Grand Finale - Day 8 - Sat April 21

Team Hikurangi celebrates the Tour:  Ashlee, Claire, Alex, Patrick, Rod and Sarah

Together in Wellington at last! After seven days and 700km of racing in our respective islands, our teams, Hikurangi North and South, combined for the grand finale this morning of the inaugural Tour of New Zealand — a short street race in front of Parliament.

It was a tricky little circuit of some 700m. Starting at the foot of the steps at the main entrance of Parliament, we shot past the Beehive, down through two tight turns of the sweeping drive to Molesworth St, left up the hill, sharp left back into the Parliamentary grounds and up the rise back to the steps. The 12 races varied from two laps for the slowest teams to 10 laps for the Tour leaders.

We competed in the second race - Ashlee, Alex, Sarah, Claire, Patrick and Rod. Rod led into the first corner but was caught by a member of Team Pure Go on the sharp downhill corners leading to Molesworth. Failing to get back in contention, we eased off after a while and came home more or less together in the camaraderie of the road.

The racing was fabulous to do and watch. Each short, sharp adrenalin-filled contest, the complete antithesis of the long hours on the road this past week, was a great high on whch to end the Tour.

The last race pitted the North Island winners, RNZAF Ohakea, against the South Island winners, Christchurch Boys’ High School. The lads, led by Anton Cooper, the world mountain bike champion in his age group, were very impressive. Riding with power, style and discipline they left the RZNAF cyclists far back in their slipstream to become overall winners of the Tour and recipients of the $4,000 prize.

Later in the morning, some 300 of us gathered in the ballroom of the InterContinental Hotel for prize-giving. Lots of stories, thank yous to organisers and support crew and celebrations flowed for an hour and a half. Then we bid our farewells and headed off to our homes around the country and overseas.

So, eight days of bliss — delightful company, beautiful scenery, thrilling riding and great fun — were over. What an adventure! What a Tour!