Williamsz wins it on the line

THEY were separated by less than a second, but in the end it was Victorian Jordan Williamsz claiming his first Burnie Ten.

The end was more reminiscent of a sprint finish at the Tour de France as a seven-strong group fought it out for the men’s title.

But it was Williamsz just holding on for victory in a time of 29 minutes 05.7 seconds from Andy Buchanan (29:05.9) and Jack Bruce (29:06.8).

“I probably went a bit early and I was just hanging in there the last 100m,” Williamsz said.

“I thought I could get away with 400m but I probably undervalued a few of the guys there.

“I didn’t really get there like I thought I would and I was hanging on for dear life.”

A strong head wind in the second half of the race kept the group well bunched leading to the final sprint.

For Williamsz, it was his second 10km road win in the space of eight days, having secured his first in Melbourne.

“We weren’t really slow, we still ran 29-low, but it was surprising there were so many guys there but it shows the depth of the field,” he said.

The women’s event was won by 2016 Olympian Genevieve Gregson from Queensland, who was competing in her first

10km since the 2015

Burnie Ten.

She finished in 32min 19.8sec ahead of last year’s winner Emily Brichacek (32:30.2) and Natalie Rule (32:54.8).

“It felt a lot better than expected when I woke up this morning and saw the weather,” Gregson, 30, said after her win.

“Coming from Queensland last week I was a bit worried, but I tucked in nicely and I felt like I had so much energy most of the way.

“I was really relieved I felt as good as I did but also rapt with the time, it was reasonably quick.”