Well, what a weekend for the 10th Anniversary of the Yahoo Challenge. The weather certainly changed the week prior to the event bringing snow and heavy rain to most parts of Canterbury, apart from the race venue! Amazingly the venue received little, only making the track mostly damp. Race day turned out with a -2 degree start, but once the sun came out it surely warmed up to a more comfortable temperature for the duration of the event.
The new course for 2008 was a tough one and that certainly showed as riders crossed the finish line looking absolutely stuffed or in cycling terms ‘blown’. With the addition of a new piece of single track, the extension of another, and not to mention all the already tough terrain on the course we certainly knew the track would be a tuff ride. Then adding some rain to this, made some of the new uphill sections of the single track un-ridable due to the lack of traction. The feedback from the new track on the day was great, all riders saying as they crossed the finish line ‘awesome track!’ I even got a hug from Ross MuCulloch who told me ‘That’s the best track I have ever ridden’, thanks Ross.
Outstanding performances to all who completed the event, even to all expert riders who choose to only complete a single lap. The site of the ‘Next Lap’ sign must have been a little bit hard to swallow for some. With each lap climbing a total ascent of nearly 500 meters times for the new track where certainly longer, adding between 20 and 40 minutes per lap.
Fastest times and trophies went to Brendon Sharratt ‘Advanced Male’ 2:51:28 and Karen Collins ‘Advanced Female’ 3:56:19 for 3 Laps. Anton Cooper ‘Expert Mens’ 2:07:47 and Rebecca Rae ‘Expert Female’ 2:47:53 for 2 Laps. Ashley Stapleton ‘Intermediate Mens’ 1:25:00 and Kristie Forgarty ‘Intermediate Female’ 1:48:04 for 1 Lap. Standout performances of the day went to the youngest rider, Ben Oliver at 11 years old completing a single lap in 1:55:07 and Matt Junge you managed to snap his Keewee frame and had to walk back to the finish line.
Again thanks to all competitors for their support over the years, espically Allister Davies who has competed in every Yahoo Challenge since the first event in 1998, by the look on Allister’s face crossing the finish line in 4:04:20 for 2 Laps, and asking where the guy was who designed the track, it may be his last, “I’m sure you enjoyed it Allister”.
Special thanks to The Hurunui walking track, the event course uses a lot of their walking track now and without their support the race certainly wouldn’t be possible. Again for those who enjoyed the area and would like to know more about tramping through the area, check out www.walkingtrack.co.nz.
To all other sponsors, Mill Orchard, Pushbikes and the staff that gave their time up to help out, ABW Electrical, Maxxis Tyres, and Peak Fuel. Also big thanks to North Canterbury Cycling for supplying the marshals. :)
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