2009 Race Report Thorne and Reekie-May win Colville Connection It took Scott Thorne just over 3 hours to ride to victory in the rugged Kona Colville Connection mountain bike race around the top of Coromandel Peninsula today. An international field of 915 riders lined up for the marathon 72km course, which started and finished in the small settlement of Colville and circumnavigated the stunning, but very wet, remote northern reaches of Coromandel Peninsula. Thorne, an elite triathlete, made his break early on and managed to hold onto his lead around the top of Coromandel. However on the home leg Mathew Gorter attacked closing in on Thorne. By the time the leaders crossed the finish-line back in Colville Thorne was the victor, managing to hold off all attacks to win in a total time of 3:01:11 with Gorter 2 nd just over a minute behind and Garth Weinberg finishing an impressive 3 rd on a single speed mountain bike in 3:03:54. It took Thorne three attempts to win the Kona Colville Connection, the first time puncturing and in his last attempt claiming 3 rd . Thorne's focus now turns to winning the upcoming Xterra race in Rotorua. Renowned national mountain biker Roz Reekie-May was the clear winner in the women's race crossing the line in 3:35:24, with former NZ mountain bike rep Sadie Wynyard-Parker home in second, eleven minutes down with Sarah Pitcher-Campbell third a further four minutes back. Course conditions had changed considerably overnight due to heavy rain, making the trails slippery and more technical in parts. "The rain hasn't been good, but the community was great looking after everyone in the trying conditions" comment race director Graeme Brown . "The course wasn't conducive to any new course records, but once again we have had another great event with over 1463 mountain bikers across all races, enjoying Coromandel's best scenery." "There will be a few sore bodies tomorrow, but rest assured the stunning memories will live a lot longer." Results - Kona Colville Connection Marathon 72km Men Women |