Our run of good weather thankfully continued into the weekend and a fine but breezy day greeted riders at Waianiwa, for the challenging Drummond, Isla Bank, Waianiwa Circuit.
Division 1 started quickly, but stayed together until the Drummond corner when the attacks began. There was some action on the Isla Bank hill which hurt some riders, but no attacks were successful and the bunch stayed mainly together until the last 8kms when there was a lot of gutter action. Four riders were left to sprint it out for the days spoils, with Josh Haggerty taking the win from Luke Macpherson, Patrick Jones and Brendan Akeroyd. The rest of the field finishing close behind, but in ones and twos. A hard day out!
In Division 2, Team Black rode aggressively sending riders off the front before counter attacking when these breakaway riders were caught. Alan Strong also featured strongly, showing good form. The bunch eventually broke up, and closer to the finish, two riders from the front group - Wayne Miller – fresh from a win at the Masters Games, and road racing new-comer Simon Callaghan, gapped what was left of the field, with Miller taking the win, Callaghan 2nd, and Alistair Burnett at the front of the main bunch just pipping Sequoia Cooper for 3rd spot. There were many pained faces amongst the finishers!
In Division 3, an early breakaway formed with Kirstie James, Grant Colbran, Craig Sadlier and Max Anderson, the quartet staying away for about 20km. Dave Simpson rode strongly in the chasing bunch and, eventually, the breakaway rejoined the rest of the field. Erin Criglington won the bunch sprint from Kirstie James, Daryl Haggerty and Grant Colburn.
Division 4 also had a tough day out over the challenging course, but it was Danielle Ralph who took the win with a gutsy performance, with Jack Cannon in 2nd and Kate Wilson and Mary Marshall 3rd equal. U15 rider Josh Miller rode over a shorter distance, joining in Division 3 closer to home and rode very well.
All up, it was an excellent day’s racing and there was a great vibe, with some suitably tired riders at the end of the day! A big thank you to our Marshalls Sam Kopae, Maree Haggerty, Taylor Holden and of course Lindsay Jones, who always does a great job with the Traffic Management.
Next weekend is the Gore to Waikiwi – another very old and prestigious classic. Please enter online before Friday so the handicaps can be sorted in plenty of time and, if you are not planning on racing, then some help with marshalling would be appreciated. Let’s hope the good weather continues!
Results:
Division 1
1 Josh Haggerty
2 Luke Macpherson
3 Patrick Jones
4 Brendan Akeroyd
Division 2
1 Wayne Miller
2 Simon Callaghan
3 Alistair Burnett
4 Sequoia Cooper
Division 3
1 Erin Criglington
2 Kirstie James
3 Daryl Haggerty
4 Grant Colbran
Division 4
1 Danielle Ralph
2 Jack Cannon|
3 = Mary Marshall and Kate Wilson