Photo: Digby Shaw
My latest foray, on Sunday, into the New Zealand Cyclocross Championships, was a pleasing success.
Hosted by the enthusiasts that make up Cyclocross Marlborough, the races run over a very muddy and sodden course, on the outskirts of Blenheim, that had contestants doing something more like a mud-wrestle than a bike race.
The silly things that grown-up men and women get up to on a Sunday!
I won the Grand Masters (60+) with relative ease, finishing a lap ahead of the others, second in the 50+ and 4th overall out of the entire field that included plenty of fit and agile youngsters.
Detailed results here: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=109764
My secret goal was to beat all of the 50 year olds but the muddy conditions thwarted that dastardly plan. The 50+ winner, Geoff Nottman, got me on the long uphill slogs that required shouldering the bike and running up through the slop. That was hard work! He gained a little more on those climbs with each lap and the track was so slippery that it was difficult to put the power down once back on the bike. There it was lost, but I was still a very Happy Chappy.
Some action photos from the Nationals, care of Chain Slap Magazine: http://chainslapmag.com/2017/08/boomtown-nats-nzcx-nationals-gallery/