Black Barn Vineyards

The golden glow of spring sunshine bathed rows of grapes in sunlight at Black Barn for the fifth and final race of the 2016 Cyclocross Hawke's Bay series. 
 
The weather, wintry for the last few weeks, was warm and pleasant, while the wintry rains had left enough moisture around to make racing slippery combined with an undulating course that left legs aching and lungs searing. 
 
First off, on a longer than usual course was the under 7 kids, and it was fantastic to see how far some of these youngsters have come in terms of bike confidence and handling skills over the duration of the series. From "balance bikes" to “gear bikes” everyone was excited to go through the mud, down the hills and up the other side, and there were plenty of smiling faces, although some pretty red and tired ones too, at the finish line. 
 
Tommy Nation has won the last 3 races in the Arataki Honey 7 and under class,  but today he took a tumble on the final lap, and while he showed some great resilience in getting up and back on the bike, he was unable to catch back up to Monty Stewart who slipped through for a well-deserved win, Frank Nicholls rounding out the top 3. 
 
The girls race was won by Georgia Mill, who showed a clean pair of wheels to hold off Francesca York and Charlotte Mclaren.
 
In the Arataki Honey 10 and under class, Ben Gray has dominated the last two events, and he lead from start to finish again today, ahead of Lachine Leitch, and Casey Thompson. The best kids racing all year however, both in terms of numbers, and competitiveness, has been the girls under 10, and today once again showed some sensational riding.  Lola Nicholls was the fastest out of the gate, and at the bell lap it looked like she might be able to take another wire to wire finish, but not was Amy York who took the lead, and she was able to hold on despite a spring up the final straight,  and take the win by the tightest of margins, the 3rd different winner in as many races. Kate Mclaren and Amy Nichol were close behind them for 3rd and 4th; girls taking 2nd, through 6th on the line for the under 10’s overall. 
 
Mens B grade racers have spent most of the series chasing 13yr old Max Williams, and today was no exception, the talented young rider led from start to finish on a testing course, ahead of a fast finishing Josh Achten, and Brent Symes. He struggled somewhat in spraying the bubbly on the podium, but the way this young man rides a bike, he is sure to get plenty of practise in the future. 
 
In the women’s, Kirsty Mccallum was able to keep clear of series lead Hayley Davis, and hold on for a well-earned win, while Rachael Nicholls made the most of plenty of running section on the course to finish 3rd. 
 
Men’s A grade was the final event of the day, and while there was a mathematical chance that Gary Hall could be overtaken in the series, he made even that redundant with a dominant performance, lapping almost all of the men’s field bar 3 or 4 competitors and taking out the win. Fresh from a classy second place at the National Championships, Sam Gardner was full of riding, for second while under 23 rider Gareth Cannon had a strong race for 3rd place after a fast start. 


 
Once again the series has been popular with adults and kids, both competitive and social, and Black Barn proved an ideal location for the finale, as competitors enjoyed traditional Belgian fare, with mulled wine and hot chips, at the finish.  
 
Racing will be back in 2017.