Cycle stars ride into the night

The competition might be friendly and the setting picturesque but, make no mistake, when the Tasman Wheelers hit the roads for their weekly races, it’s serious stuff. By Tim Newman. Photos by Braden Fastier.

As the evening sun set on the sunny Tasman hills on Tuesday, as nine-to-fivers embraced their first beer, took to their first chores or picked up the kids, 36 cyclists decked in lycra, sunglasses, and helmets raced all the way from the small settlement of Hope before climbing the hills of the Aniseed Valley.

Meet the Tasman Wheelers, a 200-strong club that is producing some of New Zealand’s bestknown cycling talent.

Before star Kiwi cyclists George Bennett and Jack Bauer reached the pinnacle of the sport, cycling the cobbled streets of France for the Tour de France, the Wheelers’ Tasman routes, typically starting in the beautiful Moutere Valley, were the scene of their climb up the professional ranks.

Every Tuesday and Saturday the Wheelers meet for a friendly race – but make no mistake, the races are serious. Traffic controllers step in, times are recorded and uploaded to the club’s website, and results are kept.

This Tuesday night the riders begin their circuit around Hope in a staggered order, with the A grade riders starting off early to put in some extra laps.

The club has been running races since the 1980s when it was then known as the Upper Moutere Wheelers, and has become a breeding ground for new cycling talent. As well as Bennett and Bauer, junior riders Shaane Fulton and Finn Fisher-Black have achieved national and international success.

Fulton won the New Zealand women’s under-19 sprint title in March, and Fisher-Black took out the under-19 men’s 3000m individual pursuit. Along with other riders from Tasman, they represented New Zealand at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Switzerland in August.

‘‘We have the young kids going through the grades that are racing against adults,’’ club member and past president Christine van Hoppe says. ‘‘The work they put in is really hard.’’

Van Hoppe says the type of racing gives riders a competitive edge – and that competitive spirit flows through the entire club.

By the end of the night though, the whole field joins together for the hill climb of the Aniseed Valley, 70-year-old veterans rubbing shoulders with teenage Commonwealth Games hopefuls.

The riders disperse, some to their cars at the bottom of the hill, others biking all the way home to Nelson – ready to do it all again on Saturday.

Riders, above, stand around waiting for the start of their grade event during the Tuesday night races. Just a few short hours later, left, B Grade rider Lachie Boyle strains his way up the final Aniseed Valley Road climb to the finish line.

Cyclists do circuits around groups before ascending Valley to the finish of the night races. Tasman Whee club has been a breeding many up and coming Kiw including talented profess George Bennett and Jack club runs regular Tuesday and Saturday race meets spring to autumn in the ev

The racing may be friendly, but Tasman Wheelers cycle club Tuesday evening races are professionally run affairs – riders have to sign in before competing.