Jason's Cycling Stories: 2015 Hawkes Bay School Cycling Championships

The Hawkes Bay School Cycling Championships were held over the weekend of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June 2015. The school was represented by Todd Burnard, Mitchell Couchman, Nicholas Kelly, Lewis Sheeran, Jono Williams and Jenna Tidswell.

The Saturday afternoon saw the running of the Team Time Trial (TTT) event. As the team was mixed age, they rode in the under 20 age group which allowed five riders to complete the event. In this race, all team members work together as they race against the clock to record the fastest time with the team time taken from the fourth rider across the line. Conditions were fine and sunny with a dying southerly wind. The 18km course runs out and back along Ohiti Road which meant riders had to push into the wind on the way out before turning and racing back to the finish line with little assistance. From the start line, the team was led off by Jono Williams and quickly set about using their team time trial skills practiced under the guidance of coach Jason Kelly during school lunchtimes. The riders worked well as a team to stay together until the finish line and recorded a solid time of 30m 44s (35.1km/h) and earn a silver medal for second place. This was an improvement over the bronze medal they won last year with a time of 33m 17s. With more dedication to team training, they can look to vie for the gold medal next year.

Team briefing pre-start

Racing in Ohiti Road

Finish line

Medal Ceremony - Silver medals (L-R, Todd, Jono. Nicholas, Lewis, Mitchell)

The road race championships were held on Sunday afternoon in sunny and mild conditions with a variable westerly wind. The first race to start for the team was the combined under 17 boys grade which Nicholas Kelly raced in. They raced 62.5km around five laps of the Crystall Road - Mutiny Road block which is basically flat. A steady pace saw them catch and pass the under 20 group before a slow last lap saw them fall well behind the under 20 riders. In a bunch sprint to the finish line, Nicholas timed his run well to secure first place and the gold medal. Next off were the under 16 grade which Lewis Sheeran and Jenna Tidswell competed in. They raced four laps of the same course for a total distance of 50km. In another bunch sprint finish, Lewis took out the silver medal in second place while Jenna finished in the bunch to take the girls gold medal. In the under 15 grade, raced over 37.5km (three laps) of the same course, Jono Williams won the sprint in a tight finish by less than one second to earn the gold medal.

Over the weekend, the team won three gold medals and two silver medals which was a pleasing result and deserved rewards for the training they had put into the event.