Christchurch cyclist equals Le Race record in gruelling 100km race

Hundreds of high-performance cyclists and weekend wheelers took on the mammoth task of biking 100km from Christchurch to Akaroa celebrating the return of Le Race on Saturday.

Christchurch rider Sharlotte Lucas equalled a long-standing record in Le Race by claiming her fourth victory over the 100km classic.

Young 19-year-old Jonty Harris surprised the field and himself by claiming the biggest title of his career in the men’s race.

Lucas and Harris were just two of 550 entrants who put their legs to the test battling the hills of Banks Peninsula in the 24th edition of one of the country’s toughest one-day cycle events.

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Lucas had previously won Le Race in 2013, 2015 and 2017, and on Saturday equalled the record held by Jo Buick, set between 2001-2010.

She crossed the finished line in 2hrs 57 mins, two minutes ahead of Josie Wilcox in second place.

Lucas had recently resumed training after giving birth to a son and she said it “may have slowed me down a little bit, but obviously not too much”.

“I was pretty confident after I had a really good race at nationals a month ago,” Lucas said.

Lucas had settled for second places in three recent editions of Le race, falling short to her rival Kate McIlroy – who still holds the course record – but McIlroy was absent on the track this year.

“Kate is a class act on this course, but she had a baby as well, six months younger than my Jack, so I took my opportunity not having to race against Kate,” Lucas said.

Race favourite Australian elite rider Mathilda Raynolds, who recently moved to Christchurch, suffered a puncture and had to settle for third place behind Lucas and Wilcox.

In the men’s race, an early gamble on the first climb created a significant lead for Harris, only to be caught by Craig Oliver on the Summit Road with 20 km to the finish line.

“I built a pretty good gap, but with about 3km to the last downhill I got a flat,” said Oliver.

“That’s going to hurt for a while. I felt super good and thought I had it in the bag, but that’s sport.”

Harris regained the lead and successfully held off Finnegan Murphy to win 41 seconds ahead of his team-mate in 2hrs 43 mins.

“I took off to see how far I would get, but ended up getting a bit further than I expected,” said Harris, who is set to travel to Belgium to try to earn a professional contract.

“I am leaving on Monday, so this is a fantastic confidence booster. I have never raced in Europe before, so it will be a pretty cool experience.”

Le Race was last raced in 2021, missing out last year due to a series of Covid lockdown postponements. The race was also affected by the 2019 terror attack and the Port Hills fires a year earlier.

Race organiser Sheree Stevens hoped the return of Le Race was the “dawn of happier times for Christchurch and its cycling community”.

“You could say Le Race has been on life support over the past few years,” Stevens said.

There were 200 fewer racers lined up at the start of Saturday’s race compared to the 750 entrants in 2021, but Stevens said she was “thrilled” to get racers back racing on the route.

“The numbers are down, I’m honest about that. We’ve had three cancellations [in recent years], but it’s just good to be back into the swing of it.”

“The weather has absolutely turned it on and there are some very exhausted riders, some extremely happy riders… it’s quite special.”

Stevens said there had been one minor incident on the track and one rider had been taken to a local medical centre with a sore neck.