Gibbs Hill Challenge draws a full field: two new records set
A sunny start for the 70 cyclists as they head from Takaka towards Wainui last Sunday. Photo: Neil Wilson.
With a full field of 70 competitors all was looking great for this year’s Gibbs Hill Challenge until one looked at the weather forecast: bitterly cold winds and snow to sea level all along the east coast of the South Island, and snow for Kahurangi later in the day.
But true to form, Golden Bay lived up to its name, and in the end 69 cyclists left Takaka Primary School at 9.15am for their 23km cycle to Wainui car park. From here they either continued on their own or tagged a team member for the 21km run around the stunningly scenic Abel Tasman circuit. Starting at sea level, it goes straight into a decent climb all the way to the top of Gibbs Hill (400m high) and then promptly all the way back down to sea level at Totaranui.
Here there was a chance for another transition before continuing along the coast to Mutton Cove (with a few “bumps” in the way), then a slightly larger “bump” to Whariwharangi, followed by the slog up to Wainui Saddle. Then came a downward run back to the carpark, onto the bike and ride back to the school. Unfortunately by this stage, the southerly had kicked in rather meanly, so it was a hard ride for everyone. Even the “gun riders” were saying it knocked their average speed back somewhat!
In the teams section, the record was held by Seamus Ryan/Gretchen Lund at 3hrs 40min, set in 2008, but that was totally demolished by the pairing of Phil Costley/Cliff Bowman who did it in 2:59:26; they were also first across the finish line. In second place were locals Mark Allinson/Seamus Ryan in 3:42:36. In fact second to sixth placings were Golden Bay teams. Of the 28 teams, 23 were from Golden Bay.
Last year Nathan Fa’avae set the men’s individual record at 3:15:49 and Klaartje van Schie the women’s record at 3:52:56. This year Trevor Voice matched Nathan’s first cycle and the run time but the head wind home meant he just couldn’t break that record, coming in at 3:21:31. First woman was Fleur Lattimore with a blistering 3:38:06 – also doing a demolition job on the record. (What’s even worse is that I heard that these two had been out for a long, hard cycle ride the day before!) Of the 41 individuals, Kris Falconer was the first Golden Bay individual in with a time of 4:38:26. There were 10 from Golden Bay participating in this section, with everyone posting credible times.
An absolutely amazing effort by everyone involved. A fantastic day and hope to see you all next year on 12 August 2012.
Results and photos available from the website http://regonline.activeglobal.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=941341
Wouter and Wendy de Maat
and Ricky and Corina Ward
