Day Two of Southland Champs was a big day for the sprinters, with sprint qualifying and sprint rounds for all grades. On the menu for the endurance riders were Points Races and also a Scratch Race for the Masters Women, along with some Para-Cycling Pursuits.
With some excellent rides through sprint qualifying, the scoreboard toppers were Emma Cumming (U17 Girls) with 12.920, Hamish Beadle (U17 Boys) 11.766, Makayla Smith (U19 Women) 12.912, Nick Kergozou (U19 Men) 10.971, Steph McKenzie (Elite Women) 11.533, Jeremy Presbury (Elite Men ) 10.608. Into the sprint rounds, and spectators were treated to some excellent displays of skills and speed, as the final round competitors were decided.
Medals were eventually awarded to Emma Cumming (Gold), Aly Doherty (Silver), and Sheree Horne (Bronze) in the U17 Girls, with the U17 Boys Medals going to Hamish Beadle (Gold), Bradly Knipe (Silver) and Brayden Stephens (Bronze).
In the U19 Women, Makayla Smith pipped Bronwyn Graham in the race for Gold, with the U19 Men’s Gold taken out by a consistent Nick Kergozou, from Michael Culling, with Josh van den Arend taking the bronze.
The Elite Women’s sprint Gold was taken out by Steph McKenzie, with out of town riders Katie Schofield and Paige Paterson rounding out the competition. The Elite Men’s competition saw some phenomenal racing, with 3rd rides and relegations keeping things exciting. Tom Beadle ended up with the Gold medal from Jeremy Presbury in Silver and Karl Watson in Bronze.
The Para-Cycling Tandems provided an awesome spectacle, with the Japanese pairing setting the pace first up, with their time blown out of the water by both the Laura Fairweather/ Emma Foy pairing and the Kylie Young / Phillipa Gray pairing. The final showdown between the two saw Gray/Young come out on top, breaking the NZ record along the way. The Para-Cycling men also provided an awe-inspiring sight, with Japanese rider Masaki Fujita posing a smoking fast 3.45 for his 3km Individual Pursuit, with Stephen Hills also riding strongly with a 4.16.
The Masters Women lined up for their Scratch Race with the pressure on triple World Master’s Medallist Erin Criglington. She didn’t disappoint, taking out the Gold Medal in fine form, from fast finishing sisters Kylea Gough and Nicola Stevens. Sonya Barton was the winner of the Women’s Masters 2 Gold with Christine Jones with the Silver.
The Masters 1 Men’s Points race saw the continued domination of Mike White, who took the Gold Medal from a hugely improved and in-form Brendan Akeroyd, with Andrew Lienert in the Bronze Medal position.
Next up was the U15 riders in their Points Races. In the U15 Girls, it was visiting rider Jesse Banks who took the win, but Gold was awarded to the first Southland rider, which was Emily Paterson, with Lucy Dawkes in the Silver Medal position, and Madeline Gough with bronze.
The U15 Boys Points race went down to the wire, with Hamish Keast and Corbin Strong finishing on equal points, but with Keast taking the win courtesy of his last sprint win, leaving Strong with the silver, and a very consistent Taz O’Connell with the bronze.
In the U17 Girls race, a very strong Emma Cumming continued her dominant form with another win, and with visiting riders taking out the next spots, it was Kendall Kilpatrick who ended up with the Silver and Sheree Horne the Bronze. In the U17 Boys Race was a cracker, with Brayden Stephens taking out the Gold, from Hamish Beadle, and with Hayden Strong just pipping Bradly Knipe for the bronze in the last sprint.
The Elite and U19 Women Points Race saw in-form Canterbury rider Liz Steel again pipping the local riders, but with Sequoia Cooper in 2nd spot overall, she took the Gold Medal and the Southland Title, with Kirstie James 5th overall but with the Silver Medal. Makayla Smith had a stunning ride to finish 3rd overall and take the U19 Gold Medal from Laura Heywood and Bronwyn Graham.
The final race of the day was the Elite/U19 Men’s Points Race, which was full of action, Mathew Zenovich working hard to take a lap on the field, the extra 20 points giving him an unassailable lead, taking the Gold Medal from Josh Haggerty in Silver. The U19’s race within the race saw Nick Kergozou 2nd overall and taking the Gold Medal from a gutsy Anton O’Connell in Silver and Josh van den Arend in Bronze.
And that signalled the end of a long, but exciting day of racing!
