The Saturday morning clouds burnt away to reveal a stunning day (albeit with a gentle breeze to dry the sweat from ones brow!) and with good numbers lining up, it promised to be an excellent day of racing!
Division 1 were the first off, with a strong field looking like they would carve out the 10km circuit quickly. With sprints each of the 5 laps, the pace was on each time riders approached the start / finish on Retreat Road, providing good entertainment for spectators.
An in-form Josh Haggerty proved to be the dominant rider of the day, taking Sprint 1 and also Sprint 4, while also placing in two of the other three sprints. Strong man Luke Macpherson was consistent enough to net 8 points and round out 2nd place, while an impressive display of leg speed by classy U17 rider Tom Sexton saw him collect 8 points to take 3rd place. Mike White was the strong finisher of the day, but needed one more lap to increase his points tally, and had to settle for 4th with 7 Points. Great racing lads!
In Division 2, it was Hayden Strong who was Mr Consistency, placing in all 5 sprints and to take the win with 17 Points. Stu MacDonald wasn’t too far behind with 14 Points, and a brilliant ride by 1st year U17 rider Sam Miller saw him take 3rd with 8 Points. Geoff van Dam rounded out the placings with 5 points to take 4th place. Really great to again see the U17 riders mixing it up and riding so well.
In Division 3, over 40km, a small handful of riders shared all the sprint points with Daryl Haggerty coming out on top, winning the last two sprints to round out his tally with 15 points. Jamie Wilson was 2nd on 12 points, with Max Anderson on 10 points in 3rd and Peter Leighton 4th with 5 points. Good positive racing team!
In Division 4, it was visiting U15 Ashburton rider Henry Smith who took the win, with an outstanding display of grit to stay away from the chasers over the 30km course, taking all the sprint points along the way. Ronan Ferugson took out 2nd place on 9 Points, and Hunter and Madeline Gough sprinted out each lap for 3rd and 4th, Hunter eventually prevailing to take 3rd place from Madeline in 4th.
It was a great day to sit outside in the sun at the Paddington Arms for the prize-giving and swap war stories afterwards.
Big thank you to Marshalls Fabian Wybrow, Mary Marshall, Jamie Cunningham, Wayne Murchland, STMS Lindsay Jones, the wonderful Robin Criglington and his excellent helper Danja Jamieson, and also to Brendan Akeroyd from Stonewood Homes, who opened up the beautiful Show Home for registrations. Much appreciated!!
Results:
Division 1
1 Josh Haggerty – 15 Points
2 Luke Macpherson – 8 Points
3 Tom Sexton – 8 Points
4 Mike White – 7 Points
Division 2
1 Hayden Strong – 17 Points
2 Stu MacDonald – 14 Points
3 Samuel Miller – 8 Points
4 Geoff van Dam – 5 Points
Division 3
1 Daryl Haggerty – 15 Points
2 Jamie Wilson – 12 Points
3 Max Anderson – 10 Points
4 Peter Leighton – 5 Points
Division 4
1 Henry Smith – 15 Points
2 Ronan Ferguson – 9 Points
3 Hunter Gough – 5 Points
4 Madeline Gough – 4 Points