Nichols chasing record
RAY CAIRNS
7 RAY CAIRNS
New Zealand’s outstanding teen-age road cyclist, Mark Nichols, will make an ate tempt on a record pre-* viously the preserve of much older men. In less than .three weeks time. the 18-year-old national representative will attempt to break the 1 fl-year-old Christchurch to Dunedin record, which is held by the master of longdistance record rides, Ross Bush, at llhr 17min 15.55. Nichols’s target time will be in the region of 10hr 30min. “I think it is something well within my reach, even though it' is very early in the season, and I will be far fitter as the season goes on.” Nichols said.
The record attempt will be sponsored by Hertz, and considerable Ministry of Transport assistance will be required to get the young cyclist “out of town,” because the point-to-point records in New Zealand are established from Post Office to Post Office.
Also, because of the shorter daylight hours as winter draws in, Nichols will have g to start from Cathedral §
Square as early as 8 a.m., and is counting on arriving
in the Dunedin gloom about 6.30 p.m. on May 16, a Friday. Sponsorships will be sought along the way, he said, by his supporting team, and prospective sponsors will be offered the alternatives of “incentive” or “cond i t i o n a 1 ” sponsorships, depending on whether he breaks the record, by how much, and based on target arrival times at various points. One man to express great interest in Nichols’s intentions was Bush himself, i w 45 and the holder of the Cape Reinga to Bluff and Christchurch-Invercargill records, as well as that to Dunedin. Bush said that the various record-holders before him were also at or approaching the veteran class, and it was a daunting prospect for such a young rider to tackle the sometimes dreary, sometimes hilly haul to Dunedin. “But from what I’ve seen .'iid heard of this young fellow, his great strengths are his stamina and his heart, so) I like his chances. Bush also expressed inter- ) est in accompanying the at-1 tempt, as one of the official ) observers required to ensure) all is in nrriAr
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Press, 28 April 1980, Page 32
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363Nichols chasing record Press, 28 April 1980, Page 32
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