The weather forecast said rain and the heavy sky was not offering much hope that we could complete the race programme without having to stop because of rain. Wind was not an issue and the temperature was warm. Despite the poor forecast 33 optimistic cyclists made the trip to Feilding and 8 of them from the Levin club. The programme was made up of short scratch races followed by short handicap races then finished off with a longer handicap race. In between this 5 selected riders had a mini sprint competition.
The racing provided the usual tight contests and some extra ordinary racing as seen in the under 17 boys and girls 4 lap scratch race where Mark Finlay toyed with the opposition when he went from the gun and established a 50 metre gap in what seemed to be the first 100 metres. The chasing bunch did not panic or perhaps could not do much else but apply a solid effort to close the gap. Mark eased the effort and the bunch had caught him again after the first lap, at which point Mark again changed gear and opened a 20 metre gap in next to no time then eased off and the bunch caught again after lap two. Mark repeated the earlier exercise and opened up another 20 metre gap and still had it when the bell rang for the final lap. The bunch applied pressure through George Roberts and Jordan Castle and began to catch the struggling Finlay with 200 metres to go the under 15 Levin rider Connel Leahy rose from his seat and began his sprint for the line by taking a path around the outside of the chasing bunch , by the time he hit the home straight he only had the wavering Finlay in front of him but with a grimace and the outside lane he was able to catch and pass to take the win from the sheepish race leader.
Carnival results were as follows:
Under 19 Men and Senior Men miss and out
1st Angus Finlay
2nd Matiu Kaihau
3rd Luuk van Wantendonk
Under 19 women and Senior Women 4 lap scratch race
1st Kate Dudley
2nd Sharon Hollenstein
3rd Kelsi Eccles
4th Catherine Young
Under 17 Boys and Girls 4 lap scratch race
1st Connel Leahy
2nd Mark Finlay
3rd Jordan Castle
4th Cameron Gibbons
Under 15 Girls 4 lap scratch race
1st Michaela Drummond
2nd Renee George
3rd Lishona McKay
4th Britteny Baker
Under 15 Boys 4 lap scratch race
1st Josh Kendall
2nd Campbell Stewart
3rd James Cuff
4th Cody Simpson
200 Metre sprint first in series
Matiu Kaihau 18.01
Josh Chard 14.06
Gareth Warnock 14.68
Angus Finlay 13.83
Cameron Gibbons 14.08
Masters Men 4 lap scratch race
1st Peter Jenkins
2nd Marcel Hollenstein
3rd Ross Castle
4th Alex Jones
Under 15 Girls 3 lap handicap race
1st Michaela Drummond
2nd Emily Shearman
3rd Renee George
4th Lishona McKay
Under 15 Boys 3 lap handicap race
1st Cody Simpson
2nd Hayden Washington-Smith
3rd Chris Denholm
4th Jake van Leinen
Under 17 Boys 3 lap handicap race
1st Mark Finlay
2nd Kyle Davie
3rd Jordan Castle
4th Cameron Gibbons
Under 19 Women and Masters Women and Masters Men 3 lap handicap race
1st Ross Casstle
2nd Peter Jenkins
3rd Kate Dudley
4th Marcel Hollenstein
Under 15 Girls 6 lap handicap race
1st Simone Davie
2nd Michaela Drummond
3rd Lishona McKay
4th Renee George
Under 15 Boys 6 lap handicap race
1st Jake van Leinen
2nd Campbell Stewart
3rd Chris Denholm
4th Cody Simpson
Sprint series race 2- 1 versus 5
Angus Finlay 13.17
Matiu Kaihau DQ
Sprint series race 3- ride off 2,3 and 4
1st Josh Chard 13.82
2nd Cameron Gibbons
3rd Gareth Warnock
Under 17 Boys 10 lap points race
1st Mark Finlay 10 points
2nd Connel Leahy 6 points
3rd Jordan Castle 4 points
4th George Roberts 2 points
Sprint series final
1st Josh Chard
2nd Angus Finlay
U19 Women, Women, Masters Women, Masters Men, Senior Men and U19 Men 1st Matiu Kaihau
2nd Kate Dudley
3rd Sharon Hollenstein
4th Angus Finlay
Racing is held on Tuesday nights at Johnston Park Feilding with racing to start at 6.10pm. As the track is too slippery for the bikes if wet racing will be cancelled if it is raining.