Riders battle clock and each other
Southland cyclists spent the weekend fighting it out for podium honours at the annual Outdoor H&J Smith Southland time trial and road race championships.
Saturday’s individual time trial saw riders taking off at oneminute intervals in race distances ranging from 10km for the younger age groups to 25km for the more experienced riders.
Oliver Keast took the win in the under-13 boys division over 10km, ahead of Oskar McIvor and Cooper Gough. The under-15 boys and girls competed over 15km, with Hamish Wallace taking the win in the boys’ race, ahead of George Thomson, with Poppy McIvor claiming the girls’ race, ahead of Riley Faulkner.
The under-17 boys division not only drew the biggest field, but produced one of the biggest winning margins as well, as Marshall Erwood raced to a commanding win, ahead of Hunter Thompson and Tom Kerr over the 15km course. Olivia McCabe took out the under-17 girls title, ahead of Lucy McHutchon, Jaz McLeod the under-19 women’s title, ahead of Jessica Spencer and Ciara Kelly, Emily Paterson the under-23 women’s title, ahead of Tyla Green, and Julia Hunt the Elite women’s title.
The masters women also raced over 15km, with Erin Criglington winning ahead of Nicola Stevens and Nichole Saunders. the masters men category 3 (55-64) raced over the same distance, with Garth Cooper taking the win, ahead of Brendan Monaghan. Para-athlete Hannah Pascoe and Janet Willis took on the same course on their tandem, coming home with a very respectable time.
The rest of the age groups competed over a 25km course, with Morgan Borrie taking out the under-19 men’s division, ahead of Ronan Shearing, Jamie Wilson the masters men category 1 (35-44), and Marthinus Hendriks the masters men category 2 (45-54), ahead of Eddie Griffiths and Andrew Lienert.
In yesterday’s road race championships, which took place in Wyndham, the under-13 riders raced over 22km, with Oliver Keast taking another win ahead of Oskar McIvor and Cooper Gough. His sister Lily Keast won the under 13 girls title.
The under 15 boys and girls raced over 36km, with George Thomson taking out the boys’ race, ahead of Hamish Wallace, and Poppy McIvor adding the road race title to the time trial title she had claimed the previous day.
The masters women also raced over 36km, with Erin Criglington taking the win to go with her time trial win, ahead of Nicola Stevens and Sandra Cooper.
The under 17 riders raced over 58km, and in the boys’ race it was Marshall Erwood claimed the title, making it another double, ahead of Tom Kerr and Magnus Jamieson, while Bella Jubb claimed the girls’ title, ahead of Lucy McHutchon and Olivia McCabe.
The under-19 women also raced over 58km, with Jaz McLeod taking the win. Emily Paterson was victorious in the under-23 women’s division, ahead of Tyla Green, while Julia Hunt was first in the Elite women’s division.
The rest of the divisions competed over 72km. Ronan Shearing took out the under-19 men’s title, ahead of Reuben Heslip, while Matt Zenovich won the Elite men’s category ahead of Blake Tait-Jones.
James Jubb took out the masters men category 1 (35-44) race, ahead of Jamie Wilson and Brendon McLeod, while Mike White took out the masters men category 2 (45-54) race, ahead of Marthinus Hendriks and Neil Cleghorn. The masters men 3 (55-64) title went to Garth Cooper, with Martin Lohrey in second, and Brendan Monaghan in third.