C Grade Report that missed the press for the Ramblers Mag
The autumn series started with conditions that thankfully did not continue. A weather bomb had hit
and it was cold, wet with strong winds just for good measure. 25 riders in all turned up for the
shortened event, with C grade represented by four hardy souls battling for survival and line honours
with Gavin Bush piping Brett Hooker for the win.
March 10th had the grades split by age group for the Club Champs and providing good practice for
the Club Nationals to be raced in early May on the same courses.
Normal riding resumed on the 17th with a time trial on Maraetotora Road. With a warm afternoon
and favourable tail wind Stephen Snell blitzed the other 9 riders on the hilly 17km climb. His time,
34:19s, would have got 4th in B grade. 2nd place, Craig Hill, was nearly 3 minutes behind with the next
5 riders within a minute of each other a further minute back.
The weather was again kind for the next race, almost too kind, with temperatures up to 30c on the
67km Valley ‐ Raukawa circuit. The majority of the 15 starters stayed together on the 1st lap. 5 riders,
Stephen, Gavin, Craig, Trevor Ennor & Wayne Mote, made a break into the headwind early into the
second lap and working together managed to stay away until just after the Raukawa hall where they
were joined by Su Daniel & Allister Beets. The finish saw Stephen take 1st in a tight sprint from the
Yellow Jersey of Gavin with the next 4 crossing over the next 4s.
The end of March was celebrated with 2 laps of Tuki. Again the majority of the 11 starters managed
to stay together until the 2nd ascent of Coops hill despite several failed attempts to split the group on
Lawn Rd. Fouldsy rode hard into the brisk headwind on Raymond Rd as lead‐out while the pack
formed behind him. Stephen timed his ride perfectly to pip Craig on the line for 1st, Peter Weskett,
3rd, Su 4th. Stephen’s win was his 3rd in three weeks earning him promotion up to B grade.
April 7th saw a lucky 13 riders challenge the conditions and each other for Te Kura Rd honours. An
initially spirited outward leg didn’t drop many riders with the pack reforming after the big hill. The
damp road saw a few temper their descents but had to scamper to regain the comforts of the 8 man
pack. The sprint came midway into the last 500m with Allister crossing 1st ahead of Trevor and Su
with the next 4 no more than 2s behind.
Mid April was another practice on the Nationals course with 2 laps of Crownthorpe but with the
twist of being based at Pukehamoamoa School instead of Matapiro Hall. On the 1st lap Allister made
break on the hills on back side of the course which didn’t last too long before the group reassimilated
for the remainder of the lap. Any attempted breaks on the 2nd lap were swiftly closed
down. Gavin continued his new trend of the past few weeks of seeing what the race looks like from
the front. I, thinking the finish line was near the normal place for an Ohiti circuit, sprinted off, way
way too early, only to fade 100m out to be passed by the other 8 with Glen Yule ousting Gavin and
Lisa Atkins on the line (well I thought Gav needed the points).
21st April doubled as a practice for the Nationals Individual Time Trial in Waipawa. The second
smallest turnout for C grade, only beaten by the 1st race of the series with 4 riders, saw 5 embrace
the course on a beautiful 16 deg day. Overall honours going to Craig over Su then Gavin, who was
almost beaten by Dean Gough in his 1st race of the series, with Allister making sure we had all
finished safely coming in as sweep.
The end of April saw our biggest turnout, 23 starters including a couple of B graders there to test
their legs (Mike Garrity, & Captain Hillary), for the Swamp – Dump circuit. The weather threatened
to spoil the day with a cool shower just before the starter’s gun but desisted during the race. The
peloton stayed together until an attempted break by Craig & Su which was shut down smartly
followed by a determined break by Phoebe Treseder before the end of Springfield Rd. Pheobe
wasn’t caught till just before the Tavern and the pack, still 22 strong, reorganised ready for the uphill
sprint finish. A break down the left by Brett Hooker caught a few at the front by surprise and secured
his 1st win of the series over John Price and Stephen Salkeld who had the same finish time. The other
placing’s being well challenged for as well with 4th to 13th only separated by 4s.
The second interlude to the series was on May 5th with it being the 2nd day of the Road Races for the
Club Nationals at Crownthorpe. A big thank you to all the organisers, volunteers, spectators,
sponsors and competitors, well done all.
May 12th bought with it the challenge of a Criterium, a short 800m course with 4 left hand corners
and sprints for points every 5 minutes. The start saw Pheobe and Allister get a good break on the
other 7 only to be reeled in before the 1st sprint. Brett made a break immediately after the sprint
and stayed away to collect top points for the 2nd sprint with Gavin and David Barclay securing good
points throughout the event. Overall Phoebe cleaned up with wins in the last 3 sprints over David
and Gavin.
The penultimate race of the series had the added challenge of Whakapirau for riders to negotiate.
The pace went on from the start into a brisk headwind but most of the 15 starters only being split up
on the ascent of Whakapirau. Allister, Phoebe and Brett climbed away and made a 1 min break by
Torrens. The chasing bunch of Craig, Gavin, David McCullum, Fouldsy and Peter pursued in vein and
were spurred on by the sight of Brett, alone, after being dropped with 5k to go. Allister with more
power and higher gears took 1st over Phoebe, Brett 3rd 50s back then another minute until the 1st of
the chasing bunch crossed.
26th May – Camp David. This story has yet to unfold as the publishing deadline has won, but a tight
contest at the top of the table has Gavin 3 points clear of Craig with Su comfortably in 3rd.
