2019

Firstly, a big thanks to the businesses that generously supplied some excellent spot prizes for the event – Andrew at Fitlab (check them out on-line), John & Leonie at My Ride in Totara St, Jason at cycles2you on Cameron Road and Bike Barn in Kereiti St. Local businesses all supporting cycling here in Tauranga.

It was a very nice day – light winds, sunny and warm, with a reasonable turnout of the young and the fit, but a bit light on numbers at the other end of the spectrum. We had a couple of Camerons, two Tonys, several Steves, a pair of Gregs, while everyone had their name all to themselves. A little international flavor was added to the event, with Laura and Courteney competing in their US trade team uniform

The Time Trial is used to determine the race grades for the rest of the event. It’s a very tough little TT – just 6km with cold legs on a circuit which is mostly climbing. It always throws up a few surprises, with a couple of older folk who can still lay down an exceptionally good time over that distance.From those results, the club handicappers worked the black art of seeding riders into grades – a last minute request to combine the B & C Grade was rejected due to the lack of “koha”…

After a slight delay while Lee fixed his chain on the start line, the groups got underway, the A’s starting first, and the combined D & E starting last.

Pace on the first lap was hot, with the Bs actually doing a quicker time than the As, but things soon returned to normal, with the As building pace. In the C grade, Steve Neill had his race-face on from the get-go, powering up through the start/finish line 10 metres clear of the bunch on the first couple of laps. Greg Taylor opted to walk, after all the air went to the top of his tyre.

By mid race, the A’s had lapped the D/Es, the Bs and Cs had both split into a couple of groups, while a couple of random dropped riders added to the workload for the officials at the finish line – the lap board was flipping back and forth, the bell was a-ringing and the finish flag was being waved frantically, as we tried to determine which group was which and which rider was part of what group.

The D Grade finish was a tight sprint between Matt and Bernie, the C Grade saw Tony Fairweather spurred on by cheering from Robyn, to surge past Steve Neill to take the win (Robyn “..Go Tony….oh, now I feel bad because I really like Steve”), the B grade came down to a sprint between Laura and Steve Came, while the A Grade was a blistering finish, with Cam gapping Heath over the last rise on Armstrong Road for a clear victory.

After a short recovery time, it was on to the ascent of the Minden. Going into this stage, the B Grade had 3 riders on the same points (Laura, Steve Newlove and Steve Came) and the C Grade had Tony Chudley and Steve Neill on the same points, so climbing ability was going to be the deciding factor. A slight tail wind made it hot work, the reward being a spectacular view at the top, out across Tauranga Moana. Again, some very quick times, with Cam taking the A Grade win, Steve “I was sick yesterday” Came blitzing the B Grade, a determined looking Steve Neill fastest in the C Grade and Bernie taking a decisive win in the Ds.

Racing over, it was off to The Orchard in Bethlehem Town Centre for refreshments, prize giving and the spot prize draw (everyone was a winner!). A hiccup in the B Grade presentation, after misreading an “8” for a “9” in the hillclimb times, so a quick rejig was required and reallocation of medals, but we got there in the end.

Congratulations to Cameron Wynniatt, who gets to keep “No.1” for another year as our Club Champion, and to Laura Jorgensen who is our Womans Club Champion. Nice to be able to present the long lost trophies again this year. They’re a little worse for wear, but still an important part of our clubs history

Thanks to all the riders for coming out and racing, the happy band of supporters on the roadside, to those that did the work beforehand to make the event happen (Katrina and Raewyne) and those that worked on the day as officials (Stephen Lewis, Nigel, Talbot, Jackie, Greg, Rachel & Mark).

Just a note about the results – the race is based on points for placings, not elapsed time. For the final overall points, where riders ended up on the same points, the decider is the placing in the road race.

2018

You've seen the photos of the 2018 winners of the AvantiPlus Mount Maunganui TRCC Club Champs - now here's a short story and the results....

After a slightly chilly start, before the sun got over the top of shelter belts, we had a near perfect day for the Club Champs at Te Puna.

The 6km Time Trial was up first - it always throws up some interesting results, with some riders being remarkably quick over this very hilly little circuit. From those results, we then had to slice and dice everyone into 5 grades, factoring in the folks who's time over longer distance might be at odds with their TT Time. After three goes at it, we got some reasonable looking groups - a large A Grade, working down to two small D and E Grades.

A Grade did 10 laps, B Grade 8 laps, C Grade 6 laps, and D & E Grade doing 4 laps. An over-enthusiastic timekeeper started the race a bit early, causing Scott to miss the start of his race, so he circled back to pick them up near the end of their first lap.

The A's quickly settled into a fast pace, one that eventually proved a bit hot for Lee, Stacey and Cody. In the B Grade, Rick Lowe time trialled off the front of the bunch for several laps, before settling back into the main field before getting rolled in the final sprint with Tony Fairweather. C Grade set a steady pace, unaware that Graham Muggridge was using his excellent current form to hunt them down, dragging the rest of the D Grade with him. There was a catch, but the C's kept a respectful distance back, leaving the D's to fight out for places, before the C's continued the rest of their race. Grant found out why you need to get rid of Ryan before a sprint, with Matt taking out 3rd place.

The E Grade took their "social grade" moniker seriously, passing through the finish line after the first lap three wide, chatting away happily. Things did get more serious in the last lap, with Rachel stamping her authority with a strong finish.

