Crowded, and open, Canterbury track cycling championships

Press, 11 February 1981, Page 22

Crowded, and open, Canterbury track cycling championships

By

RAY CAIRNS

Rarely, if before, has a Canterbury amateur track cycling championship meeting been quite as open as is the 1981 title series, which is at Denton Park this week-end. Ray Knight will not be defending his senior sprint championship — although he announced his intention of riding professionally, Knight has not appeared competitively this season — and Blair Stockwell, who won the individual pursuit on the 11 occasions he rode it in the last 12 years, has retired from track racing. Another complication, which makes the senior sprint so very open, is that Jacob Schriek, who started racing recently with his eye only on Papanui’s club championship, is not persuaded he is racing well enough to do justice to his sprint reputation and past performances. In a very short time, Schriek has shown championship potential. There are others not defending their titles. Mark Nichols, though apparently recovering from his knee injuries, does also not consider

himself in the right stage of fitness to contest the junior individual pursuit: and Vaughan Harvey, now a junior, can not defend the boys’ 4000 m title. Already the time trial championships have changed hands. Michael Hazeldine reversed last year’s boys’ 500 m event by easily heading lan Cooper, only third, after his late start to the season; and Murray Steele, the best junior last season* also proved the best of all this season. The senior events are the most difficult to forecast, but in both sprint and individual record, arid in those two events, his major opposition includes Tony Duder, Tony Strang and Paul Flatten'. The other main contenders for the pursuit are Wayne Howes and Schriek.

The challenges appear

greater in the sprints, for Peter Lewis and Brent Kircher, and Kelvin and Ivan Steele all appeal to varying degrees. ■

A similar situation exists in the junior sprints. Murray Steele, Tony Fuller, Shane Smith, Craig Adair, William Rastrick, Harvey, Paul Clare and Brian Fowler all have worthy credentials, even if Steele is a logical favourite. '■ Fuller could well present the strongest challenge, just as he surprised last season, "for he is in very sharp form at present. Smith, not least because he has given away the individual pursuit, also holds appeal, and Adair . and ■ Ras tdck will not be far away. The talented Fowler was run-ner-up in both the individual pursuit and. sprint championships last year ■— indeed, he has still to win a Canterbury track title — and his heavy work-load may count against him again. Murray Steele also faces a big programme, for he is keen on individual pursuits this season, and his background racing in preparation for the New Zealand Games should reap him many rewards at these championships. The worthy young . .Clare, enjoying a fine season of performance if not in results, should also acquit himself well in the pursuits.

There will be one of' the intermittent tandem championships during the week-end. with Kelvin Steele and Reid lined up against Schriek and Rastrick; while there is a sim-ilarly-small entry for the veteran events. Gordon Dt’J'f will be defending his 45Um and 4000 m titles against the same challengers as last year, Basil Ensor, Geoff Tutty and Les Fibbins.

The junior boys’ 400 m and 1600 m championships have the same-sized fields, Dean Harvey attempting his road performance of retaining his titles. Richard Bruce, Phillip Gibbs and Darrel Kircher are his opposition, “with Shane Hendren electing to ride in the senior events. There, Hazeldine has the right combination of ,a season-long build-up and current form to,, make the

favourite for all of the 450 m, 2000 m and 4000 m titles. Cooper has left his run perilously late, but has the natural ability to do well in the 450 m, at least. The other leading contenders are Craig Nichols, particularly over the greater distances, Malcolm Robertson and Jamie Nisbett.

Between them, these riders provide the strengths of the Italian pursuit teams, Nichols, Cooper, and ' Hazeldine being joined by one of Dean Lovett, Peter Coates and Stephen Alexander in the Mairehau team; and the Hornby side coming from Nisbett, Robertson, Harvey, Bruce, Hendren and Brian McManus.

A hew event bn the programme this year is the 1600 m individual pursuit, and Hazeldine, Nichols

and Nisbett probably stand a little ahfead of’ the rest in favouritism for the inaugural championship. Finally, there is the open team -pursuit, long an event in which Canterbury has produced champions. It looks like being a close-run thing, too, with some very even teams. Papanui has to choose from Schriek and five juniors: Adair, Smith, Fuller, Rastrick and Peter Turnbull; while Woolston must drop one of Duder, Reid, Lewis, Strang and Fowler.

Velo-Carpet Market has a fine look to it, too. with Murray Steele, Flattery, Kircher and Vaughan Harvey; Timaru. always consistent in team pursuits, has Wayne and Graeme Howes, Warren Meggitt and Graham Wilkins; and Hornby will be represented from Clare, Hugh Walton. Mark Childs, Kelvin Steele and Stephen Bennett.

The established pattern is being followed in the programming of the meeting. The senior and junior individual pursuit qualifying and quarter-final rounds will be Saturday morning, starting at 9.30 a.m., the afternoon racing is mainly sprints and boys’ events, as well as the qualifying round of the team pursuit. The Sunday afternoon programme, like Saturday, starting at 1.30, mainly disposes of semi-finals, and there will be a full night of finals on Sunday. Though that now starts at

7 p.m.. it is bound to be a protracted session — plenty for the spectators but hard on the competitors. . It has been proven, on more occasions than bear repeating, that individuals .can suffer because of the worthiness of their teams; a full effort for a pursuit team can result in a substandard performance in the junior 8000 m and senior 15,000 m. That certainly caused ■ considerable unhappiness and heartburn ‘— and more than a few harsh twords — last season,, and it was felt that a recurrence of those problems could have been .‘avoided this season. One. short answer, but>not the whole answer,; could be to defer the team pursuit. finals; that course might, still' \be taken' "