Hills cycling race a front-markers’ treat

Press, 29 May 1978, Page 22

Hills cycling race a front-markers’ treat

R.

RAY CAIRNS

Unusually fast conditions, due imaxi..-- a orisk tailwhiid, and the too-iong handicaps, made the I open hills 60km handicap cycling !race on Saturday a treat for the front markers. ; Brent Kircher, last year the ilast of the handicapped riders i to be caught bv the back-markers !this time finished half a minute clear of his co-marker. Lewis Benschop. But there was a little good ! fortune in Kircher's shedding :himself of Benschop in tne final I kilometres. Espying a gathering ; on tlie road ahead of him. around :Tai Tapu, Benschop made his big I finishing effort. I But the crowd was instead gathered round the scene of an ! accident and Kircher, “led out” las he was so well by Benschop, seized his chance and left his : wearied partner of the previous 50km. For the scratch markers, and particularly the best of them, I Biair Stockwell, there was little i joy and no return as, as usual iin this race, there were place ' prizes only. Stockwell left the rest of the i scratch bunch .early, on the de- ! scent of Evans Pass, going into i Lyttelton, and he caught the best : of the break riders—Bruce Brunton.. Paul Flattery and Mark Nichols—at Allandale. o r ‘v Jim Pvder and Greg Tump, of the riders from near t; e uacK marks, featured in the placings at all.

Kircher started from 22min. but had he only had 14miu. this would have been sufficient to hold off Stockwell. At Rangiora yesterday morning. handicapping was also a feature in the two open novice races, only because of the closeness of the finishes. Thaddeus Julian won a close finish from Stephen Batchelor and a fastfinishing Glen Fuller in a big bunch sprint. However, Craig Adair won fastest time more clearly. Craig Nichols, the sole scratch rider in the B grade, also won fastest time by a clear margin. Abbreviations used in the results are Hornby (H), Papanui IP). Woolston (W), Timaru (T). Open hills handicap. 69km.—B. Kircher (H, 22min) 1, L. Benschop (P, 22min) 2, C. Wilmot (P. 29min) 3, G. Tutty (H. 29mln) 4. M. Morgan (W. 25min) 5, B. C. Salisbury (W, 17min> 6, J. I. Rvder 1. 7min) 7. G. Tumo >P. 7min) 8. T. C. Gibbs <P. 14min) 9. R. Koster (W, 17min) 10. Time: 1:49.3. Fastest time.—B. G. Stockwell (P. scr), 1:35:17.5. 1: B. W. Stennjng (P. scr), 1:37:55. 2; T. R. Horne iP, scr), 1:37:55.5, 3, The Rangiora races resulted: A grade 32km.—T. Julian HJmin) 1, S. Batchelor (IJmin; 2, G. Fuller (IJmin) 3, W. Rastrick <2lmin) 4. B. Bargot Ulmin) 5, G C. Shepherd (IJmin) 6. Fastest time: C. Adair (scr). 50:10, 1; K. G. Bishop (scr), 50:11. 2; L. Ryder (scr), 50:12, 3.

B grade 16km.—P. Clare <2min) 1. S. Horne (3min) 2, J. Powell (smin) 3, S. Vincent (tmiii) 4, S. Redmond (3min> 5, C. White (4min) 6. Fastest time: C. P. Nichols (scr). 27:45, 1; M. Andrew (Jmin), 28:15.5, 2; I. Stanicich (Jmin). 28:16, 3.