Dominique Mayho claimed his fifth Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race title to pull two ahead of Kris Hedges and Wayne Scott, and put further daylight between he and rivals for the title of the event’s best rider.

The 28-year-old cruised across the line in confident fashion, clocking himself in 27min 15sec, having been pushed along the way by VT Construction team-mate and runner-up Steve Smith. The pair did the bulk of the work coming out of the West End, their plan of attacking early and then seeing the response of the opposition — or lack thereof — upon Harbour Road prove to be unerring.

Mayho was spurred to the front and saw clear sailing through the City of Hamilton, making his ride through the finish line on Cedar Avenue a formality.

“We were looking at who would come with us at Barnes’ Corner and when we got there only Darren [Glasford] was really with us, so we let him do a bit of the work, and let that sort itself out,” Smith said. “I just tried to stay in control of Darren, as we let Dom go and things worked out in our favour. Dominique did his thing.”

“The race worked to a T, right according to plan,” said a spent but joyous Mayho at the finish line. “We had a plan to go out hard and see who would come with us and weed the teams out.

“Steve Smith came with us and he worked with me to get a gap between me and Darren Glasford.

“From there things shaped out along Harbour Road, whereby when we got near to town, I attacked and continued to put pressure because I didn’t want to have things so close into town.”

Nicole Mitchell captured the female race for the fourth time, but noted how the challenge for wins was increasing with the passage of time.

“It’s always great to get another win,” said a smiling Mitchell at the line. “That’s four for me; it gets harder every year as we make way for the younger riders.

“I’m fairly satisfied and thankful. It was a good ride, the younger riders get stronger every year.

“I have a half Ironman next up and I was grateful I was able to get to the starting line to compete and do as well as I did.”

Mayho added to his tally of wins, having also won in 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2021, and does not look like slowing down for the immediate future.

“It’s amazing you know,” he added. “This race is so tricky; you don’t really know if you can win one. As I mentioned previously, I’ve lost this race a few times because of early impatience and making wrong decisions at crucial times. That didn’t happen today with myself and Steve. I stayed calm and we were able to control the race with team tactics, which are always vital, especially at the beginning of this race.

“This one means the most to me because my dad had a massive stroke and he really wanted to be around for me this time. So this victory is definitely dedicated to my father.”

Clifford Roberts managed to make it into third, as he sprinted home.

First across the finish line among the juniors was Jackson Langley, who, like Mayho, was comfortably in front.

“It was interesting,” said the 13-year-old Jackson, perhaps a tad overwhelmed by the moment. “I didn’t expect so many people.

“It was an infectious moment to have all the people out to cheer and support us. This was my last year in the category and I thought I’d give it a shot. I expected to be able to ride out front and finish strong, and I did that.”