Horsham cyclist Mark O'Brien came close to a long-sought after victory at the Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic on Sunday, but was forced to settle for a podium finish at the 104th edition of the historic event.
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The 32-year-old was part of a four-rider sprint to the finish line in the 262 kilometre ride, but was narrowly pipped to the post by winner Brendan Johnson.
O'Brien (InForm TM Insight MAKE) finished mere lengths behind Johnston and second placed Michael Freiberg after six hours and sixteen minutes in the saddle.
O'Brien admitted it was disappointing to have come so close to a maiden victory at Australia's oldest one-day classic, having competed at the event for more than a decade.
"I was really hoping to win it - it's been a bit of a white whale for me, I've wanted to get the win here for a long time at the Warny," he said post-race.
"I finished second in 2010 and I was hoping 10 years on I could've stepped out and got the win.
"But it wasn't to be."
The Horsham product was part of an initial 27-man breakaway group, which later condensed to a five-man breakaway at the 185-kilometre mark.
The five would stay together until one rider - Sam Jenner - was dropped with under 10 kilometres to go.
After fighting through a day filled with rain and wind, O'Brien was in a terrific position heading into the final stretch.
The mountain climbing specialist however said that his renown lacklustre final sprint held him back from claiming a maiden "Warny".
The final four competitors hit the line within mere seconds of one another in a grandstand finish.
"We all know I can't sprint out of sight on a dark night, so it wasn't my day unfortunately," he said.
"For a split second I thought I had it when I hit them near the end, but unfortunately when it came to a sprint, the writing was on the wall."
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