From Highway Highlights to Global Flights: New Zealand’s Thrilling Weekend Journey Culminates in a 156km Vintage Ride

When Rhylee Akeroyd (Meridian Blue p/b 99 Motorcycles) completed some of the key targets she were operating towards this 12 months on Friday, a countrywide under-23 highway race identify, there used to be no time to rejoice her win in Timaru as any other goal used to be about 40 hours and an ocean away.

Akeroyd had slightly stepped off the rostrum the place she claimed the jersey of a New Zealand champion earlier than she needed to snap into motion and forgo a nights sleep in order that on Sunday morning the overall 12 months below 23 rider may line up in Colac for the Lochard Power Warrnambool Girls’s Vintage, the second one spherical of racing on the ProVelo Tremendous League.

Lacking out on one or the opposite used to be by no means in point of fact an possibility for the 21-year-old as each the nationwide championships and 2nd spherical of racing within the ProVelo Tremendous League had been essential stepping stones.

“I’m really hoping to be picked up by a professional team in Europe – that would be the dream and I also really would love to be in Rwanda at the first ever under-23 Women’s World Championship race,” stated Akeroyd.

“That’s a huge goal for me and I knew that taking the silver fern at the Nationals would give me a good opportunity to get selection for that race.”

A just right efficiency in Rwanda on the Global Championships, the place the below 23 ladies may have a stand on my own race for the primary time, would in fact lend a hand at the trail to the primary purpose of securing a certified contract. Nonetheless so may the the ProVelo Tremendous League as the below 23 ladies’s winner will obtain a freelance with Liv-AlUla-Jayco. 

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“As soon as I saw the ProVelo Super League advertised, I knew that I had to be there,” stated Akeroyd. “It’s so close to home and we don’t have anything like this in New Zealand. 

“Then I saw that there was a pro contract up for grabs, so I didn’t want to die wondering so I knew that I had to be at every single race. It was a given for me.”

And he or she wasn’t the one one, with Meridan Blue p/b 99 Motorcycles teammate Kirsty Watts, who took 2nd within the U23 class of the Biking New Zealand Elite Highway Nationwide Championships, additionally making the go back and forth to the Warrnambool Girls’s Biking Vintage. Each confirmed little signal that their performances were compromised via the sprint, with Watts eleventh and Akeroyd fifteenth. 

So used to be it definitely worth the sleepless evening and fast turnaround?

“100%, of course it was,” stated Akeroyd with out a 2nd of hesitation.

“I do quite well under fatigue so yeah, I was actually feeling really good out there, probably better than I was feeling on Friday, to be honest.”

Which is greater than a lot of her better-rested competitors may say after tackling the quick version of the 156km race which used to be hit via forceful go and tailwinds. This used to be acquainted territory for Akeroyd.

“I come from Invercargill, at the very bottom of New Zealand, so I’ve grown up racing in echelons, been blown off the road a couple times, only being a small build, so I knew where to position myself today and I found myself in all the right places.”