Winners in record-breaking form
Back-to-back champion Daniel Whitehouse and three-time Commonwealth Games international Kate McIlroy smashed the race records in this year’s Le Race cycling event from Christchurch to Akaroa on Saturday.
McIlroy – a New Zealand track and field, triathlon and cycling representative – won the women’s crown at her third attempt, smashing the record by nine minutes in an event she rated as ‘‘one of the hardest rides’’ on the national circuit.
Whitehouse won the 100km race last year after just having an appendix removed and again had to do it the hard way after puncturing near the halfway point, as well as losing his cycling computer early in the race.
‘‘I had no idea what was going on and had to do it old school,’’ laughed Whitehouse, whose record time of 2hr 35min 28sec was rendered more remarkable considering the field’s enforced slow start through the city due to limited police resources.
‘‘On top of that the replacement wheel was a bit narrower so my front brake wasn’t working very well, and I had to hold off the speed a bit downhill,’’ said Whitehouse.
He found himself chasing a leading foursome of Jake Marryatt, Scott Thomas, Paul Odlin and Kees Duyvensteyn.
The 24-year-old climber managed to claw the leaders back one by one charging up the famous Hilltop, where only Marryatt managed to stay clear to take the King of the Mountain prize.
Marryatt, however, was soon caught by Whitehouse and young Andrew Bidwell from Blenheim, who was the only rider to match the defending champion uphill.
On the final stretch, Whitehouse waited for one last steep climb to accelerate and lose his two competitors to arrive well clear of Bidwell, with Michael Vink in third place.
The frustrations of losing last year’s race on the finish line was the perfect motivation for McIlroy in the women’s race.
‘‘I didn’t just want to win the race, but destroy the record,’’ said the former Olympic triathlete who clearly has not lost any of her competitive juices, winning in 2hr 49min 10sec.
McIlroy said she was not going to get caught again and was grateful to find a strong group to stay with going up to the Hilltop.
‘‘Last year, I had to do a lot of racing by myself, so it made a big difference to be able to stay with a group.’’
The 37-year-old said that she ‘‘was done with Le Race’’ after ticking the cycling classic off her bucket list.
‘‘But never say never,’’ said McIlroy who finished more than two minutes ahead of Henrietta Christie and 13 minutes ahead of Julia Grant in third place.
2018 Commonwealth Games triathlon bronze medallist Andrea Hewitt finished sixth, more than 21 minutes behind McIlroy.
Both elite race winners picked up $500 cheques as well as a $500 bonus for beating the course record.
They were followed by a field of around 700 riders of all ages and abilities, including blind tandem rider Blair McConnell and riders on vintage bikes. Chris Ross and Sammie Walker won the men’s and women’s titles in the 53km Le Petite Race from Christchurch to Little River.