Benchmark #3.

Well, the weekend was a good one! Saturday saw the team gather again for the 3rd round of the Benchmark Homes Elite Cycle Series. 135km around the North Canterbury region was on the menu with a garnish of wind, cold and gravel to spice things up! Going into the race we had a clear plan and that was to keep Daniel Barry in the series leader jersey and to win the race in the process. Unfortunately only part of this eventuated, however we laid it all out there and rode a good race.

Through the Ashley Gorge. 

After a seriously fast start with the wind blowing right at out backs we turned into some hard cross wind sections. It was a good opportunity to test the legs and see how the peloton would respond to attacks. As it was early in the race nothing was sticking but after 20km Sam Horgan slipped off the front and built a small lead. A few km's later James McCoy, Kristoff Ford and myself joined him. Sam, James and I were doing nice hard laps to try and gain a reasonable lead on the peloton while Kristoff who was visibly struggling chipped in when he could which was helpful. We managed to gain a 1 minute advantage over the next 10km and held it there for a solid 20km until we hit the Ashley Gorge where we extended our lead to just over 2 minutes. Through the Gorge we also lost one of the riders in Kristoff Ford. None of the riders that joined me in the break were a threat to Dan's lead so the break was a perfect way to take the pressure off Dan and the rest of the team back in the peloton.

Shortly before the Ashley Gorge, working well together.

After the Gorge we turned a hard left down German Rd which saw us ramp right up to 55km+ with the wind right behind us. Towards the end of German Rd just before Summer Hill Sam started missing turns which isn't like him. I thought he was preparing to try and rip it up Summer Hill and get rid of us but this never happened and unfortunately for Sam and our break he fell victim to a cold he had been fighting all week. The last straw was when we hit the 1.5km long gravel section where the only option was to hit it full gas purely to hold yourself upright because as soon as you buttoned off the power you lost a lot of control.

Through the gravel section 

With just James and I left after the gravel we were unsure of what would happen to the peloton through the same section so just kept working hard for the next few km's. Behind us the peloton completely split to pieces over the gravel and we were quickly joined by a group of about 15 riders. The group included 3 of my team mates (Daniel Barry, Hamish Schruers and Anthony Chapman). The group also contained the riders who were Dan's closest threats for the series lead. (Robin Reid, Brad Tuhi, Dan Ellison). Up German road a flurry of attacks and counter attacks were launched until, finally, a group with all the right people formed. Dan was there and was joined by Hamish Schuers. Anthony and I were in the group just behind (with 2nd in the series, Brad Tuhi) so it was an absolutely perfect set up for us.

The group stuck until the end where Hamish Schruers unleashed a killer lead out for Dan who kicked into his sprint but was unfortunately pipped on the line by double Olympian Chris Nicholson. Gordon McCauley rounded out the podium. Even though we didn't quite manage the win the day was still a success. We proved we were the strongest team out there by winning the teams section for the third round in a row and managed to do what we set out to do with Dan holding and extending his lead in the series. To add to that Hamish Schruers managed to gain enough points in the finish to take over the lead in the U23 jersey.

Winning team for the round. 

Personally I was happy with my ride. I felt strong in the break and even once caught felt I had good legs and helped Dan out as much as possible. Next up is the PowerCo Tour of Taranaki on Queens Birthday weekend. I am looking forward to a good hit out up there before a wee break as winter takes its strangle hold on Christchurch!

Thanks again to Benchmark Homes for their support, to Jimmy for the help throughout the day from the team car and to the team for a good day out! A continued MASSIVE thanks to Anthony Chapman for the help and support regarding my injury. I am feeling better and better on the bike each week. And of course to my coach Hamish Ferguson

Also all credit for photos is to Bruce Wilson Photography and Hendrik Bakker Photography.

Cheers for reading!

W