New Zealand Secondary Schools Road Cycling Championships
The New Zealand Secondary Schools Road Road Championships were held in Manawatu over the first weekend of the Term 3 holidays. A squad of 37 riders represented Auckland Grammar School over three days of racing in three different events.
On Saturday morning, the Team Time Trial was held in Rongotea over a 17km course in very windy and cold conditions, with both Junior and Senior races.
In the Under 16 division, the Junior A team set off with a team of four riders; J. A. J. Barclay as captain and Form 4 students D. Kwon, R. Y. Turnbull and C. P. Wagener. They blitzed the course with a winning time of 23 minutes 47.57 seconds to win the Paul Matthews Cup, with a leading margin of 42 seconds over second place Westlake Boys High School and St Kentigern College in third.
In the Under 20 division, the Senior A team of which consisted of E. W. Pawson as captain, Form 5 student L. R. Bhimy, Form 6 students F. A. Malpass and D. Morton, and Form 7 student O. D. Scarlett won their race with a winning time of 22 minutes 16.68 seconds to win the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy, 52 seconds faster than the Senior B team in second and Christchurch Boys High School in third.
The Team Time Trial was not an easy race, but the Senior A team managed to endure the wrath of a protective local magpie as well as a broken wheel to take this magnificent win. This is the 12th time the Juniors have won the Team Time Trial and the 23rd win for the Seniors.
On Sunday, the weather was not much better with the strong winds still hampering racing with the Road Race being held in Halcombe over a 20km per lap course.
The Under 15 race was one lap of 20km which D. Kwon placed third with a time of 34 minutes 45 seconds, behind two riders from Westlake Boys High School.
The Under 16 race was two 20km laps which saw C. P. Wagener win with a time of 1 hour 9 minutes 4 seconds, 26 seconds faster than second place St Peter’s Cambridge and Christchurch Boys High School in third.
The Under 17 race was also 40km which D. Morton won in a time of 1 hour 3 minutes 28 seconds. His ride was impressive with him breaking away 3km after the start gun to race 37km solo. Two Timaru Boys’ High School riders were second and third.
The Under 20 race was a three-lap race with a very strong field of riders. It came down to a sprint finish with E. W. Pawson placing third in a time of 1 hour 35 minutes 31 seconds, behind Cambridge High School in first and James Hargest College in second.
On Monday, the squad woke to near perfect weather conditions with blue skies, no wind and warm temperatures to race the final day at Manfeild Raceway in Feilding. The Points Race is where riders compete within their age group. During the race, every second lap is a sprint lap and points are awarded on each sprint lap. The rider with the highest sum of points, wins the race.
The Under 16 race consisted of seven 3km laps. J. A. J. Barclay scored on three sprint laps to get a total of 13 points to place second and and C. P. Wagener scored five points to take third.
The Under 17 race saw the field race eight laps. L. R. Bhimy took top points winning overall with a total of 20 points, well ahead of Mt Aspiring College in second and Timaru Boys’ High School in third.
The Under 20 race was a 10-lap race which E. W. Pawson scored six points to take third place, behind Cambridge High School and Christchurch Boys High School.
With Auckland Grammar School receiving five first, two second and four third placings over the course of Nationals, this put them in the lead to win the Top Boys’ School overall with a total of 157 points, 66 points ahead of Westlake Boys High School in second place and St Peter’s Cambridge in third.
The squad would like to thank Master in Charge D. Watson for all her time, effort and dedication to the squad, and special thanks to M. Jervis and C. Oates for their continued support to the Cycling squad this year.