Congratulations to four of our U17 riders… Kate Stewart, Elizabeth Stannard, Josh Kendall, and Jordan Castle.
They have been selected for the BikeNZ Junior Development Squad to attend training camps in Canberra and Taranaki.
The quality of racing this year was very good with almost all races being run faster and harder this year than last. From our own club perspective our riders have all excelled. Some stand out sprint finishes in the road races for gold were seen with Campbell Stewart, Kate Stewart, Jordan Castle and Sue McMaster. Elizabeth Stannard and Michaela Drummond were also in bunch sprints and came in with silver medals.
The course was undulating and gave the riders plenty of opportunity to attack. Most fields rode the course aggressively which allowed selectors to view extremely good racing and we are confident that we have very high calibre national squads at the junior level. Local riders to be named in the junior squad to represent New Zealand in Australia later in the year are Kate Stewart, Jordan Castle and Mark Findlay. Another local rider, Elizabeth Stannard, is part of the development squad to race in New Zealand.
From The Manawatu Standard:
Bike Manawatu had a large contingent over all age categories at the New Zealand club road championships at Hawke’s Bay over the weekend, with some outstanding results.
There were gold medal under-15 time-trial performances from Michaela Drummond and Campbell Stewart on the first day.
Campbell has had a sensational year, winning six New Zealand under-15 titles. The Stewart family’s winning streak continued with sister Kate producing a powerful sprint to win the under-17 road race.
It was then the turn of Jordan Castle to produce an outstanding finish, outpacing his rivals to win the under-17 boys’ race, for his first national cycling championship.
With personal bests and medals from our young up-and-coming riders, Michaela Drummond, Emily Shearman, Campbell and Kate Stewart, Robert and Elizabeth Stannard, Jordan Castle, Chris Denholm, Ruby Perry, plus a host of others, and a strong masters representation with medals to Sue McMaster and Megan Blatchford-Peck, Bike Manawatu has quickly become a real force in club cycling.
What a fantastic few days Bike Manawatu riders have had, with outstanding results on both the national and international stages.
Jesse Sergent did us proud in the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia, a 9km individual time trial, when he was ninth in the 198-strong field. On an extremely technical course, with 17 corners, Sergent was the second-fastest rider when he finished his ride, just four seconds off the leader’s time. He retained that position until the final 20 riders.
So time to finalise those teams and get your entry in!