Takapuna Crit

Feb 9th

Thrills and spills and full on speed and action. Friday night in Takapuna is already a thriving atmosphere, but on this night some of the countries best cyclists rolled into the main pub strip to provide some entertainment. The weather was great and the crowds came. Not a common scene in NZ cycling, spectators 3 deep around the technical circuit.

With all the stars racing - Sarah Ulmer, Meshy Holt and Linda Villumsen, the pace was frantic.

Toni was on a mission to escape this night, chucking it at them every chance she got. Crit racing isn't really her strong suit, but with her typically aggressive nature, she made life difficult for everyone and came close several times at instigating the winning break.

The photo above was taken when Tone had just lit it up out of the hotdog turn and was stretching out the field. On her wheel - Linda, Sarah & Meshy. The interesting thing about this was that when I showed the photo to Toni, she had no idea what damage she was doing. Maybe she should have taken a look over her shoulder.

In the end it was Marina Duvnyak, who was almost dropped several times, who stole a march on the field in the last lap and rolled in well clear. Marina has done this before but without a consistent high pace, she will continue to do so, such is her finishing speed.

Toni kept the pace high all night and will one day soon, have her day!