The weather was perfect at Glen Oroua apart from a sneaky cool westerly breeze which played a part in the 2014 Bone Collector.
Being on Labour weekend may have meant that a few of the regular racers were away but there will still 5 teams that competed in the event. With team names like WORLD CHAMPS, BURGLERS, CLAN CAMPBELL, 100 + YEARS, and FLATTIES you can tell that all those that rode had a good time. A couple of the riders weren’t even going to ride but had thrown there bikes in to vehicles just in case a team was short of a rider. Different tactics were used by different teams to secure an advantage supposedly. From carbon wheels to sports psychology wearing a yellow jersey to physic out the competition to claiming “I didn’t know the rules about not drafting off another team”.
The helpers on the day that should be thanked for not only sharing jackets with those waiting in the cool breeze for their turn to ride but also making sure people didn’t take short cuts and went in the right direction and recording split times. Thanks to Steve Stannard for being race manager, Julie Washington- Smith, Jo Taylor and Toshi Yamauchi.
After the first lap the World champs were in front by 40 secs but some time in the next lap things changed. The first mishap was when the first rider on team 100 + years had a mechanical and had to withdraw from the race leaving the second rider out on the course by himself. The Burglers at this stage had got in to a good rhythm and knowing that they didn’t have to pick up a slower rider on the third lap, they just held a steady pace and completed the second lap a minute in front of the other teams. Clan Campbell were nearly 2 minutes behind the rest of the teams when they completed their second lap but made good progress on the 3rd lap to pass team 100+ years on the back section of the course. Somewhere on this 3rd lap the first rider on team Flatties got a puncture and also had to retire leaving his 2 riders out on the course to come home in a respectable 3rd place.
1st Burglers – – Ross Rainham and James Denholm time 1hr 13mins 16
2nd World Champs – Luke Mudgeway, Thomas Stannard, Fergus Washington-Smith time 1hr 15mins 04
3rd Flatties – Carne Groube, Fiona McDermid, Max Taylor time 1hr 15mins 56
4th Clan Campbell – Campbell Stewart, Katherine Stannard, Ethan Craine time 1hr 18mins 50
5th 100+ years – Chris Denholm, Barry Wilson, Glenys Taylor time 1hr 19mins 48