Le Race Report – Christchurch NZ 23/3/13

Road cycling & upcoming rides
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Joe
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Postby Joe » 15 Apr 2013, 23:00

Although it was nearly a month ago, and the thought occurred to me at the time, I've finally gotten around to writing a race report, thanks to a reminder from Jo the Builder on Sunday.

Le Race is a 100k (Garmin says about 93) race from Christchurch to Akaroa over what kiwis call hills, and in flatter areas of the world would definitely be called mountains. More info here – http://lerace.co.nz/

I've been wanting to do this one for a few years and signed up over a year ago now. Plenty of time to train hard and be in peak form... until we had our first child in January... So I went into it having done about 3 rides over 15ks since Christmas...

I grew up near Akaroa and could draw you a map of every turn in the course and even tell you where each cattle stop and hairpin turn is. That probably gave me a better chance of getting to the finish line intact but definitely wasn't going to get me up the hills any faster!

Conditions were perfect as they usually are in Christchurch this time of year – crystal clear and 9 degrees on the start line and 18 at the finish, which perhaps tells you a little about how long it took me! ;-)

I'm not sure how many turned out but about 650 finished across all the categories.

The race starts with a short dash to a longish climb followed by a fun but gravel and cattle stop laced descent. Then a long flat middle stage and another long climb followed by the hardest part of the race, 25 or so undulating ks around the peninsula rim. Finally there is a 5k descent to the finish line where I managed to set a new personal max speed record, which perhaps I would have bettered (or died) if I knew I was close to breaking 4 hours.

As a not-so-regular C25/C28 Waterfall rider I have to say it was pretty bloody hard (as expected). The final decent made it all worthwhile though. My final time was 4 hours 2 mins, which was right at the bottom end of my pre-race estimate so I was happy enough with that. And it gives me a very beatable time for next year! The race was won by Michael Vink who some of you may have heard of. 3rd place was taken out by Sam Horgan, recently 5th in the Tour de Perth. Their times were around 2 hours 30, so at least they weren't TWICE as fast as me... But perhaps it was only my local knowledge and the tow I got behind a triple for the flat middle section of the race that stopped that from happening! ;-) Thanks to that 6-cylinder tow truck I averaged 40 (as usual ;-) over the flat middle 25ks and still had (some) gas for the last 40ks of hills...

The final rider came in about 2 hours after me and was interviewed on stage as they concluded the presentations. When asked how he had found the hills he replied with something along the lines of, "Well I can't really comment too much on how they were to ride but they were bloody hard to walk up!"

It really was a superb day. I think because I grew up there I kind of take the scenery for granted but looking at it objectively it is a pretty stunning course. It's all beautiful but for the last 30 or so ks you've got Akaroa harbour to your right – http://www.earthdocumentary.com/pics/ba ... insula.jpg and the outer bays to your left – http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 5190_n.jpg while you ride around the very large rim of what was once a massive volcano. On top of that there were plenty of people cheering us on and even one crazy European backpacker who was pushing each rider he could get his hands on up a short but very steep section while yelling encouragement. Perhaps he was just missing his native Belgium...

Anyway I can roundly recommend Le Race to anyone who would like a good challenge and a holiday in a beautiful part of the world. Lots of riders stay over in Akaroa and some ride back to Christchurch the next day. If you're as "dedicated" as some we saw on the drive back you can ride back the same day!

If you ride Waterfall 28s finishing in (relative) style is quite doable and if you're in the fasties you definitely won't be short of competition at the top end. I can also report that while I was in Chch for 2 weeks there were 0 noticeable earthquakes and they haven't had any proper aftershocks for ages. By next March there will be plenty of places to stay and heaps of new cool stuff happening in Chch so I'd like to see as many of you there as possible, preferably riding a triple so I can draft! ;-)

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weiyun
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Postby weiyun » 15 Apr 2013, 23:11

Good on ya! I've driven around Christchurch and have seen the "hills" there and can feel your pains. Serious climbs.

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Dougie
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Postby Dougie » 16 Apr 2013, 09:44

Joe

Super report. Good on you!

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JoTheBuilder
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Postby JoTheBuilder » 16 Apr 2013, 13:03

Great report Joe! Despite the hills it sounds like a wonderful ride...

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Stuart
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Location: Dulwich Hill

Postby Stuart » 17 Apr 2013, 12:16

I'm shocked it wasn't raining & windy ...


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