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| Hayden Roulston (Photo: Graham Watson) |
Recreational cyclists get the chance of a life time; riding with NZ’s top international road cyclists including Kiwi Tour de France hero Hayden Roulston at the SKINS Grand Prix around Christchurch’s city streets in January.
Coinciding with the RaboPlus Elite National Road Championships 8-10th January, the SKINS Grand Prix presented by Tineli is the first time ever recreational riders have been allowed to rub shoulders on the official Elite Championship course with NZ’s world class riders. In addition to several of BikeNZ’s Elite riders being available to ride with recreational riders, a number of NZ’s top riders will be testing the course a day prior to battling it out for national honours.
“We see NZ’s top cyclists such as Hayden Roulston and Gordon McCauley racing on TV, but rarely do everyday cyclists have the opportunity to ride and chat with our professional international road cyclists,” said event organiser Simon Hollander.
“It was our desire to let the booming number of recreational cyclists experience the excitement and strategies of world class racing. To succeed on the world stage our top cyclists must head to the tough racing of Europe. To have these guys come and share their experiences with everyday riders is exceptional.”
The Elite National course, taking in centre city racing and the tough climbs of the Cashmere hills, is based on the same course (albeit in reverse) as used in the 1974 Commonwealth Games. Recreational riders tackle the 15.6km course four times, experiencing the steep climbs and fast descents under closed conditions.
The Elite Men’s race will see some exciting match-ups and fierce racing as last year’s champ Gordon McCauley takes on local Hayden Roulston, who has already indicated a strong desire to see the national champ jersey back in Europe.
The recreational ride has been restricted to only 200 places as organisers maximise entrants’ exposure to top level road racing and the crème de la crème of NZ cycling.
Entries are now open at www.elitenationals.co.nz. The premium package for the select riders includes a free Elite Nationals race jersey from Tineli, $2,500 worth of SKINS and a $6000 Pinarello FP3 road bike to be won, a ride with the professionals, and free downloadable photos from the event.
The SKINS Grand Prix presented by Tineli will take place just before the National Elite women’s race at midday on Saturday January 9th , while the national Elite men start at 10am on Sunday 10th January.
For more information visit www.elitenationals.co.nz.
