A golden performance from Geraldine’s Kyra Marrett has topped off a successful outing for Cycling South Canterbury.
Held from September 29 to October 1, the National School Road Cycling Championships was the biggest event Cycling South Canterbury had hosted to date.
The competition was held at Fairview Hall and Levels International Motor Raceway and featured more than 300 riders from 82 schools around New Zealand.
Marrett shone in both the road and points race, picking up a silver and gold medal respectively in the U20 girls’ section.
Organising committee member Wayne Morris said he was pleased with how the three-day event was received.
"It was a pretty successful three days of racing.
"Weather played its part, which made it better, and the comments from all the visiting teams, especially from the North Island, were very positive.
"They said it was a very well-run event with very good courses.
"It’s always good to get positive feedback, so we’re more than happy with that."
He said he was pleased to see several South Canterbury riders pick up strong results.
"We picked up three medals over the three days.
"Conor Toomey was second in the U17 boys, so that was a pretty good result for him; it’s pretty competitive at that grade.
"Kyra had a good weekend. Numbers in the girls’ racing were down but there was still a quality field.
"Emily Best got fourth, although she actually tied third for the U14 girls’ point race but it was on a countback so she ended up finishing fourth.
"All the others showed commitment but sometimes you’re just not in the right place at the right time.
"It’s all experience though, especially in the younger grades."
Mr Morris said he was very thankful to members of Cycling South Canterbury for their efforts in making the event a success.
"We've proved that even though we rely on volunteers to run events we do get good support from our club members.
"It takes a lot of effort in the background to get these events, but I think we're pretty lucky with the base membership we've got in the club.
"A lot of them are happy to put the hand up and work.
"Although we aren’t running the races, we’re supplying the amenities, the course, the marshals and drivers, so it's still a big commitment and a big draw on our membership."
The club will next turn its attention towards hosting the Elite Road National Championships in early February next year.
