Attractive opening to Canty cycling season

Press, 7 June 1980, Page 16

Attractive opening to Canty cycling season

By

RAY CAIRNS

Though the present amateur cycling season got under way in April, and there have been a couple of inter-club races in that time, Canterbury’s road-men only get together today for the'first time. The event is the DB Harbour race, a mere 52km perhaps but. nonetheless one of the most interesting events of the Canterbury programme with its continual climbing and descending round the attractive harbour road. It has been a pity of this event in the last couple of years that limit riders, or virtual front-markers, have won; not that that is necessarily a pity, but they have never been challenged. Accordingly, the handicaps have been tightened considerably for today’s race, and the bunches are rather larger than usual: 10 or 11 on most, and nine on scratch. This thus brings the top riders of the province together for the first time, though history suggests they will not be together at the finish. Last year, only Mark Nichols (who got

fastest time for the first time in an open) and Toni Horne survived; when Blair Stockwell. Set his record the previous year, he finished alone. Stockwell and Nichols are there again, and both have had relatively limited seasons; not that that will necessarily mean much to riders of their quality. But it could well enable the accomplished young Brian Fowler to be a major challenger.

There will be considerable interest, too, in the return to top-class open competition of Dave Hewson, no spring chicken now but long one of Canterbury’s most popular and respected riders. The others on the back mark are the consistent back-markers, Chris Hogan, Peter Lewis and John Degarnham, and after the recent national recognition of the new Velo Carpet

Market Club, its first representatives on the prestige mark are the well-per-formed Paul Flattery' and Bruce Brunton. There is no outstanding contender for line honours . from the riders further out on the marks, though the 16min bunch includes some junior and some of rather greater experience who would need only a better-than-average day to be the first to McCormacks Bay.

They include two first-

year juniors, Vaughan Harvey and Nicholas Wolsey, and Craig Adair, even if the latter is alsomaking a belated start to the'season. Otherwise, the • 'most likely bunch to produce a winner is the flmin group, which ’ includes last year’s winner, Andrew ■; Fraser, and William' Rastrick, Murray Steele, Mark Childs, Tony Strang and, in a come-back in his brief career, Thaddeus Julian.