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With Cameron Meyer pulling off a huge win in the elite men's road race, the Cycling Australia Road National Championships have come to a thrilling finish in Buninyong.
Meyer held off a chase group featuring some of Australian cycling's best to win after a punishing race.
On the ground, the crowds were gasping in the final lap as the chase group fought for the rest of the podium.
A throng of spectators made plenty of noise on Mount Buninyong, urging riders up the hill.
Kevin Howell was a rider with the Sebastopol Amateur Cycling Club and won his first road race on the Mount Buninyong course.
He was sitting in a prime spot near the Yendon Number One Road corner with his wife.
"As a young fella, on the hill, I just sat in the bunch and got over it, then I won in the sprint finish down Eureka Street," he said.
"I would have been about 16 or 17 - the whole cycling scene has changed dramatically, really, not only because of the bikes and technology, but also the popularity of cycling is incredibly really.
"It's nice to be here to see it happen - it was a great sport for me, and I still enjoy it recreationally."
In town, food vendors were making the most of the crowds - several shopkeepers said it was at least as busy, if not more so, than last year.
Selling ice cream outside the Buninyong Pizza and Hamburger House, Matt Eren and Kerem Ozdokuma were very happy with the weather.
"It's extremely good for us - a lot of people are out, people are happy," Mr Ozdokuma said.
"This year and last year were probably our busiest (of the last five)."
PREVIOUSLY:
The crowds are continuing to build in Buninyong as the elite men take off for the Cycling Australia Road National Championship's road race.
Following Amanda Spratt's win in the elite and under 23 women, four laps into the men's race, there's three large bunched groups of riders settling into the course.
Yesterday's para-cyclists met surprising conditions on the mountain - women's champ Carol Cooke said she spent the first lap of her race warming up in the cold.
She added the addition of cyclists with an intellectual impairment had added plenty of enthusiasm to the morning.
"They were just so excited," she said.
"Having 60 athletes across all disability categories is just huge."
On Sunday morning, staking out a good spot near the finish line was Vincent Carter.
He said he had taken a day trip from his home on the Mornington Peninsula to watch.
"This is my fifth year coming, I like following the bikes," he said.
"This is my passion, and all the old cyclists catch up."
While he had his bike with him, he wryly said he probably wouldn't go for a sprint up the hill.
Behind him, at the Buninyong Lions Club's second-hand bookstore, a stream of visitors were keeping volunteers busy.
Sharon Davis said it was great to see so many people.
"A lot of them have been saying, 'oh, we've been meaning to come in'," she said.
"It's great for the town."
Coordinator Cathy Maguire added she'd seen people from across Australia.
"There was a lady from the Torres Strait Islands in before," she said.
The sun is beginning to poke through the clouds - anyone coming down for the afternoon should bring some sunscreen.
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