Ben Evans- Twin Coast Cycle Challenge – 4 Day Tour of Northland
Day 1 Whangarei to Dargaville via Paparoa
I arrived at the Tour shorter on sleep than I’d planned. However, the day went well. I was in 4 breakaways, including the final one, of 11 riders, that got time on the main bunch, including one of the pre-race favourites, Mike Northey. I was 6th in the sprint finish, with the whole breakaway finishing within record time – the fast pace due to the number and aggressiveness of the breakaways, as well as favourable winds.
Day 2 Dargaville to Opononi
Keen to get away, I attacked before leaving Dargaville, and was joined by Tom Findlay, gaining about 40 seconds on the main field. It was not to be so easy to get away, as the main field put the gas on, and we were soon tailed by Matt Gorter in theYellow Jersey. The pace was then very sedate until after the first big climb out of Kaihu, the attacks started, with a few short breakaways, until finally Mike Northey got away solo just before the forest. Hamish Osborne, and Sam Weston managed to slip away solo near the start of the 12km Waipoua Forest climb. Realising that the pace was not hot enough to catch the riders up the road, and that they could be dangerous if they came together, I looked for a moment to slip away. The yellow jersey and team Kiwivelo had been keeping a close eye on me, so when I noticed they were further down the pack, I smoothly left the front of the pack on a windy section. Attentive as ever, I found Findlay on my wheel. Getting away successfully this time, we worked very hard to catch the 3 other riders on the small climb before the notorious leg breaker into Opononi. Finding the pace too much, Northey dropped as we arrived, and the resulting 4 stayed together to fight it out on the line. Findlay got line honours, a wheel in front of mine, with Weston and Osborne slightly behind. With the bunch finishing nearly 2 minutes behind, it was enough to give me the yellow leaders jersey as I had finished ahead of Findlay and Weston on Day 1. What a buzz.
Day 3 Opononi to Pahia
There were attacks from the start, and 3 riders including 2 from Team Kiwivelo got away. The rest of Kiwivelo tried to slow the pace down, meaning those of us high up on General Classification had to tow the bunch along. Roadworks made for variation and multiple punctures in the 1.5km rough unsealed section. Glen McIntosh kindly gave me one of his wheels to get me going again after flatting, and I managed to get back to the bunch. Bad luck continued as I was majorly blocked in the uphill sprint to the line – having to ram on the brakes uphill is no fun, and lost 10 seconds meaning Weston and Findlay overtook me. Furthermore, the breakaway got a good enough lead to put McNab from Kiwivelo into yellow. I had dropped to 5th overall.
Day 4 Russell to Whangarei
This stage usually sees the main field splintered due to the multiple climbs and windy roads. However, Kiwivelo controlled the race well, and the main field stayed together until the main Helena Bay climb, despite multiple attacks by Findlay and myself. Mishap again! I broke a spoke 10km before Helena Bay. Glen to the rescue again, with the ensuing chase using precious energy. I’m glad I put so many wheels in Paul’s Avanti van! I got back to the bunch on the climb before Helena, and then stayed with the front few riders up the big hill. Having no need to keep a fast pace, Kiwivelo allowed what was left of the main field to catch us soon after the hill. The finish was a formality with no overall time to be determined. In the end I finished 4th overall, one place down on last year, after an excellent first 2 days, with luck not with me for the last 2. As always, a fantastic event.
About Ben Evans
We would like to welcome Ben Evans to the Avanti Plus team as one of our sposored riders.
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