Source to Sea - 8th Nov

Well our team (Chris C, Rob Searle and myself) did quite well.  Here's the offical report:

Perfect conditions for Source to Sea 
CYCLING
Nelson | Tuesday, 11 November 2008
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The second Source to Sea Cycle Challenge was held in perfect conditions on Saturday.


On Thursday the start area at Nelson Lakes National Park - the source of the Buller River - was a picture of winter with 5cm of fresh snow at lake level. By Friday, hail and rain was still thrashing the region but the forecast held true to a calm, cloudless day on Saturday as the 760 participants were greeted to a superb day for riding.

The Source to Sea course is held over 100 miles (160km) on the riverbanks of the Buller River. The course drops 620 metres in elevation from the start at Lake Rotoiti to the Carters Beach finish at Westport, offering individual and relay sections.

This year also included the pro elite class for A grade and licensed riders, which was made up of 3-rider teams, with the fastest women's and men's team each racing for $750 cash.

In the pro race, Stoke Cycles fielded two teams, Asterix and Obelisk. While these teams included New Zealand cycling legends, Chris Nicholson and Nathan Dahlberg, they were expected to have some competitive racing from Nelson Alarms and Village Cycles.

Despite some aggressive riding from Dean Fulton of team Village Cycles and a strong performance from Nelson Alarms, the Stoke Cycles teams controlled the event and rode well as a combine to take first and third positions, Nelson Alarms claiming second.

In the women's pro teams, Village Cycles was also expected to be a contender but 2007 female winner Karen Fulton was leading the Toxic Coffee Femme team and on paper looked the favourite. By the end, the three Toxic Coffee women built up a collective 20-minute buffer to take the title.

On an individual level, Chris Nicholson (Stoke Cycles) won the race in a sprint from Nick Batt (Nelson Alarms). Dean Fulton (Village Cycles) attacked from the start and was soon joined by Caleb Hill (Stoke Cycles). The pair rode a hard pace down through the upper Buller Gorge but started to slow down after Inangahua, over 100km into the race.

With 30km to go the main bunch gathered speed and Nicholson and Batt punched off the front to catch and pass Fulton and Hill. The Stoke Cycles team then worked together to get pre-race favourite Nicholson clear and although Batt managed to stay in contact, the experience and power of Nicholson proved the winning edge taking 4hr 7min 14sec for the trip. Batt took second with Fulton in third.

In the women's race, Jeannie Kuhajek and Karen Fulton maintained contact with the main bunch and covered each other for the entire journey. Fulton positioned herself well for the sprint and pipped Kuhajek on the line to win the race for the second year in a row. Cathy Hamer of Greymouth took third place.

A major bunch of 50 riders arrived for the mass bunch sprint in the open men's race, with Cantabrians taking the top three spots. Craig Loveridge won from Aaron Hooper with Michael Ferigo third.

Christchurch-based Elizabeth Roberts won the women's event from Amanda Minty, also of Christchurch, with Eileen Searle of Nelson third.

In the Corporate Team section, the mixed teams section was won by NZ Police from SBS Banking with Pizzacarto Prima third.

The Men's Corporate Team was won by Pattle Delmore, AW Interiors Racers second and Works4U in third.

The 2009 event will be held in November with the date still to be set. For full results visit: www.sourcetosea.co.nz