Dave Padega wrapped up a superb mountain bike racing season on Sunday morning by clinching victory in the Men?s Open category of the Winners Edge National Championships.

On a morning when the atrocious weather ? lashing rain and strong winds ? proved the main obstacle, Padega was best able to adapt to the tough conditions as rider after rider suffered either mechanical problems or difficulty just staying on the course.

But in a show of true tenacity all but one of the riders finished the race.

The elements also helped to produce some real surprises in several of the categories and a couple of very close finishes.

Padega, while taking victory in the Open category, didn?t have it all is his own way as he was chased around the slippery course by New Zealander Geoff Wing.

Going into Sunday?s race ? the last in the winter series ? both Wing and Padega were tied for third in the points standings, so whoever came out on top was also going to earn the third podium spot in the series behind Garth Thomson and Neil de ste. Croix.

In the early going Padega opened quite a lead on Wing but as the race wore on the latter was able to narrow the gap as Padega experienced serious gearing problems which, by the last lap, left him with only his ?Granny? gear functioning.

Wing managed to close the distance considerably but in the end ran out of laps and was happy to take the second place trophy in a time 61:03, just over a minute behind Padega?s winning time of 59:59.

Rolf Runkel, who finished ninth in the points series, saved his best for last as he stole third spot away from his co-worker Paul Hawco on the last lap.

Runkel finished in 66:35 with Hawco taking fourth in 66:49. Chris Conway had a good second half of the race to take fifth in 69:22, leaving Grant Gouge sixth in 71:19, Peter Matcham seventh in 72:27, Geoffrey Smith eighth in 90:54 and Mel Caines ninth in 91:26.

Pre-race favourite and this year?s series champion, Garth Thomson, was once again struck by the Ferry Reach curse that has prevented him from finishing in most of the races contested on the east end course.

This time around it was a broken chain on the first lap which halted his progress and then, after repairing that and getting back into the race, he suffered the misfortune of breaking his rear derailleur, which put paid to his hopes of completing the race.

Neil de Ste Croix, one of the other favourites for victory, was unable to start Sunday?s race as a result of the injury he suffered in the previous race at Fort Scaur.

Tim Palmer capped a remarkable season in the veterans? category as he took the title on Sunday and in the process completed a memorable comeback in the points series to steal the overall crown from Paulo Madeiros who had held the lead going into Sunday?s race.

Palmer rode a steady race and opened a sizeable lead that by the finish had grown to almost four minutes. He finished first, completing six laps in 49:48 with Madeiros taking second in 53:40. Mannard Packwood completed his season on a good note too as he survived Sunday?s event to take third spot a way from Jeff Amaral.

Packwood crashed so many times that he lost count but was still able to hold on for a slim 13-second margin over Amaral. Packwood finished in 58:27 with Amaral on 58:40. Nigel Godffrey took fifth spot in 73:13.

Matthew Godfrey made it a clean sweep in the boys? 15-16 category as he added the national championship title to his series title, but not without something of a scare from rival Conner Burns.

Burns went out fast and built a small lead, but it didn?t last long as by the finish Godffrey had reversed their positions and won in a time of 54:06 over four laps of the long course. Burns took second 57:37, just holding off Aaron Fenn who finished third in 58:14.

Marc Smith produced the biggest upset of the day with his victory in the boys 13-14 category. Smith, who finished fourth in the series, took advantage of some equipment failures and crashes by his rivals to steal victory in 42:05. Pre-race favourite Ricky Sousa Jr broke his chain in the early going and while he got back in the race was never able to catch the leaders.

Smith was able to hold off Thomas Godfrey over the last lap to win in a time of 42:05 with Godfrey recording 42:49.

Curt Selley produced a surprise of his own by taking third place in 43:41, leaving Geoffrey Burns fourth in 47:07. Sousa limped home fifth in 53:39.

In the closest finish of the day, Dujuan Simons held off Alex Godfrey after a thrilling duel over four laps in the boys? 11-12 division.

Both tooks turns at the front in a seesaw battle that saw Simons overtake Godfrey just yards from the finish to win by just two seconds in a time of 34:41 with Godfrey second in 34:43. Blake Hill placed third in 50:26.

The novices? category produced a tight finish as well as father and son, Craig and Curt Selley, waged a close battle in their five-lap race. Curt managed to get the better of his dad on the last lap and was only six seconds ahead at the finish, clocking 54:48 with Craig following in 54:54.

Nathan Amaral completed a successful season by adding the championship title to his series title in the boys? 10 and under division but he was pushed to the end by first-time racer Forest Wineinger.

Amaral finished first in 28:00 with Wineinger just over a minute and a half behind in 30:22. Ben Green had a good race too, taking third in 35:56.

Ben?s sister, Amy Green, is the girls? 10 and under champion by virtue of her victory on Sunday in a time of 34:43.