Dougal Allan, Melanie Smith take home individual titles.
July 25th, 2007
Athletes from across New Zealand's South Island assembled in the Wakatipu on Saturday for the fourteenth The North Face Peak to Peak multi-sport race.
With a forecast of snow showers to 400 metres the athletes and organisers were a little apprehensive about the prospects for Saturday but the day dawned bright and sunny with no sign of the predicted weather. By start time however a very light snowfall had begun on the Remarkables but this did not affect the race in any way.
The record field of 95 teams and 48 individuals waited at the top of the Turquoise run on the Remarkables for the road closure, but as soon as this was given a mad dash to the skis and boards preceded a quick downhill run to the ski - bike transition. With most of the field arriving within seconds of each other the prospect of getting a time for each individual soon disappeared and the mountain bikers quickly disappeared down the road on the dash to get across the basin to Coronet Peak via downtown Queenstown.
A great contest was on in the teams section with six teams reaching Frankton Beach within the same minute. The racing order was now becoming established with all the winning teams in this first group.
At the transition to the paddle section, competitors were met by flat waters which allowed for a fast kayak leg in to Queenstown Bay.
At Frankton Beach the Outside Sports team had a narrow lead over the other teams with the first individuals, Matt Woods and Hamish Robb just off the pace. With a great paddle, Ian Huntsman bought his team PhysioMed Open (Christchurch) to the front to change a 20 second deficit into a one minute 10 second advantage and set the ground work for team mates Matt Pepller and Fraser McMaster.
McMaster, a pro cyclist, increased the gap from the following teams and arrived at the finish with a clear one minute 45 second advantage over the Outside Sport bike rider Jim Hawkridge. PhysioMed Open finished in a time of 2hrs 8mins and 6secs with Outside Sport second in 2hrs 9mins and 51secs.
The two individual athletes leading at the end of the second leg, the downhill mountain bike, were chased down and eventually passed by the three first finishers.
Dougal Allan (Dunedin) had arrived at the race with the aim of winning and this he did in fine style. Sixth at the end of leg two, third at the end of leg three and by the line he finished 5 minutes clear of his closest challenger, in a time of 2hrs 17mins and 6secs. Second place Braden Currie (2hrs 17mins (Wanaka) was a further 1min 7secs clear of Gavin Mason (2hrs 23mins 47secs).
Allan was delighted with his win and encouraged by the number of people in the field competing.
"It is great to see the race so well supported. The weather was good for racing and the course was in a great condition," said Allan.
Melanie Smith from Arrowtown , first last year and second the year before was relegated to second again by Sarah Fairmaid (Te Anau) who finished in a good time of 2hrs 41mins and 48secs. Smith was second in 2hrs 44mins with Emily Miazga (Christchurch) third in 2hrs 52mins and 44secs. Mitch Murdoch racing in the Vet Womens division showed her strength by finishing in 2hrs 48mins and 22secs.
First male veteran across the line reversed the results from last year. Last years third place getter Ray Hope (Dunedin) finished first in 2hrs 29mins and 30secs, pushed Eric Billoud from Queenstown to second place in 2hrs 30min 14secs, and Steve Norton (Queenstown) took third in 2hrs 30mins 42 secs.
In the all-women division Wanaka Physio kept the second place spot from last year finishing in 2hrs 37mins 47secs with the R & R Sport Dunedin Chicks taking the first spot in 2hrs 35 mins and 14secs.
The hotly contested Business House section was won by the construction team of Naylor Love Construction in 2 hrs 31mins and 25 secs with the Rationale Ltd second in 2 hrs 37mins 25secs.
First home in the mixed team category went to Christchurch PhysioMed Mixed in a time of 2hrs 15mins 41secs. This completed a clean sweep for PhysioMed Chch with wins in the Open team, mixed teams and open mens division.
The experienced team of John Knight, Baz Smith and Adam Fairmaid (Outside Sports Young Hicks Queenstown ) took an easy win in the Vet teams division in a time of 2hrs 39mins and 34secs.
A new school team division this year, saw seven teams lining up with the James Hargest College Rage team winning in 2hrs 26mins and 08secs.
A selection of photos is available on
www.magicmemories.co.nz/ptpk
The North Face Peak to Peak Results
Men
1st Dougal Allan 2.17.06
2nd Braden Currie 2.22.41
3rd Gavin Mason 2.23.47
Women
1st Sarah Fairmaid 2.41.48
2nd Melanie Smith 2.44.00
3rd Emlie Miazga 2.52.44
Vet Men
1st Ray Hope 2.29.30
2nd Eric Billoud 2.30.14
3rd Steve Norton 2.30.42
Vet Women
1st Mitch Murdoch 2.48.22
Teams
Open Teams
1st PhysioMed 2.08.06
2nd Outside Sports 2.09.51
3rd R & R Sport Dunedin Boys 2.16.16
Womens Teams
1st R & R Sport Dunedin Chicks 2.35.14
2nd Wanaka Physiotherapy 2.37.47
Mixed Teams
1st PhysioMed 2.15.41
2nd White Horse 2.32.31
3rd Humps and Bumps 2.36.56
Business House Teams
1st Naylor Love Construction 2.31.25
2nd Rationale Ltd 2.37.25
3rd Copthorne & Millennium Maintenance Men 2.45.35
Veteran Mixed
1st A Team 2.39.34
Veteran Men
1st Outside Sports Young Hicks 2.15.00
School Teams
1st James Hargest College Rage 2.26.08
