Cyclists using their heads to seal win

NZ ROAD CYCLING CHAMPS
by David Ogilvie
A helmet had a busy day at the New Zealand Club road cycling championships yesterday but a very successful one at that.
The same head covering "navigated" former Olympian Chris Nicholson to a win in the Masters 2 time-trial, his son Thomas to his win in the under-15 boys 10km time-trial and clubmate Gary Overend to his win in the Masters 5 event.
In fact it was Overend's helmet.
Nicholson: "He had all the gear and I borrowed his helmet and got it for Tom. He rode in the morning, then we changed the helmet and skin suit over, and I wore it."
"Gary finished and I swapped handle bars and stem and all sorts of stuff around for me. So we shared quite a bit during the day but the helmet won three titles."
Nicholson lays claim to yesterday's win being his 50th national title in cycling and skating "some of them pretty obscure. I've been on 49 for a while".
But it's an amazing record for a man who has represented New Zealand in both sports at the Olympics the cycling time-trial at Barcelona in 1992 and the speed skating in the Albertville and Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
His other goal yesterday in 1997 he won the New Zealand senior time-trial title and no one else has ever gone quicker than his 51min 09sec. He wanted to see if he could go faster even though not over the full 40km distance this time.
"I wasn't allowed to ride senior because I had taken out a Masters licence (20km), but I did 25 or so, so if you double it, it's still under the 51.09."
It was a fast course. Despite the rain (not as heavy as in the middle of town), most riders found the flat course and lack of wind entirely to their liking.
One of the perennial national champions, John Alabaster (Central Otago), in the masters men four grade, recorded his fastest time in the past 12 years and he had won them all.
The top men's grades didn't produce anything quicker than Nicholson. The expected winner of the men's under-23, Feilding's Olympian Jesse Sergent, broke a chain and didn't continue. That race went to Stratford's Michael Torckler in 52min 35.8sec.
The senior men's winner - Aaron Strong (Counties Manukau) - took 52min 58.71sec, so Chris Nicholson can be allowed his day in the sun or rain, as it was.
The women's race produced a surprise, with an unknown in Blenheim's Bronwyn Frazer winning in 35min 36.5sec ahead of Otago's Dale Tye and New Plymouth's Kerri-Anne Torckler.
The road races start today and continue over the weekend.