Photo finish required after dramatic final lap
Seamus O’Donnell (centre) had to push his bike over the finish line after his chain fell off on the final corner of the race. Photo: Supplied.
It was a photo-finish sprint for the line as the action heated up in round two of the Nelson Cyclocross.
After leading by an almost unassailable margin, Seamus O’Donnell’s chain fell off on the final corner of the race and he was forced to sprint to the line with bike in hand to take the chequered flag.
Having come into the race as a favourite after a few recent wins under his belt in Nelson and Marlborough, he quickly found himself chasing after the mass start saw the field quickly broken up and a dark horse, Martin Blackman, taking out an early lead.
Martin had raced Cyclocross in the UK, but hadn’t competed for the last 10 years after making the transition to enduro racing.
A cracked chain-stay before the race saw him break out the gravel bike with slick tyres, but three laps in and with a good lead, Martin’s front tyre popped and he needed to pull over for a quick pump up. Seamus and four other riders were able to pass Martin, even if he would have won a record for quickest tyre pumping.
Three laps later, Martin had made up ground and was in second place, behind Seamus, and was given a sniff of stealing the win as he looked to overtake the rider and his stricken bike on the finish line.
A photo finish saw Seamus just make it to the finish line and take out first place in what organisers called the most exciting Cyclocross race in local history.
The final race culminated an exciting and fun day of action which kicked off with 30 kids under-10 lined up to do laps around the shorter course.
The cuteness factor was high, with organiser Vaughan Watson proudly running around after his daughter alongside other parents keeping their young ones close, with lots of slips in the mud, mostly from the parents.
Next was the short course race, which is for any type of bike as they ranged from single speed, hardtails, full suspension and even city bikes with panniers.
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Alan Newton took the win for the fastest male after a close race, while Sandy Vincent took out the fastest female win on her full-suspension bike after a last-minute change of course due to some mechanical issues with her Cyclocross bike.
Round three of the series will see competitors move venues to Rabbit Island on 16 July.