21 February 2016 Calder Steward Round 1: Kings Electrical Hanmer to Kaikoura Classic

Thanks so much to everyone for all the wonderful messages of support over the past week. After a bit of a break from cycling, it feels pretty good to get back into it with a win! 

Calder Stewart Series Leaders after Round 1.

We had almost perfect conditions for cruising along the 100 km of beautiful road between Hanmer and Kaikoura. The race was the first round of the Calder Stewart Elite Cycling Series, a six-race series around the South Island of New Zealand. The Calder Stewart Series, previously Benchmark Homes Series, has been hugely influential in developing team based racing in New Zealand. 

 I last raced the series in 2010, when each round was one race with teams generally fielding one or two female riders – if that. The series has now evolved into three separate races: elite, masters, and women – most exciting being the growth in women’s cycling, with the series attracting enough quality women’s teams to support our own separate race. And it’s only getting bigger!

After a frustrating season last year, I had some time away from cycling for a while. Gentle pressure and encouragement from long-time teammate Karen Fulton got me motivated to get back training. I had six weeks to find enough form to make it through Round 1 – dauntingly, with big climbs and constant undulations, the most challenging course of the series. It’s just as well that my local cycling club, the Tasman Wheelers, offers outstanding local racing to help me push my limits! 

Come race day, I lined up alongside FreshChoice Richmond Pomeroys teammates Karen, Jess Johnstone, Rhonda Murphy, and Susan Van der Pol, feeling a bit underdone. An obvious strong presence in the peloton was the New Zealand Women’s Road Development Team, Black Magic. This is the second year of the Black Magic program. I’m pretty stoked to see young female roadies finally getting a pathway for development in New Zealand.

Several teams were put under pressure early when a dangerous break containing the strong combination of last year’s series winner Sharlotte Lucas (Benchmark Homes), Jeannie Blackmore (Vidasana Thule), and Michaela Kerr (Black Magic) escaped up the road. No sooner had we them brought back did Kim Marshall (Cycle World Fairweathers) put in a big attack and disappear. With the challenging terrain and over 60km left to race, a single rider posed little concern. However, when Black Magic’s Michaela Drummond bridged the gap, the move turned into a threat.

The peloton waned and waxed and waned again, as the toughest part of the course taxed weary legs. Some hard efforts by key riders on the front, assisted by the challenging terrain, saw the two riders brought back into the fold with a little less than half the race to go. 

A moments rest and, keen to show some world-class form, Drummond zoomed off again. When Kerr made a move to join her, I saw the opportunity to take some pressure off my teammates and we soon had a break of three. We immediately started working well together and, with no response from the bunch, were quickly out of sight, at one point two minutes up the road. We worked together for over an hour, battling strong winds heading into Kaikoura.

 At the base of the final climb, the bunch was closing fast. I kept a steady pace on the climb, expecting my breakaway companions to come zooming past at any moment. The tortuous bends of the climb kept the finish concealed until the last moment. The line in sight, I felt the pressure dropping off. A quick glance behind. I had time to savor this one. I have to say, this was one of my most satisfying (and unexpected) wins. My last visit to the course in 2010 was also a win so it felt doubly exciting to repeat. Behind me, Amanda Jamieson (Black Magic) stormed up the hill with amazing speed to steal second while Drummond held on for third and Kerr fifth – a big shout out to both of them for some really gutsy racing.  

Credit for my win goes to my FreshChoice Richmond Pomeroys Coffee Team: Karen, Jess, Susan, Rhonda, our awesome Team Manager Craig Murphy. Big thanks to series sponsor Calder Stewart and race sponsors Kings Electrical and Ocean Ridge Kaikoura for making a great start to the 2016 series, and Enthuse for outstanding media coverage of the race. Next up, we head to Timaru for Round 2 on 12 March.