Jonathon Herring led from the front as he saw off a spirited fight by Gregg Reid in the closing stages of yesterday's IBC Front Street race to snatch a maiden victory in the event.

Herring credited his bike handling skills in the difficult wet and windy conditions as the difference between himself and his challengers.

The front pair broke away from the rest of the pack early on and until Reid suffered problems with his back wheel on Burnaby Street, the two had battled it out.

But with Reid's mechanical problem arriving so late in the race, Herring was left to go it alone.

"It feels good to win the race after last year," the 25 year-old Herring told The Royal Gazette. "I woke up and saw the rain and knew I had a pretty good chance of using my bike handling skills.

"I don't have the fitness skills to compete with the others but I figured if I could use my skills to my advantage I would be ok.

"I was surprised to win the race but how it panned out and especially when it started raining two thirds of the way through the race I knew I had it in the bag.

"The one person I was really worried about was (former New Zealand professional) Graeme Miller, so I spent the first few laps trying to see what the pack was going to do and pushed on from there.

"The pack was very tentative on all of the corners and I knew that if I got out front I could get a few bike lengths gap per lap and slowly distance myself from the rest.

"It really worked out well and in the end it was the easiest Front Street race I have ever done."

The day saw a different format in age groups from previous years, from children up to veterans, with the headline events being the Men's 'A' and 'B' races.

The Male 'A' lasted 50 minutes plus one more lap.

Last year Herring was the rider who attempted to break away from the pack early on before being swallowed up and eventually dropping off the pace with a flat tyre.

Not so this year with the veteran of more than a decade of Front Street races under his belt assessing the situation early on before deciding his strategy.

With Reid making the break with him, Herring believed he had the edge with Miller already minutes behind.

Herring said his sights were now on what he hopes to be a promising race season.

"Last year I got a flat tyre, which really hurt, but this year I have done a bit of gym work. Of all the guys that raced, I was the last one to be thinking of winning because I am a big guy.

"The acceleration was there but my top end fitness isn't there.

"I was out the front with Gregg and he was having a good race.

"I wasn't too worried about him but I am starting to wind it up a bit and put more miles in and hopefully come summer I will be producing some good races.

"It was my intention to get out in front mainly to see what everyone else was doing. I knew it would play into my hands in the long run.

"Going forward I'm just hoping to get more miles in. I still don't feel too good on the bike and want to gain some proper fitness as well as maintaining my gym work."

In the Men's 'B' category, Dave Collins emerged victorious while Karen Bordage won the Female 'A' and Maryellen Goodwin led the Female 'B' division.

Full results –

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