Brutal winds make race a real challenge

MIKE WATSON

Swaying pine trees, brutal wind gusts and hallucinations put 9000 cyclists to the test in the annual Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge event at Taupo.

Strong wind gusts made riding treacherous for road and mountainbike riders in the 35th annual 160-kilometre lake circuit on Saturday.

Large pine trees swayed precariously in 85kmh wind gusts. Cyclists, pedalling into energy-sapping headwinds, negotiated scattered branches and debris strewn across State Highway 32 on the western bays side of the lake.

The strong westerly winds toppled trees in Wairakei Forest Park, forcing officials to call off the 80km mountainbike race after two hours as a safety precaution.

Ten-lap endurance rider Nick Dunne, of Wellington, completed 1600km by midday on Saturday having cycled almost 92 hours non-stop with less than four hours sleep.

Dunne began on Tuesday to ride in memory of his father, Dan Dunne. He is also preparing to enter the 4800km Race Across America in July.

He battled extreme rain and wind, sleep deprivation, illness and hallucinations to finish. "It was long but nothing too untoward I didn't expect.

"I really owe it to my support crew for getting me up and talking me through it when it was getting tough. I had the easy part - I just had to pedal.

"The weather really was terrible. It rained so bad at one stage I could only see 10 metres in front."

Dunne also became ill on the second lap, and experienced hallucinations. "I remember looking up once and seeing the cliff faces with big letters all over them.

"When they put me to bed I couldn't remember who the support crew were, or where I was when I woke up.

"In the last lap other riders gave me a boost and only then I knew I could do it."

Christina Cooper, 32, of Wairoa, rode one 160km lap, as part of a large family group competing in memory of her late father, Rutene, and finished in eight hours and 47 minutes.

"The conditions were very hard but it was worth it to do it for our father. He was the motivation," she said.

Michael Torckler, of New Plymouth, won the 160km men's Avanti Classic in a time of 3hr 48min 53sec.

Torckler held with the main bunch before breaking away at the 90km mark and keeping his lead until the finish.

Oceania Games track representative Kaytee Boyd, of Auckland, held out a fast-finishing Sonia Waddell in the professional women's 100km event in 3hr 4min 38sec.

- © Fairfax NZ News