Linyard leads the way again

PETER GIBBS

MR CONSISTENCY: Jon Linyard outpaced the men's mountainbike duathlon field.

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Jon Linyard is a model of consistency in the seven mountainbike duathlons raced every year at Rabbit Island.

Yesterday, the Waimea Intermediate teacher gave another lesson in the second of the spring series of races organised by the Nelson Triathlon and Multisport Club.

Daniel Bremner clung on to Linyard through the opening 4km run section, with Charlie Squance, Matt Walker and Ian Trice in a tight group a minute behind.

Carol Cooper was next to finish the run, dominating the women’s field, but it was to cost her, as she pulled out of the race soon after with a leg injury.

Naomi Whitehead, Soozie Trice, Carolyn Squance and Gretchen Lund were all in the hunt as they set off on the 15km bike course.

Apart from a short section on the road, most of the pedalling was hard going on rough terrain. Linyard extended his lead over Bremner by a minute and a half, while Roger Matheson pushed his way through the field with the third fastest ride.

Ian Shapcott, a 64-year-old veteran from Picton was an example to many young competitors as he stormed through with the fourth quickest bike time.

Whitehead was too strong for the other women, opening up a gap of more than five minutes on the bike. With her final 2km run, she crossed the finish line with a seven-minute margin over Trice who had to come from behind to catch Carolyn Squance. Lund was the fourth woman to finish.

In the meantime, Linyard had completed his race and was out tidying the course.

Just over two minutes behind, Bremner was comfortably in second, with Charlie Squance getting caught up in a furious battle over the last few hundred metres of the run to take third from Walker and Simon Richardson.

The short race was an intriguing battle between youth and experience, with 11-year-old Bailey Ford leading into the first transition after the 2km opening run. Steve Pauling, 52, took over in the bike, with Hayden Squance, 13, recording the second time on the 8km leg

Squance clocked the quickest run on the final 2km, but it wasn’t enough to catch Pauling. Ford had the third fastest final leg to take third place overall.

Teenager Michelle Schurman opened up an advantage of more than a minute over the other women in the opening run on the short race. Cyclist Paula Steele put in the effort where it counted, recording the third fastest bike leg of the day to move into the lead, but she couldn’t shake a determined Susan Albert. As the pair headed out on to the final 2km run, they were separated by just three seconds.

Steele pulled away to win by 20 seconds from Albert, with Schurman closing the gap at the end to take third from Barb Pauling and Chihiro Mochtzuki.

One of Nelson’s top athletes from two decades ago, Graham Postles, has been dogged by leg injuries, but he’s still a fierce cyclist when he chooses to compete.

Yesterday he chose the walk duathlon option, sauntering through the opening section before blitzing the opposition by nearly seven minutes once he got on the bike.

Ross Mitchell took second spot in the walk race, followed by Patricia Black and Kathleen Hoffman.

Race three in the series will be held on the same course on October 16, concurrently with the Masters Games duathlon.

• Results and details, nelsontriclub.co.nz

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