Previous events set on the Riverhead South map had turned into real marathons on some courses and so I expected the races would possibly be long rather than short. We were to be racing on the northern part of the forest which was rumoured to be slightly less hilly but still had the reputation of being a tough workout for every rider. I had endeavoured to try and get some information about the courses and we had been informed that one of the vital roads would be unavailable for route choice, and there was a possibility that there would be wet and dry courses set so that finish times would be more accurate.
On the day we had the first rain-free day of the carnival and, with a combination of sun and wind, the tracks in the felled areas were rapidly drying out. Tracks in the trees were basically bogs! Tactic for the day was to ride the roads at all times when possible and single track in the open areas. Chris Renhart had set the courses so there was plenty of options for routes had the tracks been dry, and courses took us through combinations of technical single track and fast roads. It was great!
My personal perspective of the open womens course was that we were going to be out there for a long time! In fact when I picked the map up I thought I had the open mens course. It would be an endurance event and that was that. It started with a long climb up to the top of the main ridge and and down into the first of the wet areas. 2nd control was a drop into a very wet area with the best route out the same as the one in. On to some pleasant road riding to a small patch of slippery forest and then a very scenic single track to the 5th and 6th controls. The track in the trees was actually quite rideable until a rather steep drop off..... typical Renhart country! Awesome legs.
Back on to the basic roads for the next two controls and into the downhill blast in the felled areas. Really fast narrow single track to get the blood pumping. This was really tough on the concentration and handling after being on the bike for the best part of two hours. It was a complete change in rideability when we entered the forest to the last control and had to contend with a very muddy, twisted track with slippery ruts and roots..... lots of run-bike-run technique here!
Riverhead lived up to her reputation for carnage. In the womens event top Australian Anna Sheldon completed two controls before her bike said no-more, Fiona McBryde had multiple punctures and Marquita Gelderman adopted the run-bike-run technique after breaking her derailleur hanger! Winner, by 10 minutes, was Di Michels with Australians Carolyn Jackson and Thorlene Egerton filling the other placings.
The mens event was a much closer race, although the New Zealand team had no Australian counterparts, but they really took it to themselves. Stu Lynch held his position of top Kiwi with a 1.5 min margin over relative new comer Mark Lawson and Phil Wood. Lawson has been trading coaching with top junior Thomas Reynolds and has improved his bike handling skills to put him up there with our top riders. Reynolds won the Junior mens with a five minute victory over Jack Vincent and Ciaran Murphy a further eight minutes back.
Mens 40 was a win for Peter Swanson from Dave King and Brit David Rollins. Mens 50 - local rider Colin Palmer took off and promptly put a whopping great 16 minutes between himself and the rest of the field. Joe Sherriff from Invergargill was second. Tom Clarkson won the Mens 60, although this was the only class the Australians took out on the basis of accumulated times.
In the womens events Sarah Gilkinson won the junior division from Georgia Whitla and Katherine Reynolds. W40 went to Nicola Kinsett, and Jo Wilson took 2nd place, by, amazingly, 1 second from Australian Lyn Stitchbury. Just goes to show how important the finish shute can be! W50 went to New Zealand's Jacqui Sinclair, Australian Carol Brownlie 2nd, and Auckland rider Lisbeth Hornell 3rd. New Zealand won the test 5-1 and hold the trophy until we meet the Australians again in the next Trans Tasman Test.
Chris Renhart set the courses and Rob Garden controlled the event. I wish to thank these two people for sacrificing their own opportunity to ride in the event and also to pass on my appreciation to the NorthWest Orienteering Club for their support and organisation in incorporating this into the Oceania Carnival. It has been a fine opportunity to showcase all the orienteering disciplines at one time.