Cycling: Race report for the summer stunner

Paul Duynhoven

Kaimata South/Tariki/Tarata Roads, Kaimata. 3 Laps: 48km.

Graded Handicap. Fourth and Final Race in the Points Series.

Perfect conditions greeted the riders in Kaimata on Sunday. Clear skies, minimal wind – ideal conditions for cycling. Some calculators had come out prior to the start with riders being able to drop their worst result with 3 out of the four races counting for points.

The 21 riders were split into four groups in the road. A grade chasing 22 mins. Grades needed to stick together on the rolling hills and work well on the flatter sections. With the god conditions and strong groups it was anticipated time gaps were going to be hard to chase.

Caleb Collins was solo from the gun with a strong C grade at 15mins, a five rider B grade at 19mins and a motivated four-man A grade a further 3 mins back at 22mins.

The first lap was a quick re-acquaintance with a course that is certainly not a doddle. A number of solid rolling hills to test the legs.

A grade flew out of the blocks with David Goodall driving hard on the first lap hitting 50km in places on the flats. Having Shawn England, Gonzo Peinado and Paul Duynhoven in support ensured the pace continued to be rapid. This ate into the deficit they were chasing to B Grade. After the first lap A grade had pulled back 2 minutes of the gap to B grade, B grade had only taken 1 minute out of C grade.

With B grade in sight A grade charged forward. The catch was made before Ratapiko with the bigger combined group rolling well at a fair clip. Over the top of the Mangaone Road (ex-pine tree) climb C grade were spotted. The big pelo surged forward catching C grade on the hill into Kaimata. Unfortunately for the C graders very few were able to match an extra 3km/h up hill and only Baz Marnoch and Tony Brownrigg were able to latch onto the peleton for the ride.

Kevin Hart was off the front of C grade and had a decent gap but this was soon rounded up. Caleb Collins was also riding well on his solo mission unfortunately 22 minutes wasn’t quite enough with the 10-man consolidated peloton not there for the scenery. This main group hit the front about 7km out. Some interesting scenarios where potentially in play for the points series but most riders were only concerned with the challenging uphill finish ahead.

Tarata Road up to Kaimata is a quite a different finish to any other course we have on the calendar. Plenty of money was on David Goodall but Tony Brownrigg with good kick and the young Jesse Hofmans riding well with the ability to climb and kick were riders who were noted in the peloton. Gonzo Peinado and Shawn England were also both riding well.

Off the top of the Mangaone/Pine Tree hill on the downhill run towards Kaimata Shawn England lead it out, a few riders moved wheels looking for a lead out and any potential advantage they could grab. As is his style Tony Brownrigg was near the front and travelling well but Jesse Hofmans seized the initiative just over the bridge and launched an attack. That prompted David Goodall to get out of the saddle and pump the pedals in response. Paul Duynhoven did likewise as the three of them shot up the steepest section. As the road swept to the right with finish in sight momentum was with David as he shot up to Jesse with Paul

opting to try to get through with a late move on the inside. David always had it in control however getting there by a wheel from Paul with Jesse third and Tony Brownrigg coming in fourth.

David’s ride notched up another win in the series for him. Another top ride from Jesse who seems to be improving week to week, very good rides from Gonzo and Shawn England (up from Hawera) in A grade, Tony Brownrigg and Baz Marnoch who were able to ride the final lap with the main A/B bunch after being caught on the Kaimata hill at an unfortunate moment.

Overall for the series

1st David Goodall 150 points

2nd Tony Brownrigg 144 points

3rd Barry Marnoch 140 points

4th Grant Deam 139 points (After a number of storming rides in the earlier rounds)

5th Jesse Hofmans 138 points

6th Gregory Marfell 129 points

7th Paul Roe 126 points

8th= Steve Webber 125 points

8th= Kelvin Eden 124 points

9th Peter Schrafft 124 points

10th Gonzo Peinado 122 points

A very competitive and close series. Cycling New Plymouth’s race calendar has a break for a few weeks over Christmas New Year and racing will re-start on Sunday the 12th January 2025.