Dillon Corkery has taken his first win on the domestic cyclocross scene at his third attempt.
The Verge-Pi Cycles rider just about saw off his team mate and former road professional Paidi O'Brien.
Throughout the race the eventual winner and runner-up had made all the running out front with Richie Barry of St Finbarr's.
That trio pulled clear very early in what was the fourth round of the Munster Cyclcross Series staged in Drombane, Co Tipperary.
Once such a strong trio went clear on the opening lap in the Upperchurch Drombane promotion, the line-up on the final podium was decided though the order of that podium was unclear.
It wasn't until the final lap that the efforts by each of the three leaders to make a decisive move saw gaps emerge.
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Corkery got ahead with a lap remaining, chased by Barry and O'Brien in that order.
When Barry took the final opportunity in the race to avail of the pits he was passed by O'Brien who went into 2nd place behind his team mate up ahead.
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And that was the way it stayed; Corkery winning a tight contest at the front from O'Brien and Barry.
Series leader Richie Maes (Strata 3-VeloRevolution) was racing in Belgium this weekend and so was absent from Drombane today.
In the women's race in Co Tipperary, Lucy O'Donnell continued her seamless progression with another strong win.
She has already won on the home scene this season and also took the junior category in the combined elite-junior race at the HSBC National Trophy Cyclocross in Pembrey last weekend.
Today the Verge-Pi Cycles road and cyclocross international pulled away very early in the contest with national masters champion Grace Young (Strata 3-VeloRevolution).
As was the case with the men's event, once they distanced the rest of the field the race behind was for 3rd place.
In the latter stages 17-year-old O'Donnell had too much for Young, pulling away from her to take a solo win with about 30 seconds in hand.
About two minutes back Nessa Rochford (De Ronde van Cork) took 3rd place on the day.
In the men's B race Daniel Lynch claimed another win in the colours of his club O'Leary Stone Kanturk.
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