Cameron Scott won the 2022 Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool, as the ARA Sunshine Coast sprinter decided his legs could not keep up with the battle in the pack late in the 267km race and broke away alone in the second half to win the historic 106th edition of the Australian race.

The ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast rider escaped from a group that was led to the finish line by Brenton Jones (Inform TMX Make) in Warnambool. Myles Stewart (Nero Continental) rounded out the podium in the 6 hour and 7 minute National Road Series race.

Scott, a rider with a track pedigree and recent NRS sprint victory, was expected to relish the chance to take on a group battle, but he handed sprinting duties to teammate Craig Wiggins 5km from the line.

Instead of covering the late break, the 24-year-old Scott saw an opportunity to win in a different way.

NRS leader James Whelan (Team Bridge Lane), along with Liam Johnston (Inform TMX Make), was in contention with a few kilometers to go when Scott, on patrol, jumped on his wheels.

"I knew it was possible," Scott told SBS's race coverage, still catching his breath. With a few meters to go, "I got out of the saddle and tried to keep the bike moving.

Despite heavy legs and Scott's exclusion from the sprint, Scott won the Mitchelton Tour of Gippsland for the third time this week, winning stages 2 and 3.

The race started at the Avalon Airport, where Cadel Evans sounded the starting gun and the riders rode their bikes for about six hours on a mild Victorian summer day. The early breakaway group was not given much room to move, but after the first 70 km of the race, a group of eight riders settled in and opened up a gap of over a minute.

Cyrus Monk (Cyclehouse), the 2018 Australian U23 champion, had just competed in the 2.2-ranked Tour of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, finishing third overall.

At one point, the group had a gap of over 5 minutes, then gradually closed the gap as they headed through the countryside of southwestern Victoria and toward the coast. With about 100 km to go, the gap was less than 5 minutes, and with 80 km to go, it was nearly 3 minutes.

With kilometers ticking away and over five hours of racing, Monk was joined by Aidan Battigieg (Nero Continental) and Tim Cutler (CCS Cycling) to make the lead group three. Monk and Cutler swapped pace, while Battigieg raced in the back. Meanwhile, even at the back, the group kept splitting and regrouping, and as the pressure on the chasing pack intensified, the gap to the lead three continued to close, eventually reducing the peloton.

But Monk persisted, and in one attack he burned out Battigieg, further adding to the ominous atmosphere in the pack, and as the six-hour mark of the race approached, first Cutler was absorbed, then Monk held on. As soon as Monk was in the pack, a number of attacks began, including one by Whelan.

On Sunday, the first solo women's event will take place: the 160-km Lochard Energy Warrnambool Women's Cycling Classic, which starts in lakeside Colac, touches the coast at Port Campbell, and heads to the finish line in Warrnambool.