A fine day with almost no wind provided a nice change from previous years (it's often fine but almost always with a breeze in some direction). There was quite a good number in the race class as the organisers decided to combine all racers into one group.
At the start there were a few attacks but it wasn't until the start of the hill where the action really began. George attacked early on. I decided that there was better to get over the hill with a small group as there was a long way to go. Rob set the initial pace with me taking over through the middle section. Kieran completed the top part. At the top we had a handy group of about 8 so we soon caught George through the valley. The Rai caused no problems - I think we lost one rider on the way down the hill but the group was mainly intact.
I sheltered myself after the hills. It's an uphill finish for TRR so I figured that if I conserved my energy that I may have a good chance at the end. In Havelock as we approached the turnoff to take us to the hill I got a puncture which had to be the worst possible timing. George won the climb with a total time of 2:07:14. I quickly changed my tube and finished in 2:13:58.
Maybe I'll have better luck next time.
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