Title sought by 13

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 25

Title sought by 13

A full attendance of Christchurch state secondary schools will be recorded when Cashmere High School this afternoon takes part in the Canterbury schools’ team time trial cycling championship at Lower Styx Road. The 12-year-old championship for the Litolff Cup has attracted 13 entries, not quite as high as some previous years, with some distinctive features. The entry of Cashmere for the first time is one, but even more notable is the effort of Timaru Boys’ High School in travelling the greatest distance to take part for the first time. Also, Manning Intermediate will participate in the 16km team time trial championship for the first time; it is the second nonsecondary school to have competed, Heaton Intermeidate doing so in 1971. This year’s contest is also likely to produce the closest competition, though the record set by Christchurch Boys’ High School last year is not likely to be threatened. That school, Riccarton and Shirley, three with sound records in the event, will be joined by Ashburton College as the major contenders.

Christchurch has Greg Shepherd and William Rastrick as survivors of last year’s team, and lan Cooper and Craig Nichols

are two very wellperformed novices joining them. Riccarton has one of the most even of teams with Vaughan Harvey, Paul Clare. Graham Schist, Malcolm Robertson and Jamie Nisbet, and it has regularly been in or near the placings. Shirley also has three from around the novice back marks in Glen and Grant Fuller and Nicholas Wolsley; the others are Michael Andrew and Thaddeus Julian, the latter a talented cyclist even if he is not racing regularly at present. Hornby, fourth last year, has the appearance of a team for the future. Similarly, Rangiora has a strong top pair in Gavin Visser and Ivan Stanicich, who will probably be called on to do the lion’s share of the work. Though its riders are usually competing in comparitive obscurity, away from comparison with their Christchurch counterparts, Ashburton invariably provides a worthy team. Timaru will probably be lacking sufficient experience. though it has a sound top rider in Graham Wilkins, while Kevin Bishop’s Burnside team similarly may be short on speed, that team, interestingly, includes the Norwegian exchange student, Mikko Pelkonen.