Rotorua Open

Sunday 8th April 2001

Jason Kelly

The Rotorua Open is raced over 80km in a handicap format i.e. first across the line wins, the time is not relevant. This year the race was held the day after the Rotorua - Taupo 100km Flyer with a small field. The field was so small that just one race was held instead of the planned separate races for the Open, Vets and Women.

Handicapping was a rough and ready approach which is about all that can realistically be expected without detailed knowledge of each and every rider. I started in a group of 7 riders which consisted of 5 Ramblers - myself, Gavin Povey, Michael Head, Scott Betteridge and Mathew Wilson, along with two other riders. Our group started 19 minutes behind the vets, 4 minutes in front of the bunch behind us and 8 minutes in front of the scratch group (which included other Ramblers’ members.)

The weather was fine and sunny with a temperature around 20°C and a light to medium southerly wind.

From the start line, Michael Head pushed the pace to see how strong the other two riders were. One responded in kind and the entire group stated to work together at a fast pace. Up the long hill towards the main highway, Michael Head and Mathew Wilson came off the back of the bunch. Nearing the top, the pace eased and Michael jumped back on but our bunch was down to six riders. Once on the main highway, with the aid of a tailwind, we raced along at a fast clip.

Turning left and into the head wind (onto the same road as used for the first part of the Rotorua - Taupo Flyer), we sighted the first rider in front of us and soon caught him. Our pace slowed up the gradual incline and as the wind strengthened. Soon enough, one of the other riders said they could see the chasing bunch. After about 1hr 20m, the chasing bunches caught us. It was obvious why as they had substantially more riders. Mathew Wilson had ridden up with the chasing bunches to catch us.

Naturally enough, the pace picked up immediately and a few hill climbs certainly stretched the legs. With about 15km to and climbing a steady incline at a solid pace, the riders in front of me dropped off the bunch. By the time I realised what had happened, I just couldn’t bridge the gap. Riding by myself, a couple of other riders caught me, but, up the next short rise, one was left long behind. Reaching the last big hill, I pushed my pace and managed to catch a few stragglers from the main bunch and almost caught Michael Head who had managed to bridge the gap I couldn’t. I crossed the finish line after 918m of vertical climbing a few minutes behind the front bunch somewhere near the back of the field.