Canterbury boys and juniors victorious

Press, 1 October 1979, Page 29

Canterbury boys and juniors victorious

From

RAY CAIRNS

Victory finally came to the Canterbury road cycling team at the national championships at Auckland and a double dose it was too, with the boys and juniors both victorious. However, the team time-trial efforts came too late for it to retain the symbol of over-all supremacy. The juniors turned in a good performance in the dying stages. Always trailing Wellington, the squad of Mark Nichols. Brian Fowler. Brent Kircher and Shane Smith entered the final third of the race (a little under 14km) still 30s in arrears. But with Nichols taking big, strong laps. Kircher re-

.covered after he had seemed 'likely to give it away after oia couple of sacrifice laps in g i the first third, and with the i-1 other two working assiajduously, that half-minute hi deficit was turned into a hl minute victory. ei The Canterbury B team e did well too. John Hughes, e Peter McEwen, Tony Fuller -;and Martin Sanders — the | two former the strongmen a | — filled fourth. e| The boys’ team always gjhad the 20km event well in 'f| control. They steadily built a .[modest lead over Wellington e)and Waikato, and stretched d I that out to nearly 40s by the r'finish. That advantage was lover West Coast-North Isg I land, which held together as the rest folded in the final

d|skm. The Canterbury team r was Peter Turnbull, Vaugn han. Harvey, Mark Childs, e! Paul Clare and Glen Fuller, i-l The senior team went e | down for the first time since a' 1967 in the 100 km event. i They were not helped by n j misdirection which took s. [them a minute off the t course. But in the end, Blair e Stockwell, Paul Flattery, n Toni Horne and Chris Hogan, the latter dropped s with 40km to ride, were just n over 6min slower than a Auckland A, also down to n three men. d Waikato took the Points e Shield with 30 points, three clear of Auckland. Canter,s bury had 18 points and Welti lington 10.