Festival of Cycling NZ Criterium Championship - NE

Christchurch, New Zealand, December 3, 2006

Results

Roulston and Ryan were the class
Photo ©: Michael Jacques

The New Zealand Criterium Championships threw up two surprise winners at day two of the Armstrong Peugeot Festival of Cycling today. Hayden Roulston and Linda Villumsen, the winners from yesterday’s road race, played second fiddle in the national criterium championship races today, but their powerhouse riding style still played a major part in the eventual winners.

The feature men's national title race saw no less than 15 national champions or representatives compete, among them Commonwealth Games medallists Hayden Godfrey, Gordon McCauley and Hayden Roulston. But it was national track squad member Marc Ryan (Timaru) who broke the race apart.

In a lightening fast event Ryan forced a breakaway after the first third of the race. National road champion Hayden Roulston bridged across to him and, despite the best efforts of the talented chase bunch, the duo stayed away all day.

Godfrey, the defending national criterium champion, had the strong Subway Cycling Team working hard on the front for him. But Ryan and Roulston maintained a 10 second lead all the way to the last lap. But Roulston had done too much work to beat the track specialist in a sprint, and the 24-year-old jumped away on the final corner to claim his first national title on the road.

Behind them Godfrey salvaged something from a frustrating race, outsprinting Athens Olympian Heath Blackgrove and Southland's Adam Coker for the bronze.

In other racing Auckland's Myron Simpson successfully defending his national under 17 criterium title. In a close race Simpson produced a withering sprint in the final 100m to beat national under 17 road champion Jason Christie (Ashburton) by a length, with Southland's Tom Scully third.

The under 17 women's race was dominated by national under 17 road champion Sequoia Cooper. In a very tactical race the Southland rider covered a myriad of breakaway attempts before producing the strongest sprint ahead of Levin duo Gemma Dudley and Maria Carlyle.

The highlight of the day for the big Christchurch crowd, however, came in the elite women's national championship race when local standout Annaliisa Farrell made a return to the top level with a convincing win.

After a sedate start that saw New Zealand national track medallist Katri Laike (Dunedin) take the first sprint prime, Farrell wowed the 5000-strong crowd with a bold breakaway less than halfway through the race.

After just two laps of the tight, one-kilometre course Farrell had 10 seconds on her nearest rival. No one in the main bunch, including defending national criterium champion Marina Duvnjak from Auckland, was willing to close the gap down so Denmark's Linda Villumsen took a flyer by herself and closed in with just one lap remaining.

Villumsen was not eligible to take the national title. But like Roulston she played a key role in keeping the chase bunch at bay. She worked well with Farrell to build a 30 second lead with one lap to go, before easing back up the home straight to allow the Christchurch rider to take her first national criterium title.

Behind the powerhouse riding of the pair, track specialist Katri Laike had too much punch in the final 100m for the bunch as she claimed third ahead of Marina Duvjnak and Christchurch's Tamara Boyd.

Farrell, who first won a national title almost a decade ago, was ecstatic with her win after spending the last three years trying to regain top form following a hip replacement. A month ago she had celebrated her 40th birthday by winning the national veterans road title but in Christchurch she outclassed riders almost half her age to take another New Zealand crown.

Today's Criterium riding brought a close to the weekend-long Armstrong Peugeot Festival of Cycling. Saturday has seen 1500 riders take on the tough 75 km Armstrong Peugeot Harbour Ride, while more than 5000 people turned out in the central city today to watch New Zealand's best vie for national titles.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Michael Jacques

Roulston and Ryan were the class of the field
Gordon McCauley chasing in vain.
Heath Blackgrove chasing Fraser McMaster
Ryan covering early moves by the Subway team.
Marc Ryan playing aeroplane in the home straight.
Marc Ryan all smiles after winning the NZ title.
Villumsen and Farrell in their race winning break.
The elite women's bunch watching not chasing.
Farrell beats Villumsen to take the elite women's race.
Sequioa Cooper in the under 17 women's race.
Sequioa Cooper celebrates after crossing the line.
Under 17 men hitting it hard.
Under 17 girls with one lap to go.

Results

Elite Men (45min +3 laps)

1 Marc Ryan (Timaru)                  
2 Hayden Roulston (Ashburton)         
3 Hayden Godfrey (Christchurch)       
4 Adam Coker (Southland)              
5 Sam Bewley (Rotorua)                
6 Clinton Avery (Rotorua)             
7 Brian Fowler (Christchurch)         
8 Thomas Hanover (Auckland)           
9 Gordon McCauley (Auckland)          
10 Fraser McMaster (Christchurch)     
11 Tim Gudsell (Te Awamutu)           
 
Elite Women (30min +3 laps)

1 Annaliisa Farrell (Christchurch)    
2 Linda Villumsen (Denmark)           
3 Katri Laike (Dunedin)               
4 Marina Duvnjak (Auckland)           
5 Tamara Boyd (Christchurch)          
6 Serena Sheridan (Nelson)            
7 Nimisha Smith (Christchurch)        
8 Tracey Clark (Christchurch)         
9 Karen Fulton (Nelson)               
10 Gina Waibl (Wellington)            
 
Men Under 17 (30min +3 laps)

1 Myron Simpson (Auckland)            
2 Jason Christie (Ashburton)          
3 Tom Scully (Southland)              
 
Women U17 (20min +3 laps)

1 Sequoia Cooper (Southland)          
2 Gemma Dudley ( Levin)               
3 Maria Carlyle (Levin)               
  (