This year’s Counties Cycle Classic will for the first time include a high speed criterium race at the Pukekohe Motorsport V8 track on Sunday 10 October 2021.
Run by the Rotary Club of Pukekohe, it will be the Classic’s fifth outing which is now run entirely on the iconic racetrack. The Criterium kicks off at 9.15am before the main races get underway at 10.30.
The Crit is a whole new ball game – fast and furious around a 1.5km course with sharp 180 degree turns at each end over 15 laps. The course is partly on the Pit Lane and partly on the V8 track and is recommended for experienced cyclists. The entry fee is $50, but riders entering one of the longer races as well get a discounted price of $60 for both.
The other distances on offer are 29 km (10 laps) 73 km (25 laps) or 44 km for e-bikes (15 laps).
After prize giving at 2.00pm the track will be open for one hour for children and their caregivers to freedom ride. The cost of this is $5 for children and $10 for adults. The entry fee for the main races is $50 with half price for students. Early bird prices apply till the end of August with an additional $15 after then.
There are prizes for the first male and female in each event including the criterium. Andy Baker, chairman of the Franklin Local Board, will start the races and Andrew Bayly, MP for Port Waikato, will present the prizes.
Organiser Graham Russell says there is already strong interest from the biking community in the criterium which adds on to what has already become an established event on the biking calendar. “As well as offering serious competitive riding, the Counties Cycle Classic is a great family day with something for everyone.”
Last year’s race was a scaled back affair because of Covid 19 but still attracted good numbers and raised over $7,000 for the rotary Club of Pukekohe which ploughs all the profits back into community projects. Last year’s take helped the Club donate more than $35,000 to charitable trust Pukekohe Community
Action to pay for food parcels which have been increasingly in demand since Covid.
It is full circle for the club which was formed in 1945 as its first project was providing food parcels to Britain following World War 2.
For more information and registration please go to our website: https://countiescycleclassic.co.nz
Russell says he’s looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday 10 October for a fun family day of cycling and at the same time contributing to the community with all profits going to charity.