Peak to Peak Race
Saturday 11 August saw the 25th running of the annual Peak to Peak multisport race in Queenstown. This is a classic on the sporting calendar in our neck of the woods and sees competitors race from the top of the Remarkables ski field to Coronet Peak on the other side of the Wakatipu Basin.
Involving five legs, it begins with a mad dash from the summit and a ski race down Remarkables’ famous Outward Bound run. Following the ski is a 17km downhill mountain bike from the bottom of ski course down the Remarkables access road to Frankton Beach.
Once competitors arrive at Frankton it’s the kayakers turn to brave the icy Lake Wakatipu and paddle 7km round the gardens and into Queenstown Bay.
They then tag in the team runner who legs it 7.3km up to Arthurs Point and finally tags in a cyclist to tackle the bike up the Coronet Peak access road, finally finishing at the Coronet ski field base area.
Rationale pulled together a crack team for the business house category, including:
- Ed Guy - ski
- Gavin Flynn - downhill bike
- Tim Tan – kayak
- Jimmy Sygrove – run
- Tom Lucas – uphill bike
Managing Director Edward Guy reckons this is the 12th time Rationale have entered the business house team event (where every competitor works for the same company).
It was a great day out, Ed was up first on the skis, coming home in the top 10 finishers with a blistering ski. He tagged in Gavin who kept us well within striking distance of the front pack with a solid effort on the downhill bike.
Once Gav made it to the beach it was Tim’s time to shine, who put in a stellar performance after just four training sessions in a fairly unstable kayak, arriving at Queenstown beach both dry and in the middle of the pack.
It was then Jimmy’s turn to tackle the run, where he surprised himself by picking up 16 places between Queenstown and Arthurs Point.
Jimmy then passed the baton to Tom, who anchored the team with an outstanding effort on the uphill bike leg, reeling in an untold number of cyclists on his way up.
Unsure of how we’d gone, the Rationale team was happy to enjoy a beer in the sun up the mountain, with a couple of keen athletes getting in a few laps on their skis.
We were all over the moon when we were called out for second place in our category, which was a fantastic result. While it may not have been first place, it leaves us with room for improvement for next year, where we’ll certainly be back for another hit out at the iconic event.
The end of the day saw competitors and families head back to Ed and Lisa Guy’s home where the result was analysed in front of a roaring fire and accompanied by a feast fit for champions put on by Lisa, needless to say it went down a treat.
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