TESSELAAR
“I was making a charge through the pack
when I hit a rock on a steep uphill and
almost crashed. Then I lost my clutch when
the bleed screw came loose... probably
a result of everything else that had
happened to me. And this was all within
the first lap.
“So I was left to complete the three-hour
race with no clutch,” he shrugged.
“I was well back from the leaders, but
pushed really hard and had taken the lead
before the end of the first 22-minute lap.
“The course was very rocky, but I managed
to avoid getting flat tyres by having double
tyre tubes and putting a bit of extra air
pressure in them,” he explained.
“I had a great battle with Brandon Given
[from Raglan] and Sam Brown [from Glen
Murray], until Sam had to pull out with a
flat tyre.
“My pit crew were great. My stop to refuel
near the end was very quick and I didn’t
lose my lead. After that I just rode safely
to avoid any silly mistakes or crashes and
took the win.”
Eventual runner-up at Marlborough was
Given, crossing the finish line a minute
behind Dickey, with Taupo’s Nathan
Tesselaar, Whanganui’s Seth Reardon and
Eketahuna’s Charlie Richardson completing
the top five.
KIWI RIDER 29