Archive for the ‘Mt. Bike’ Category
Garry Davoren and William O’Connor and the Irish countryside
There are so many landmark stages, so many ‘wow’ moments on the Pioneer Mountain Bike Stage Race that it is hard to single any out, but the climb over Ben Ohau must be in the conversation and it didn’t disappoint on stage four of the race from Christchurch to Queenstown.
The climb didn’t separate Watson and Son Manuka Honey (James Williamson and Scott Lyttle) and Imparables (Ibon Zugasti and Tommi Misser, Spain) – the two strongest teams, nor did it affect the strongest individual from the 4-Day-Traverse, with Manolo Zanella riding with the 7-Day-Epic leaders through to the finish to put an exclamation mark on what had already been a dominant display of riding from the hugely likeable Italian.
They call it the Queen Stage and so it proved today on The Pioneer, with the 112km ride from Lake Ohau to Lake Hawea testing even the strongest of the riders, as Watson & Son Manuka Honey (James Williamson and Scott Lyttle) rode superbly to extend their overall lead on general classification.
After mechanical issues yesterday derailed the Alps to Ocean team of Tim and Kris Rush, all eyes were today on Williamson and Lyttle and their closest rivals, the Imparables Men’s Masters 40+ pairing of Ibon Zugasti and Tommi Misser (Spain), but it was the Kiwi pair who came out strongest, winning the stage by 4:24.
Lyttle was blunt in his assessment of the ride, one that included 3,578 metres of climbing, as riders crested the upper end of the Ahuriri River, Mt Selina and then the final gut busting climb to 1,442 metres out of the Lindis Pass, before an exhilarating ride down to the finish on the shore of Lake Hawea.