Fowler takes line honours, fastest time

Press, 14 August 1989, Page 22

Fowler takes line honours, fastest time

With a display of horsepower sprinting after a 3>/ 2 - hour race, Brian Fowler took both line honours and fastest time for the Accent Lighting Timaru to Christchurch Classic on Saturday. As was to be expected, Fowler was handicapped on the scratch mark, along with 11 other riders. Scratch had a 60-minute margin to make up in order to take line honours in the race, and although the bulk of the bunch did not make it through, Fowler and two others managed a breakaway about 20krn from the finish.

Cold weather .and a light, but variable wind, made conditions far from ideal — particularly just before Rakaia, when the race struck heavy rain showers. This, however, did not deter the riders. The 13 riders in the break bunch rode impressively, and dictated most of the pace during the race. Break had a 53-minute deficit from the front markers, and when released from Caroline Bay, made a pact to treat one of the most respected events in New Zealand as a 40km time trial.

Consequently, break had little trouble in catching the first bunch ahead of it. Second break had a fourminute advantage . from break, but this was destroyed by Temuka. Already a large group of riders had linked up making what was bound to be a marshall’s and judge’s nightmare. With the second two fastest

groups now linked the pace was poured on, and by Ashburton — not quite half way — there were seven bunches in the field instead of the original eleven. Even though the break riders continued to pour the pressure on and continued to reel in bunch after bunch as the race headed through Rakaia and Leeston, the scratch riders were constantly aware they had to work to make a race of it. Several riders had the misfortune to drop off because of punctures or exhaustion, particularly because of the wet and rough roads. lan Dickie and Jason Smith were the only two scratch riders affected. The others lapped away consistently in an effort to cross the four minute gap to break. Just out of Leeston Fowler and Auckland’s Stewart Imrie put in a couple of hard laps at the front, of the bunch. Finding themselves away from the bunch by a few metres they put their heads down and went it alone. Stuart Lowe, of Hornby, joined the pair soon after and helped in the effort. By Doyleston break had ploughed through the entire field leaving a wake of stragglers. Many clung to the strong riders in that bunch making for a long line of about fifty cyclists. With only the finish line to think about, and there being no riders ahead to catch, the break riders needed only

keep up the pace and avoid being caught by the scratch riders, who were down three minutes at Leeston. What the bunch did not figure on was the determination of Fowler, Imrie and Lowe. Fowler .and Imrie managed to connect with the big bunch about three kilometres from the finish. Lowe, who had put in his fair share during the 160 km failed to make the tag by only a few metres and was left trailing as the bunch sprinted for the line.

During the three kilometres Fowler had with the big bunch, he had time to find a suitable position for the sprint to the line. He took the right-hand side of the road and was nearly swept onto the grass. Against some stiff opposition he managed to head off Dunedin’s Matt Thomson and Papanui's Chris Barnsley.

His time was 3hr 31 min 435, not quite the race record, but considering the conditions a very quick time. Results.—

Timaru to Christchurch, 160 km: B. Fowler (Woolston) 1, M. Thomson (Dunedin) 2, C. Barnsley (Papanui) 3, G. Stock (Invercargill), D. Kilpatrick (Woolston) 5, W. Rastrick (Papanui) 6, S. Imrie (Auckland 7, L. Smith (Invercargill) 8, K. Gordon (Nelson) 9, G. Hawke (Invercargill) 10.

Fastest times: B. Fowler 1, S. imrie 2, S. Lowe (Hornby) 3, D. Kircher (Hornby) 4, C. Crowe (Papanui) 5. Time: 3hr 31 min 435.