The final challenge was the hill climb up the Minden. It got quite warm with the slight tail wind up the hill, with the usual stunning view of Tauranga Moana from the top, once everyone got their breath back. Cameron did a very quick time of 7:55. We will have to check the record books to see how that stacks up.

Congratulations to Cameron Wynniatt on being our Club Champion for 2018, he gets to wear Race No. 1 again, until this time next year. And congratulations to Rachel Kilgour, who is the Female Club Champion for 2018.

It was great to have some riders from other clubs competing - Ray Hewlett from Rotorua, and Kerry and Jack Edwards from Taupo.

A good crowd of spectators too, including a welcome visit from some old club members - Kevin and Carol Jerome, and Ron and Maureen Weeks.

Thanks again to John and Leonie from AvantiPlus Mount Maunganui for sponsoring the event.

Thanks also to Greg, Mark C, Shane, Raewyne, Tim, Tony F and Mark I for organising the event, picking up spot prizes and portaloos and helping out on the day.   

Click button up on the right corner to download results.............

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2017

The Club Champs was held today in mixed conditions - starting in sunshine and finishing in some light drizzle up the Minden.

Numbers were down, with a few riders up in Auckland at the World Masters Games, and a number of our Te Puke based people tied up with the kiwifruit season being in full swing. Good to know someone is keeping the regions economy humming!

We had a number of visitors from other clubs competing - Ray Hewlett from Rotorua and Barry Wilson, Max Taylor and Janice McCallum from the Manawatu. As per CNZ rules, these riders were eligible for the medals and they all performed very well in their respective grades.

Unfortunately, a couple of folk fell on the wrong side of the grading after the TT - hopefully they still had a good day, even if the RR was a second time trial for them.

Where riders had a DNF, they were not eligible for points or medals in the next event. However Callums brilliant time in the hill climb should be noted, pipping our new overall club champion Cameron Wyniatt by one second!

Where there was a tie on Overall Points, the Road Race finish position was the decider. Hence Daniel Busbridge and Bernie Ryan played their hand very well, using their sprint to good advantage.

Thanks to Greg, Raewyne, Shane, Ray, Heath and Mark for their work in organising and running the champs. And thanks to the enthusiastic spectators.

Click button up on the right corner to download results.............

2016
TRCC Club Champions crowned for 2016
Congratulations to Glen Carabine and Courteney Lowe,as our new Tauranga Club Champions for 2016, in the Mens and Womens classifications respectively.

Moving the Champs from our traditional date in December to March resulted in a much better turnout across the grades. A near perfect day weather-wise also brought out an enthusiastic band of spectators, including long time club members Kevin & Carol Jerome and the recently injured Stephen Lewis - great to see him out of hospital and on the road to recovery.

Glen completed a clean sweep of all races in the A Grade, while Courteney did close battle with dad Rick Lowe in the B Grade, with Rick narrowly taking out the overall win in B Grade.

The C Grade settled in to ride as a group for most of the Road Race, with Chris Bosselmann skipping clear with a few laps to go and taking out a decisive win in the road race and as overall C Grade Champ.

In the D Grade, young Ricky Lowe (no relation to Rick!) set a good time in the TT and a very sharp time in the Hill Climb, but Rachel Kilgour - unshackled from the tandem for a change - put in a great sprint to take out the Road Race.

The after-match function was at the Bethlehem Town Centre, where quite few other members and families joined for refreshments and the medal presentation. A big thanks to those businesses who sponsored spot prizes - Avanti Plus Mt Maunganui, Ride Bike, Farmer Motor Group - Skoda, and Hannah Lowe from the Cardiac Clinic.

Thanks also to the team that organised the Champs or helped to marshall on the day - Greg Taylor, Mark Ireland, Raewyne Cathie, Tim Mills, Angie Carter and Fraser Sharps dad.

Click button up on the right corner to download results.............

2014.....
Club Champs Winners & Results.......................

Congratulations to our supreme winner and A Grade champ for the next year.... Justin Copeland, who dominated all 3 disciplines.....well done Justin.

Great day out for those that competed, beautiful weather, with little wind. A big Thanks to those helpers and organizers who make this friendly event happen each year.

Click button up on the right corner to download results.............

2013
Great day out at Club Champs and we congratulate our new Grade Champions

A Grade:
Nik Ansorge 1st overall
Glen Carabine 2nd
Heath Lett 3rd

B Grade:
Damian Haupt 1st overall
Tony Fairweather 2nd
Bronwyn Copeland 3rd

C Grade
Charles Johnson 1st overall
James Johnson 2nd
Bernie Ryan 3rd

D Grade
Clive Thurston 1st overall
Natasha Collins 2nd
Regina Ansorge 3rd

Women’s Champion Bronwyn Copeland

Click button up on the right corner to download results.............

Special Thanks to Mark Ireland who ran all the races and compiled the results all in time for our Celebration afternoon tea & rapid AGM at the TePuna Tavern. Thanks also to the committee members and other helpers on the day.

A few notable achievements on the day, Jimmy Johnson pipping older brother Charles to win the C Grade Road Race, Young Natasha Collins 2nd overall in D Grade and 2nd in the Road Race. Bronwyn Copeland smoking all the men (except elite men) in the Time Trial and 3rd overall in the B Grade. A strong showing from all the girrrrls on the day!!!!