 26.
White will then link up with first-year domestic professional team PVT for the remainder of the National Road Series.
