History-making wins highlight weekend racing
Wrap of the ILT New Year Track Carnival and the Ascot Park Hotel New Year Criterium.
By Eugene Bonthuys
There was some great racing on track and road over the weekend as Cycling Southland hosted the ILT New Year Track Carnival and the Ascot Park Hotel New Year Criterium.
Held over two days, the ILT New Year Track Carnival featured racing from under 13s up to the open A grade riders.
Marshall Erwood and Finn Edwards both made history as they became the first repeat winners of the senior and junior wheel races that closed out the racing on the final day of the carnival.
The events are run in a handicap format, with the fastest riders starting at the back of the field.
Erwood started on scratch with Magnus Jamieson, who did a lot of work to help Erwood close the gap to the front of the field. Conrad Clark had launched an early bid for glory, hitting the front of the race with a couple of laps still to go, but started to fade towards the end as Erwood scythed through the field, hitting the front at just the right time and crossing the line to become the first back-to-back winner of the Cycling Southland wheel race trophy.
Liam Ramsey finished in second, while Clark held on for third. With some of the notable names of New Zealand cycling having taken the trophy in the past, Erwood’s remarkable double bodes well for the future of this young rider.
In the junior wheel race for the OJ Henderson Memorial Trophy, Finn Edwards looked like the rider to beat from the start, and wasted no time making his way to the front of the race to take a comfortable win, ahead of Jono Blyth in second, with Lachlan Kelly in third.
Day one of the carnival featured 515m races, scratch races, and an invitational Keirin race for men and women, as well as an invitational moto scratch race, with all three these races seeing riders paced around the track by a motorbike before being left on their own to sprint it out for the win.
In the main races of the night, Geertien Venter claimed the women’s invitational Keirin in a great display of patient and powerful riding, while Magnus Jamieson displayed his tactical acumen and pure speed to leave the rest of the field in his wake in the men’s invitational Keirin.
Erwood took out the invitational moto scratch race that closed out the night, biding his time as other riders attacked in the final couple of laps.
In the earlier races, Jamie Russell made a clean sweep of it in the under 13 division, as did Finn Edwards in the under 17 boys and Emily Forsyth in under 17 girls, while the spoils were shared between Sean Threadgall and Oliver Keast in under 15.
Erin Criglington and Ruth Whelan shared the honours in C grade, Caitlin Kelly and Meg Baker split the wins in B grade, while Magnus Jamieson continued his winning ways by claiming all the races in A grade, the day after winning the Stonewood Homes Gore to Invercargill Classic.
Day two saw some more classic racing culminating in the junior and senior wheel races. Russell again dominated the under 13 division, Keast winning all his races in the under 15 division, and Edwards and Forsyth doing the same in the under 17 boys and girls divisions respectively. Charlotte Paddon cleaned up in C grade, while in B grade the honours were shared between Neil Familton and Meg Baker, with Erwood and Jamieson sharing honours in A grade.
A great weekend of racing was brought to a close on Sunday with the Ascot Park Hotel New Year Criterium races.
The racing was contested on a circuit through the park-like grounds of the Ascot Park Hotel, with spectators making themselves comfortable in the shade of the trees as the riders battled it out on a hot and sunny day.
Familiar names came to the for once again, as Russell claimed the under 13 division, racing well to stay in contact with the under 15 riders he started alongside. Oliver Keast claimed the boys race ahead of Sean Threadgall and Oskar McIvor, while Lily Keast claimed the under 15 girls title.
In the under 17 boys race, Edwards claimed the win in front of a hard-working Ben Wyatt, with Jono Blyth in third. Kyra Marrett won the girls race, ahead of Poppy McIvor, with Eliana Beale in third.
The C grade race saw Stephen Threadgall claim the win in the sprint, followed by Andrew Lienert and Nigel Forrester.
B grade produced what could be considered the race of the day, as Andy Beale broke away solo early in the race and managed to lap the entire field. Brendan Akeroyd broke away from the front of the field, becoming the last rider to be lapped by Beale, who had picked up Liam Ramsey on his way through the remnants of the field.
The three rode together for a bit before Beale again set off, taking the win solo ahead of Akeroyd in second, with Ramsey in third.
The final race of the day was the A grade race, with a small but quality field taking to the circuit. A blazing fast start by defending champion Hunter Gough threatened to rip the field to shreds from the gun, but after a couple of laps things settled down.
However, Gough made good on his earlier threats when more attacks in the final laps broke up the field even more, and although it came back together somewhat before the final sprint, there was no denying Gough the win as he sprinted across the line in first place, ahead of Erwood in second, with Eli Tregidga in third.