Well it's better late than never, Happy New Year everyone!
We are already half way through the month of February before you know it it'll be the end of summer - crazy huh and what an awesome summer it has been - believe it or not! I have just got back from Wanaka - the best weekend I have ever had in a while! Good people, good weather, sunshine, spa, pool, soul searching, hide 'n' go seek, BBQ, egg's benedict, waffles, drinks, boating, Leroy and countless yarns about yarns.Was such an awesome weekend that will never be forgotten!
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| Egg's Benny |
I have been doing a wee bit travelling over summer whilst doing some low key training, on the road and in the gym preparing for track nationals. I spent Christmas in Christchurch and drove up to Nelson on Boxing day to spend New Year's there, then went back to Christchurch for the Denton Park New Year carnival. I have only ridden this once before and I can say that this year was the best I have ever seen, there were heaps of riders across all grades. Lots of people headed out to watch the two nights of racing which included some world class riders they definitely got their money's worth! The day after the carnival I headed back to Invercargill to attend the Mexico World Cup camp, I used this week to get back into a routine both on the bike and in the Gym with Jonsey.
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| Nelson :) |
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| 1 Lap Dash Final. Photo Credit: Bruce Wilson |
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| Scratch Race. Photo Credit: Bruce Wilson |
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| 1 Lap Dash Heat. Photo Credit: Bruce Wilson |
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| Katie Schofield - Me in her visor reflection. Photo Credit: Diaane Manson |
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| Katie & I. Semi-Final round 1. Photo Credit: Dianne Manson |
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| Sprints "Changing Diabetes". Photo Credit: Diaane Manson |
Track Nationals were held from Jan 31st - Feb 3rd starting with Elite women's standing 250m lap in the morning in a straight final and I was happy with a PB of 19.730s which got me a Silver medal. Later that day we had our 500m time trial so we did 1 lap in the morning then upped our game to 2 laps in the afternoon I again did another PB of 35.376s for a Bronze medal.
The following morning we had our 200m qualifying (11.414s), I just went under my previous PB from a few years ago so that was a good sign, I made my way through the rounds first racing against Kate Dudley (WCNI) then Katie Schofield (OTAGO) in the semi-finals, which is a best of three I was able to win 2 straight and go through to the finals against Natasha Hansen (SOUTHLAND). Later that night we raced for gold! Last we we both raced for gold as well, this year I was able to win the first round and went into the second round confident that I could win, I did just that I won the Elite Women's Sprint for the first time in 2 straight wins!
The next day were the keirins we only had 2 heats which meant only the top 3 were to go into the final that night. Unfortunately I just missed out and raced in the 7-12 I was a wee bit disappointed so I went into the 7-12 wanting to dominate and win. I did just that and won the 7-12 happy but a little bit disappointed.
The following day I teamed up with my teammate Natasha Hansen for the Elite Women's team sprint last year we won this event so we went into the race confident. We had qualifying in the morning with 5 other teams and the top 4 go through to 3-4 and 1-2 we were top qualifiers and just outside the NZ record, later that night we raced for gold yet again we were ready! In the final we did a 34.284 which meant we broke the NZ record and won gold :)
LINKS:
Semi Final 1 at 0.11s
Semi Final 2 at 2.37s
Final 1 at 5.41s
Final 2 at 8.52s:
Team Sprint (NZ Record) at 3:45s
500m Time Trial at 4.56s
Keirin B Final at 2.34s
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| Natasha and I after winning the team sprint :) |
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| Sprint rounds |
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| Sprint rounds, on my way to my first elite title |
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| Sprint Podium :) |
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| Happy! |
A few articles from the Southland Times:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/8254213/Wait-worth-it-as-McKenzie-grabs-title
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/8257895/Hansen-dedicates-record-ride-to-late-friend
Thanks heaps!
Steph
Congrats on all your successes so far already this year Steph! Keep up the great work!
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