Competitors at the mountain biking today say it was a perfect day for the competition, with a dry track, clear sunny conditions and a light cooling breeze along the Mount Victoria track being enjoyed by the large field which saw Wellington Cyclists to the fore. Competitors started from the Hataitai Velodrome and headed north into the hilly and forested track, then looped south through a variety of terrain and finally dropped down to the velodrome for one lap of the track. Competitors could compete in races of one, two or three circuits. Wellingtonians Emma Roache, George Gibbs, Chris Bramwell and Andrew Maloney, plus Christchurch's Emma Bradley all won gold in the five race divisions. Wellingtonians were frequently second place-getters as well. A number of cyclists came to grief at various points of the course, particularly the big dip, a section of track which propels cyclists down a slope then suddenly up a more steeply banked slope. "I shot up the far side of the dip and suddenly my bike shot out and up from under me and right back over my head!" laughed one woman competitor, showing a grazed and bleeding leg. Local woman Catherine Ballantine, who came second in the Women's sport mountain bike race, was also a competitor in yesterday's triathlon where she came first in the 40 - 49 year olds women's Olympic length race. "It was a great race, and it was good that the Out Games race was run in amongst the national championships," she says. "It meant there was plenty of strong competition and the flat and fast course was great." GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 13th March 2011
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 13th March 2011 - 6:20pm