Old Dog, New Tricks – Sniped the Sprint at Leeston! | Pulled a 1st | Leeston Handicap Race Christchurch, Canterbury ☀️

{"raceId":13802942888,"athleteId":2188545,"name":"Old Dog, New Tricks – Sniped the Sprint at Leeston! | Pulled a 1st | Leeston Handicap Race Christchurch, Canterbury ☀️","description":"After smashing myself yesterday with some brutal V̇O₂ efforts, I wasn’t expecting much from the legs tonight. But hey, the Leeston race night is sacred, so there was never a question of if I’d line up—just how much it would hurt.\n\nNumbers were a bit light tonight, only 35 starters, but I found myself as the lone warrior in First Break. Not ideal, but lucky for me, three strong lads joined me: Greg Manson (absolute weapon), Tom Scott (young and dangerous), and Jann, a South African-American visitor from Rochester, USA, making his Kiwi racing debut. Scratch had a minute 30 to reel us in—good luck, fellas.\n\nWith no roadworks, we had the full course, and we needed every metre of it. Ahead, a hefty Second Break group full of in-form hitters, including Hayden Name, Steve Caldwell, and Darcy Forrester, dangled 45 seconds up the road. We set into a smooth, disciplined paceline, and despite me being the senior statesman of the bunch (ahem, turning 63 next year), we all pulled our weight.\n\nBy the halfway mark, we reeled in the earlier groups. I made sure to attack through them—none of this sitting-up-and-waiting business. We didn’t need any extra passengers! With no wind to break things up, it was a hard ask, but we kept the pressure on.\n\nFinal leg: Greg launches. Tom follows. I chase with Jann in tow. A bit of tactical cat-and-mouse ensues—blocking, counterattacks, burning matches left, right, and centre. Young gun Connor Walsh found himself in the wind a bit too long, which worked perfectly for me.\n\nWith a few hundred metres to go, I remembered Sunday’s sprint disappointment and knew I had to go early. Jumped. Gave it everything. Probably only squeezed out 800 watts (because, let’s be honest, I’m old), but it was just enough. Held it to the line. First place. Not bad for an old fella.\n\nScratch finished right on our heels—about 10-15 seconds back—so naturally, the excuses came flying. Maybe if they’d actually worked together from the gun, they might have caught us? (Insert cheeky grin here.)\n\nPost-race, the usual suffering continued with a good-natured smashfest into Lincoln, where Steve Caldwell cheekily pipped me on the right while I was too busy fighting Phil on the left. Can’t win ’em all!\n\nWrapped it all up with a few pints at The Lab before rolling home in Zone 1/2. Now sitting in the spa, spinning this yarn with the satisfaction of a job well done.\n\n\nWeather Report: Clear sky, 17°C, and the wind was blowing 13km/h from ENE\n\n📈 aiendurance.com summary:\nExternal stress score: 193","primaryImageUrl":"https://d35tn3x5zm6xrc.cloudfront.net/yQ6g5Pfy5credeyye6mjKkhIOQFrdrYomd01FfCxd4ZA/thumbnails/x0FMdxMTmM1bFZJNccCSBCE3_NH7RTZC5EWB1nJ46vw_320x568.jpg","distance":118334.0,"elapsedTime":19928,"totalElevationGain":64.0,"type":"Ride","sportType":"Ride","workoutType":11,"startDate":"Mar 6, 2025, 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