Le Race

Le Race is a road bicycle racing event held annually in Canterbury, New Zealand since 1999. The race starts in Christchurch and finishes in Akaroa, and covers a distance of 100 kilometres (62 mi).

The 2014 Le Race lead group in Little River

History

Le Race was first held in 1999. In the 2001 event, competitor Vanessa Caldwell died on the Summit Road in the Port Hills when she collided head-on with a car. Race organiser Astrid Anderson was charged with criminal nuisance and convicted in 2003, with a NZ$10,000 fine imposed. The conviction had a major impact on events held on New Zealand roads, with many events cancelled or postponed.^[1] The Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in September 2004, as the judge was found to have misdirected the jury. No new trial was ordered, but her conviction was quashed.^[1] Anderson's legal costs were NZ$60,000.^[2]

In 2001, Le Race was one of two events in New Zealand that had a traffic management plan,^[1] but this became compulsory following the 2001 fatality. Many club races consequently disappeared, with an underground cycling movement developing of holding unofficial races.^[2]

Anderson, the original owner of Le Race, sold the event to Simon Hollander in 2008.^[3][4] Hollander passed the event on to Sheree Stevens, whose first event as race director was in 2015.^[5]

Le Race traditionally started in Christchurch's Cathedral Square in March of each year. The 2011 Christchurch earthquake caused the postponement of Le Race and due to the Central City Red Zone, the 2011 event was held on 15 October and started from Elgin Street in Sydenham.^[6] After using Elgin Street as the start for four times, Le Race returned to Cathedral Square for the event held on 21 March 2015.^[5] In the 2016 event held on 20 March, a shorter option of just 53 kilometres (33 mi) that finished in Little River was also offered.^[7] Kate McIlroy won the race in 2019 and vowed that it was her last race. The 2020 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, McIlroy happened to be in Christchurch and signed up on the start line, winning the race in record time.^[8]

Multiple winners

Men's

Wins	Name	Years
3	Mark Bailey	2003, 2004, 2006
	Michael Vink	2010, 2013, 2021
2	Jeremy Yates	2008, 2009
	Daniel Whitehouse	2018, 2019

Women's

Wins	Name	Years
4	Jo Buick	2001, 2002, 2003, 2010
3	Reta Trotman	2011, 2012, 2014
	Sharlotte Lucas	2013, 2015, 2017
2	Annalisa Farrell	2000, 2005
	Kate McIlroy	2019, 2021

Past winners

Year	Men's winner	Women's winner
1999[9]	Chris Barnsley	Tracy Clark
2000[9]	Ben Bright	Annalisa Farrell
2001[9]	Stuart Lowe	Jo Buick
2002[9]	Heath Blackgrove	Jo Buick
2003[9]	Mark Bailey	Jo Buick
2004[9]	Mark Bailey	Michelle Kiesanowski
2005[9]	Brian Fowler	Annalisa Farrell
2006[9]	Mark Bailey	Josie Loane
2007[9]	Edwin Crossling	Carla Ryan
2008[9]	Jeremy Yates	Serena Sheridan
2009[9]	Jeremy Yates	Simone Grounds
2010[9]	Michael Vink	Jo Buick
2011[6][9]	Joshua Atkins	Reta Trotman
2012[9]	Sam Hogan	Reta Trotman
2013[9]	Michael Vink	Sharlotte Lucas
2014[5][10]	Keagan Girdlestone	Reta Trotman
2015[11]	Daniel Barry	Sharlotte Lucas
2016[12]	Hayden Roulston	Linda Villumsen
2017[13]	Brad Evans	Sharlotte Lucas
2018[14]	Daniel Whitehouse	Ella Harris
2019[15]	Daniel Whitehouse	Kate McIlroy
2020	No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021[16]	Michael Vink	Kate McIlroy
2022	No race due to COVID-19 pandemic[17]

References

1. Devereux, Monique (23 September 2004). "Fatal bike race organiser cleared". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
2. Cleaver, Dylan (24 March 2012). "Underground cycling movement". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
3. "Astrid Sells Le Race – A New Era?". Vorb. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
4. Gates, Charlie (27 March 2009). "Gee, what a fighter". The Press. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
5. "Le Race returns to Cathedral Square". The Press. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
6. "2011 Le Race". Le Race. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
7. "World-class riders to compete in Le Race to Akaroa". The Press. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
8. Allott, Amber (20 March 2021). "Record-breaking Le Race win for Christchurch cycling champion". Stuff. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
9. "Hall of Fame". Le Race. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
10. "Girdlestone youngest ever winner of Le Race". Cycling NZ. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
11. "Dan Barry, Sharlotte Lucas take Le Race honours". The Press. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
12. "Le Race victories for Roulston and Villumsen". Radio New Zealand. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
13. "Descending skills winning formula for Evans and Lucas". scoop.co.nz. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
14. "Cyclist wins Le Race event cycling event just four weeks after his appendix burst". The Press. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
15. "Whitehouse and McIlroy smash records to win Le Race". 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
16. "Miles Continental Skoda Le Race Results (2021)". SportSplits. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
17. Law, Tina; Fuller, Piers; Wilkes, Mikaela (24 January 2022). "Covid-19: All the events cancelled or up in the air as Omicron hits NZ". Stuff. Retrieved 11 June 2022.