The beautiful weather made for some great racing over the weekend!
And we made the most of it too, with the Southland Time Trial Champs on Saturday and the Southport Bluff Hill Climb and Criterium (the last in our Summer Criterium Series) on Sunday.
Some Senior riders took advantage of the sunny day and rode to Bluff before the Hill Climb � a good warm up is required for Bluff - the mother of all hills, that's for sure!�
Winner of A Grade and the Southport Trophy, continuing his unbeaten record of ascending of Bluff Hill, was Marcel Baird in a time of 7.09. �Well done Marcel! �In 2nd and 3rd behind him were Brad Tuhi and Matt Zenovich.
In B Grade, Ricky Griffin took the honours in 7.43 from Alistair Burnett and Andrew Leinert.
In the C Grade and Div 1 & 2 Junior Race, the U15 boys flew up the hill in a time of 8.35, in a blanket finish across the line in an order that was to be the theme of the day � Hamish Beadle, Hayden Strong and Tom Sexton.�
The Junior Div 3 race was won by Ryan Shields in 10.03, followed by his sister Nicole Shields and Corbin Strong. �Great effort by these wee girls and guys to make it up that hill!!
We had a lunch break following the climb, where some of us took advantage of the fantastic Mountain Bike Trails that Bluff is becoming famous for, then geared up for the afternoon Criterium around Argyle Park.
The Div 3 Juniors lined up first for a short, sharp burst around the challenging course, with Corbin Strong taking the honours from Ryan Shields and Taz O�Connell.
The C Grade and Div 1 & 2 Junior Grade was a repeat of the morning results with Hamish Beadle, Hayden Strong and Tom Sexton taking out 1st, 2nd and 3rd. �However, there was a race within the race for the Senior Summer Criterium Points Series, and Daryl Haggerty the 2nd Senior home behind Neil Sutherland, he safely secured his lead in the series and is the C Grade Series Winner. �The awesome Jerseys we have had designed for the series (and the Winter Points Series) will be presented at the prizegiving dinner on May 17.
The B Grade Race was also taken out by Ricky Griffin who broke away with Vaughan Edie part way through the race, the two of them staying away to take out 1st and 2nd. �Wayne Miller won the bunch sprint for 3rd, with Neil Familton staying out of trouble and away from any threats to his lead to take out the B Grade Criterium Series.
The A Grade Race was hard and fast with Aussie visitor Sean Finning taking the honours from his break away companions Brad Tuhi and Matt Zenovich. Josh Haggerty � although away for the weekend with other cycling commitments, had enough of a lead from the first two races in the series to take out the A Grade Series win, keeping it a family affair for the Haggertys!
A big thank you to Southport for sponsoring the race and allowing us to award some prize money for the effort put in! And we had a great afternoon tea with the Prize-giving at the Anchorage. �Thanks Bruce Jones for continuing to organise this sponsor for the race.
MASSIVELY HUGE THANK YOU to the Rockstar that is Waine Harding. �We wouldn�t have club racing without this man! Also a massive thank you to Robin Criglington � who gives up most of his weekends to help out and this one was no different. �Big thank you to Aaron Sinclair and Janine for all their work Managing the racing on Sunday, Lindsay our trusty STMS, and to all the Marshalls and other helpers. �THANK YOU from us all!!!
Southport Bluff Hill Climb Results
A Grade
1 � � � �Marcel Baird 7.09
2 � � � �Brad Tuhi 7.24
3 � � � �Matt Zenovich 7.28�
B Grade
1 � � � � Ricky Griffin 7.43
2 � � � � Alistair Burnett 8.13
3 � � � � Andrew Lienert 8.19
C Grade and Div 1 & 2 Junior
1 � � � � Hamish Beadle 8.35
2 � � � � Hayden Strong 8.35
3 � � � � 3 Tom Sexton 8.35�
Junior Div 3
1 � � � � Ryan Shields 10.03
2 � � � � Nicole Shields 10.26
3 � � � � Corbin Strong 14.57
Summer Series Bluff Criterium Results
Junior Div 3
1 � � � � Corbin Strong
2 � � � � Ryan Shields
3 � � � � Taz O�Connell
C Grade and Junior Div 2 & 3
1 � � � � Hamish Beadle
2 � � � � Hayden Strong
3 � � � � Tom Sexton
B Grade
1 � � � � Ricky Griffin
2 � � � � Vaughan Edie
3 � � � � Wayne Miller
A Grade
1 � � � � Sean Finning
2 � � � � Brad Tuhi
3 � � � � Matt Zenovich