Pithie blitzes Boxing Day criterium
South Canterbury cycling fans got a glimpse of a future superstar of the sport as Laurence ‘‘Loz’’ Pithie romped to victory in Timaru’s annual Boxing Day criterium.
Pithie, who is just 16, destroyed a quality field that included last year’s winner Bailey O’Donnell, a junior New Zealand track star who won gold in the team pursuit and the world junior track championships in Switzerland earlier this year.
It is only a matter of time before Pithie also dons the silver fern in a burgeoning career that is littered with national age group titles on both road and track.
The Christchurch youngster has just returned from several weeks in Australia, where he has been racing against adults and contested several criteriums with fields of around 60 riders.
Pithie routed the field, lapping all riders with the exception of O’Donnell in the annual 40-minute Boxing Day race around a part of Timaru’s central business district.
Pithie and O’Donnell broke the race apart when they powered away from the rest before the halfway stage and in the final quarter Pithie broke clear of O’Donnell and eventually won in a canter with Ollie Jones, who earlier this year scored a professional contract in Europe after beating more than 9000 others in an online training contest, a long way back in third.
‘‘Loved it,’’ the teenager said afterwards, adding that he had been waiting for some time to have a go in the senior ranks in Timaru. O’Donnell, originally from Ashburton, said with Pithie in the field it was always going to be tough to repeat last year’s event.
‘‘It’s always real hard to win when there’s a guy like Laurence in the field.’’
In other races, Glenn Gould was a popular hometown winner of the B grade from Waimate’s Peter Fish and another local, Hamish McDonald third. Visitors dominated C grade with Henrietta Christie (Christchurch) winning over Sami Donnelly, while former Timaruvian Richard Eade won D grade from Kate Brown and Jayden Bowman (all Christchurch).
In the under-17 grade racing, it was Timaru’s Jaxson Whyte first, edging former Timaruvian Mitchel Fitzsimons (now Southland) with Max Sail (Timaru) third, while B grade went to Christchurch’s Alex Holmes from Ashburton’s Maddie Lowry and Timaru’s Noah Hollamby. Whyte’s sister Emily Toomey won C grade from Zoe Spillane and Jess Johnston (all Timaru).