Key may be in the conditions
Dunedin Classic men’s race open
TOPCLASS cycling returns to the Taieri today in the form of the Dunedin Classic.
The Classic, which starts outside West Taieri Rugby Club at 10am today, has drawn a big field from across the country.
The race is centred on Outram, Dunedin Airport and Lee Stream. It finishes with a 14km climb up to Lee Stream, finishing outside the school.
The elite men’s field, which is scheduled to finish at 1.25pm, will cover 134.8km, while the women’s and masters fields are expected to finish 1020 minutes before the men’s field.
The women and masters riders cover 109.1km.
The men’s race is relatively open and condi tions may play a large part in determining the result. The Taieri can sometimes be calm and play into the hands of the sprinters but the final tough climb may also lead to the endurance men having their say.
The race is the second in the Calder Stewart Series. The first race last week was won by Dunedin rider Brad Evans but he will not line up today because he is in Thailand, racing with his Drapac Pat’s Veg Racing team.
Whatever the outcome, it will be a big race for Christchurch cyclist Keagan Girdlestone.
It will be his first start in an elite race since nearly dying after a horrific crash while racing in Italy last year.
He crashed through a window of a team vehicle, severing his carotid artery and jugular vein and sustaining bruising to the brain that also partially paralysed his right arm.
Girdlestone (19) was initially thought to have died, then potentially was brain dead, then could have been wheelchair bound, and once movement came back he was told he would not ride a bike again. Once he did, it was still thought he could not race.
He rode the Christchurch to Akaroa 100km Le Race last Saturday, an event he won as a 16yearold in 2014.
He is able to ride to the maximum this week after being limited last week to keeping his heart rate under 145 beats per minute. His longterm aim this year is to line up in the Tour of Southland in November.
He will face stiff competition today with North Otago’s Tim West sure to be in the running along with Manawatu’s Alex West, under23 series leader Jake Marryatt and Canterbury University student Ian Talbot.
Wanaka rider Mikayla Harvey is looking forward to racing on the course for the first time and is the woman to catch.
‘‘I’ve had a couple of weeks off after racing in Australia at the Oceania Champs, so it’s good to be back into racing,’’she said.
‘‘My climbing’s been going well and it’s improved, which is good, as I know it’s going to come down to who’s the strongest on the final climb of the day.’’
Harvey said the plan was to make the racing hard on the flat circuits the masters and women do three times to put pressure on the other teams and make them burn some matches before the climb.
Last year’s women’s series winner, Hokitika’s Sharlotte Lucas, former mountain running world champion and professional triathlete Kate McIlroy, of Wellington, and former crosscountry runner turned cyclist Deborah Paine, from Tauranga, will be marking each other closely up the final climb in what should be an intriguing battle with Harvey.