Nathan Bell (Fairlie) made the most of his opportunities but paid the price with tired legs and a few spills on the descent from Goat Pass on the first day of the men's two-day Coast to Coast race yesterday.
A first -timer, Bell was involved in a 40-strong leading bunch over the 55km cycle stage from Kumara to Aickens. But from the start he felt he was in catch-up mode, following an error in finding his bike at transition after the run up from Kumara Beach, costing him valuable time.
He then led a chasing group of 20 for the first 20km while they made ground on a leading bunch of another 20 riders, helping expand this to 40 for the remainder of the 55km cycle stage.
After a congested transition and little time to catch his breath, he put in a strong uphill run to Goat Pass, only to suffer on the descent, where he took several spills on the run through the valley, suffering cuts and grazing to both hands, which will have an effect on his grip for kayak and bike stages into Christchurch. River levels are low and it will be Bell's first time on the kayaking section of the race.
Snapping at his heels is Mark Beesley (Rotorua) and a tightly bunched 10 or so other competitors all waiting to pounce.
In this group are Dunedin's Tim Johnson and Sam Cosgrove.
For Johnson (24), it is this third time on the course. This experience paid off from the start where he was second on to the bike from the run off the beach.
"I just spent too much time at the front of the bike. I should have sat back and just cruised a bit," he said.
"As soon as I got on that run, I knew I'd pushed it to hard on the bike. Going up was really tough and I made some silly mistakes through Big Boulders, but I'm happy with the way I went, to tell the truth."
The cloud lifting compounded Johnson's progress.
"On that downhill section it was just so damned hot. I had a tiny little bottle of water on that downhill the whole way. That's all I had for an hour and a-half.
That tiny little bottle. I really paid."
Johnson said he struggled over the closing stages of the alpine run getting his legs to go.
But a night of reflection, a massage, plenty of rest and eat lot of food are his strategies for day two.
"Hopefully, I'll make up a few places," he said.
The open women's section is turning into a two-way battle between Toni Keeling (North Shore) and Koleighne Ford (Christchurch), with just 3min 34sec separating the pair.
Keeling (20) was involved in the first group of cyclists, which put a handy 7min 48sec lead on Ford going into the alpine run.
Keeling admitted her legs were getting tired at the top of Goat Pass, but she managed a quick recovery for the downhill.
A good night's rest, food and a hot bath are part of her focus for the race into Christchurch. But in her fourth time in the race, Keeling is sure she has done enough over the past 12 months to achieve her aim of a top three place.
"I think I've improved a lot, but obviously there are some really good other women out there. It's still another day and it's a long way to go."
