Gordon the fastest on muddy Motu Trail

TAKING THE PLUNGE: Gisborne cyclist Callum Gordon turns mountainbiking into an aquatic sport as he dives into a swollen creek, wheel bearings, transmission and all, to lead Jack McLaughlin over the 50km bush and farmland course of the longest race, the Weka Special, at the Motu Special races on Sunday. Gordon won the feature race, with McLaughlin third behind Stephen Sheldrake. Pictures by Scottie T

CALLUM Gordon and Kendra Tate conquered extremely muddy conditions to take home the trophies in the Motu Special mountainbike races on Sunday.

Gordon was men’s winner in the 50km Weka Special while Tate was women’s winner in the 25km Falcon Special.

The Motu Special mountainbike races featured nearly 100 riders in five events, themed on special native birds found in the Motu area — weka, falcon, blue duck, kiwi and tomtit.

With heavy rain in the previous 12 hours, and a very hilly farmland and bush course, the leg strength of a boosting weka was indeed appropriate across all of the distances.

Weka Special riders tackled a two-lap course. The lead was quickly whittled down to three Gisborne riders, with Gordon followed by Stephen Sheldrake and Jack McLaughlin.

Gordon stayed in control the whole way and won in 2hrs 24min. Ten minutes back, Sheldrake and McLaughlin sprinted out the minor places.

Whakatane’s Phillip McIlroy-Bisley was fourth in 2hrs 45m, followed by Ohope adventure racer Alex Coventry in 2hrs 49m.

The one-lap Falcon race followed the same course, soaring from around 450m altitude at Motu to a height of almost 800m — before swooping dramatically to the historic Marumoko road.

This second year of the Motu Special again featured keen children’s racing. The Kiwi Special for 11 to 15-year-olds was won by Cjay Ingram and Maia-Jo Fisher of Gisborne.

The Tomtit Special for 7 to 10-year-olds was won by Morgan Purcell of Whakatane and Hayley Delahaye of Gisborne.

It was fitting that the prizegiving of this great heartland event was accompanied by the call of weka.

RESULTS

PGG Wrightson Weka Special 50km

Men: Callum Gordon (Gis) 2hr 24m; Stephen Sheldrake (Gis) 2hr 34m; Jack McLaughlin (Gis) 2hr 34m. (No women contested the Weka Special).

Ballance Falcon Special 25km:

Men: Adam Tate (Gis) 1hr 29m; Jak Purcell (Whak) 1hr 35m; Dan Dearman (Gis) 1hr 36m.

Women: Kendra Tate (Gis) 1hr 53m; Rebecca Clarke (Auck) 1hr 55m; Tracy Mitchell (Whak) 1hr 56m.

Farmlands Blue Duck Special 12km:

Men: Robert Delahaye (Motu) 45m; Josh Burt (Gisb) 47m; Brendan McQuade (Gis) 56m.

Women: Rehette Stoltz (Gis) 58m; Amy Spence (Gis) 1hr 2m; Margaret Badger (Gis) 1hr 2m.

Motu Community House Kiwi Special 5km:

Boys: Cjay Ingram (Gisb) 21m; Joshua Lardelli (Gisb) 21m; Luke Norris (Gisb) 22m.

Girls: Maia-Jo Fisher (Gis) 24m.

Weet-Bix Tomtit Special 5km:

Boys: Morgan Purcell (Whak) 23m; Daniel Batten (Gis) 26m; Sam Fisher (Gis) 27m.

Girls: Hayley Delahaye (Gis) 30m.