Nelson put on a perfect day for bike racing, cool, clear and light winds to complement the lumpy, twisting roads of the Moutere Valley. A record field turned up for the Calder Stewart Elite Series Nelson Classic with some 69 riders in the elite grade, this was due in part to the addition of Cycling New Zealand’s U19 team, Team Skoda and an invitational local team from Tasman Wheelers.
Mike Greer Homes (MGH) presented a predictably strong squad, led by Sam Hogan, bolstered by Alex Frame – former world champion on the track – and with the task of building on the respective leads of Tim Rush in Elite and Ben Johnstone in U23. TotalPOS’s squad was less star studded that previous rounds, but still had plenty of firepower with Tom Hubbard, the ever aggressive Reon Nolan and Scott Thomas to boot. The pre-race team strength estimate included Modus Construct, L&M Group Ricoh, PKF Racing and the wildcard of Team Skoda.
Team Skoda Racing begin the attacks
The first 20 odd km was quite flat and fast with many attacks but nothing sticking. The peloton was motivated with too many riders wanting to be in the break for anything to stay clear. The first significant move was by Team Skoda Racing’s Rob Stannard and Joel Yates. The pair slipped away approx. 30km in and staedy clear for another 30km. It was a hearty effort with the youngsters gaining a 50 sec advantage before being reeled in by a TotalPOS led chasing group. Team Captain Reon Nolan, unbeknown to fellow competitors at that stage, had devised an audacious and ambitious team strategy that saw TotalPOS control the front of the race by allowing 1 to 2 man breaks go, and controlling their capture, while keeping their points contenders fresh. This chase included individual contributions by PKF (Ben Phillips) and JoyRide (Jeremy Burrell) but MGH were content to sit in the peloton at this point.
The next move was a solo effort by Nolan who gained the largest margin of any throughout the day at 1min 36sec, leading to quite a stable phase at the start of the final 52km lap. Nolan’s strategy was that the peloton would hit the short sharp climbs hard, tiring out other competitors, leaving him fresh to join the “move” of the day. This theory proved correct with a Sam Horgan (MGH) initiated attack on Waiwhero Road hill with 35km to the line. Horgan collected John Wansink of L&M, Brett Grieve of PKF and Aaron Wylie from Team Skoda on the way up and a good rhythm was established quickly. After 10km, by the turn into Motueka Valley Highway, it looked like the decisive move. L&M Captain Anthony Chapman recognised the threat, and took a flying attack with James Williamson, TotalPOS responded immediately with Campbell Pithie, Scott Thomas and Reon Nolan surging forward seeking to desperately join. PKF were triggered to respond by Pithie’s move so as to protect Ethan Batt’s (PKF) U19 leader’s jersey and Modus Construct were not prepared to miss out – so the “acid was on” well and truly in fine Elite Series tradition. With the peloton strung out in single file and gaps opening up, TotalPOS’s Scott Thomas was the first to make it to the leading quartet, then another three riders joined, and four more, and with 12 riders now at the front, the previously solid work rhythm fell apart, resulting in the move being completely neutralised with approx. 20km to the line.
TotalPOS “small break only” strategy continues
So with the race all together again the final approach to Dovedale and the critical Neudorf saddle was commenced. Two riders – Ben Robertson of Modus being one of them – rode clear which conformed to TotalPOS’s “small breaks only” strategy creating a stable chasing group. Only three riders worked to limit this move however, PKF’s Ben Phillips, MGH’s Daniel Barry and TotalPOS’s Reon Nolan. The trio set a solid tempo resulting in gaps opening up in the peloton behind as tired riders searched for easier wheels to follow. The stage was set for a strong move over Neudorf Saddle, which included the capture of Roberston et al. MGH led the attack with Frame, series leader Tim Rush, Horgan and U23 leader Ben Johnstone and crested with a dozen riders also able to maintain contact. The fast descent saw the remnants of the peloton coming back together and jostling for position prior to the turn into Kelling road for the finish. Contact was made and a nasty crash at 70+kph ensued with over 10 riders falling. Several riders found themselves strung up in the barbed wire fence on the road side and some nasty gashes were incurred. Remarkably no-one was seriously injured, however the crash eliminated a number of top contenders for the finish including Modus’ Ben Robertson, L&M’s Anthony Chapman and James Williamson to mention a few.
Approximately 25 riders avoided the crash, and the final run into the line was full gas. The new finish has a short sharp hill at 800m to go followed by a downhill, a 35kph corner and gentle uphill slope for the final 400m to the line. TotalPOS’s Campbell Pithie attacked early, leading the field over the hill going for the stage win, however victory went to those who waited, followed wheels and launched their sprint after the corner. Tom Hubbard (TotalPOS) went first but was overtaken by a charging Alex Frame (MGH) just short of the line with Ben Johnstone (MGH) securing 3rd along with a clear lead in the U23 series. Series leader Tim Rush (MGH) picked up 4th, but it wasn’t enough to retain the jersey. Pithie faded to 16th, one place out of the points, which would’ve put him in the U19 leaders jersey. It was a gutsy move by a confident young rider who has a bright future on the bike for sure.
Unusualness of this round
This race was somewhat unusual for an Elite Series round, in that all the moves were comprehensively marked, and most of the moves were 1 to 2 riders only, not posing much dilemma to the various team captains. In hindsight this makes perfect sense as that was TotalPOS’s plan. MGH were able to launch attacks off that platform of stability, however TotalPOS also benefited from that, as their key riders were fresh enough to go with the moves. The other eight teams rode reactively, seeking to ‘get lucky’ which, from a results perspective had only limited success with 7th through 15th (the last points earning place) being achieved.
TotalPOS were gutsy, and Nolan et al sacrificed themselves for a team result, which to be fair, was a good one. 2nd overall and taking the series leader jersey and with the U19 competition still wide open they are positioned strongly for the final three rounds. MGH rode economically, dominated the results and won the stage. They are a class act, led wisely by Sam Horgan on the road and have a good lead in U23. Their challenge will be to win back the series leader jersey and it will be fascinating to see how they approach that. Team Skoda Racing added youthful enthusiasm to the day, and had riders in every move, regardless of success probability. Their best result was 9th with Chris Denholm and this earnt him the U19 series leader jersey, so congratulations to Team Skoda Racing.
Going forward the peloton is faced with a new challenge in Dunedin with some 900m of elevation to be gained in the final 20km. This will be a great test for riders aiming to ride the Tour of Southland and give them a good indication of how they might fare on the Coronet Peak stage. Keep up the great management Revolution Events, your new ideas are keeping things fresh and fun.
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