Masterton cyclist Edwin Crossling recorded back-to-back titles on South Island roads when he took the spoils in Le Race, the annual Christchurch-to-Akaroa race on Saturday. Crossling turned on a stunning performance in windy conditions to pull clear over the final 10km to win in near identical fashion to his performance aweek earlier in Marlborough's third annual Forrest Estate GrapeRide event. The victory was especially sweet given he finished a close second in last year's race, though he could be forgiven for feeling a little tired after conquering one of the more gruelling hill climbs in New Zealand. "We've basically got two hills the equivalent of the Rimutaka's to get over so it's by no means an easy task," Crossling said. "But it was pretty fun actually, it was really windy and really hilly but it was a good day." The race was effectively handed to Crossling after his nearest rival, Timaru rider Reon Park, hit a patch of gravel and crashed about 8km from the finish line. With only the tricky descent standing between him and victory the national under-23 rep decided to take it easy, limiting himself to mere speeds of 90km/h on the straights, he said. "The last 5km is straight downhill and very fast and very technical, and even though I wasn't taking any risks I still managed to melt away a lot of the break pads. "I had a bit of a gap between me and Reon so I didn't need to do anything stupid by that stage, it was a matter of closing it out and I'm pretty happy with the win," Crossling said. "To back up from the GrapeRide in Marlborough is great as well because it goes to show my training is on track before I go overseas." Crossling heads to France in June after being selected by BikeNZ in the national under-23 squad. He has been told to arrive in Europe with "fresh legs" and so will not be undertaking anything overly strenuous between now and then, he said. "My aim for the trip is to gain selection for the world's team and since there's only three spots and about 12 guys going for it, it's going to be a challenge. "I was in the junior world's in 2004 so I'd love to make it there in the under-23 team as well." The world cycling championships will be held in Germany in September.
