Rivercity Speed Skating
Josh Valentine leads Chase Morpeth, Jake Duggan and Jackson Fellows in the chase of tearaway pacemaker and eventual Men's B grade 5km winner Drew Brennan during the St John's Club Rivercity Tour.
Whanganui's Andrew Jones lived up to his favourite billing by sweeping all stages of the St John's Club Rivercity Speed Skating Tour on home turf at the weekend.
Jones had too much gas for Valley Inline's Hadley Beech and Manawatu's Sam Portch and was able to dominate all races including the Keown Honda 666 Time Trial at Mitre 10.
Beech and Portch battled for the runner-up spot with Beech coming out on top with five second places in the six stages raced.
The Premier Women's grade provided the most intense racing with defending champion Ariana Snook trying to retain her title from Whanganui pair Monique Cleeve and Renee Teers.
However, this year the Whanganui girls were too strong with Teers dominating the indoor stages, except for the time trial won convincingly by Serenity Griffith of Manawatu.
Outdoors at Mitre 10 Cleeve was aggressive and determined and won both races and the Creative Aluminium 666 Time Trial with Snook in second and Teers third.
Teers led the tour by two points leading in Sunday's final stage at Kowhai Park, but Cleeve was unstoppable in the 10km points race taking the win and the title by two points. Snook was third and Griffith fourth.
The Masters grade was a great battle between Andy McDonnell and Whanganui's Paul Cleeve. Cleeve was faster in the time trial but McDonell was stronger over the distances winning the five remaining stages.
Newcomer Crystle Denbee was very consistent to take third place and first woman home ahead of Debra Smith who only competed in four stages.
In the Men's B grade Whanganui Junior stars Chase Morpeth and Drew Brennan went at it hammer and tong in every race with Morpeth always just getting the better of Brennan, until the 5km points race where Brennan scored a runaway win.
Morpeth took the tour win from Brennan with Jake Duggan of Hamilton third. Cole Raven of Manawatu was fourth. Josh Valentine, racing up an age group, raced the final 5km stage and took a close third place.
Ocean Woolley swept her age group with commanding wins in all stages, the Manawatu skater being too fast for her opposition. Jasmine Beech of Valley Inline fought a back and forth battle with Keira Hodgson of Whanganui with Beech finally getting the upper hand for second.
Avalee Laird was fourth. Nicole Valentine scored two seconds on the Sunday.
In the Juvenile Girls Tazia Parker led home an all Whanganui field with a perfect score of stage wins. Keira Brennan nailed down second spot from a determined and improving Mikayla Wason and fourth was Victoria Smith with newcomer Elilai Paton fifth.
Last years NZ Primary champion Gabby Valentine turned up to race the last two stages in her first race as a Juvenile and bagged a couple of second places.
The Juvenile Boys was a solid effort by Whanganui's Lucas Hodgson who won all but one stage. Mickey Zhang picked up the Time Trial and ran Hodgson a close second in all the other stages.
Manawatu's Nathan Bedford was third in an improving effort which saw him challenging the leaders as the tour progressed and Ryan Short got himself in the mix on Sunday.
The Primary/Novice grade was won by novice skater Samara Ward of Manawatu. The best racing was between Whanganui's Primary boy Hadley Smith and Manawatu Primary boy Storm Woolley. Woolley made the early running indoors, winning the time trial.
Outdoors it was the determined Smith who took the advantage winning the last stage and second overall with Woolley third. Emma Chen of Valley Inline was fourth from Whanganui pair Xander Laird and Quillan Carter. Ashley Short of Manawatu nabbed a second place on the Sunday.
By Staff Reporter
Whanganui Chronicle 29/11/18