The school cycling team consisting
of Tom Hosford, Todd Burnard, Lewis Sheeran, Jenna Tidswell, Mitchell Couchman
and Nicholas Kelly competed in the Hawkes Bay School Cycling Championships over
the weekend of Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th June 2014.
The Saturday afternoon saw the
running of the Team Time Trial (TTT) event. As the team was mixed age and
gender, they rode in the under 20 age group which allows 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 strong
blustery south westerly. The 18km course runs out and back along Ohiti Road
which meant riders had to battle into the wind on the way out before turning
and racing back to the finish line with a tail wind. From the start line, the
team was led off by Tom Hosford and quickly set about riding into the
challenging wind. Time trial reserve Jenna Tidswell was only allowed to ride
the first 200m in case of mechanical failure of any of the other team members
but was not required to carry on. Using their team time trial skills practiced
under guidance of coach Jason Kelly, the riders worked well as a team to stay
together until the finish line and record a credible time of 33m 17s and earn a
bronze medal for third place. The gold medal was won by CHB College with a team
containing world class rider Regan Gough.
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| Team pre-race - Jenna, Mitchell, Lewis, Nicholas, Todd, Tom |
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| On the start line |
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| With Bronze medals for the TTT (Team Time Trial) |
The road race championships
were held on Sunday morning in crisp, sunny and light wind conditions. The
first race to start for the team was the combined under 16 and under 17 boys grade
which Nicholas Kelly and Mitchell Couchman raced in. They raced 29km around the
Ohiti Road block which contains a number of hills. A fast pace saw them fall
behind the leading riders but the pair stayed together to the finish line with
Nicholas finishing fifth in the under 16 grade while Mitchell won a silver
medal in the under 17 grade. Next off
were the under 15 grade which Lewis Sheeran and Jenna Tidswell competed in.
They raced over an out about and back course along Matapiro Road for a total
distance of 17km. In a small bunch sprint finish, Lewis took out the silver
medal in second place while Jenna finished close on his wheel to take the girls
gold medal.
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| Mitchell and Nicholas pre-race |
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| Gold medal - Jenna |
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| Silver medal - Lewis |
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| Silver medal - Mitchell |
Over the weekend, the team won
a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal. This was a great effort for
a small team and a well deserved reward for the training they had put into the
event.
Thanks must go to Peak Fitness
for allowing the team to train on the spin bikes when the weather was
unsuitable.
Some of the team members are
keen to try and improve on their efforts for next year's event so get cycling.
.JPG)
