The final event in the Summer of Cycling series the Hot cycles Seaview Classic took place on the Auckland waterfront at Vellenoweth Green park in St Heliers May 23rd. The final fun ride event was a series of criterium events that gave riders of all abilities the chance to take part in some fast racing on a fantastic circuit.
The first race off was the citizens race. This race looked like a leisurely bunch ride until the race announcer rung the bell for the first prime (prize), which brought about a rapid acceleration. Ketzal Sterling rode away with the win (and both $50 primes) followed by Warwick Spedding, Greig Young and Robert Chan.
The Vets race was won by Benny Van de Griend (who cleaned up the primes every time the bell rang), and simply rode away from his fellow competitors with two laps to go. It was also good to see NZ National Cycling Selector, Brian Broad, getting out amongst it.
In the women’s event Toni Bradshaw enlivened the event early, attacking on the first lap. She was soon joined by Olympic hopeful, Melissa Holt. Holt attacked Bradshaw to take the first prime and kept going. Bradshaw was determined to make Holt, a former NZ time trial champion, work to stay out front and never let the gap grow past 15 seconds.
Behind them a group of three, including Lisa Haynes, Amy Mason and Liz Williams, was chasing hard. Williams soon found the pace too much, which left Mason and Haynes chasing for third. Holt held her lead to the line with Lisa Haines winning the battle for third.
The School boys and girls raced in between the Women’s and Men’s events but their race was unfortunately marred by a nasty crash requiring the involvement of the St Johns team. The race was restarted and Myron Simpson attacked repeatedly finally soloing away to victory. The sprint for second come down to a photo video finish with Daniel Ludam timing his bike throw to perfection beating Chris Quirk by 3 tyre widths.
The Mens/womens A/B grade event contained the top three riders overall in the Summer of Cycling Triple Crown Series – Paul Sumich, Craig Pitt and Aaron Strong.
It was Pitt and Strong who made the early running, attacking and riding off the front together. Behind the bunch was strung out at 45+ kph while the gap was widening, with another Olympic aspirant, Scott Guyton, leading the chase. However, the break came unstuck when Craig Pitt became the third victim of the corner at the end of the homestraight. A clipped pedal threw him into the barriers and out of the race. Pitt fell heavily on his hip and was taken away in the ambulance but didnt brake anything.
When the race resumed it was Sam Bewley lighting it up. The constant pace, attacks and sprint primes soon took its toll on the field. A split inevitably occured containing Aaron Strong, who had been spending most of the race on the front trying to ride the rest of the field off his wheel.
He was joined by Scott Guyton, Ric Reid, Mike Northey, Paul Bishop, Adam Coker and Matt Haydock. Series leader, Sumich, missed the split and was left to chase. Coming into the final sprint it was a fantastic contest between Adam Coker and Scott Guyton, with Coker taking the honours showing everyone why he is one of the fastest road sprinters around at the moment (must be that BMX racing). Arron Strong took third place ahead of Ric Reid and Paul Bishop.
Story and photos by Kieran Turner (Thanks kieran :)( morephotos to come)
Thanks to all the competitors we had a fantastic day of racing with over 70 riders. Thanks also for supporting the Eastern Bays Hospice Trust that does valuable work amongst the residents of St Heliers.
Also a special thanks to our sponsors
Hot Cycles,
Leppin,
PRV
Rudy project.
If your wondering, both Sam Weston (Whangarei junior) and Craig Pitt (Hot cycles) are both safely at home now without any serious injuries after crashing while both riding at the front of there respective races. We wish them and their bruises a speedy recovery.
Hot cycles “Seaview Classic”. May 23rd 2004.
Results:
Citizen race:
1.Ketzal Sterling
2.Warwick Spedding
3.Greig Young
Masters race:
1.Benny van der Griend
2.Russell Scott
3.Ben Ellis
Womens race:
1.Mellisa Holt
2.Toni Bradshaw (Hot cycles)
3.Lisa Haynes (Hot cycles)
Juniors race:
1.Myron Simpson (Hot cycles)
2.Daniel Ludlam
3.Chris Quirk
A/B elite race:
1.Adam Coker (Hot cycles)
2.Scott Guyton (Kiwi velo)
3.Aaron Strong (Hot cycles)
4.Rick Reid (Prv)
5.Paul Bishop (Hot cycles)
First Women
Lisa Haynes (Hot cycles)
2004 Triple Crown (Final results)
1.Paul Sumich
2.Aaron Strong
3.Blair Brydon
4.Richard Speer
5.Paul Bishop
6.Lisa Haynes
Thanks for supporting
Eastern Bays Hospice Trust