GroBro ASB Rural Takes on the BDO Wellington To Auckland Corporate Challenge
22 February 2017 / Published in Your CommunityCongratulations to the GoBro ASB Rural team for going back to back and retaining the title, winning $57,500 St John!
The BDO Wellington to Auckland Cycle Challenge is a seven day event covering over 800km through the heartland of New Zealand. With a mixture of elite riders, weekend warriors and social / corporate teams, it’s a challenge for all abilities and covers 12 stages with around 110km per day to ride.
The teams set off from Lower Hutt's Main St on Saturday 11 February and finished in Pukekohe, Auckland on Saturday 18 February covering 800kms as a team over the 7 days. Trailing in second place for the first two days, the team moved up the leader board on day three, only to be overtaken on day six but fought back to the top of the leader board on day seven to claim the $57,500 prize package.
We spoke with ASB rural account manager, Corina Wilson, who is proud to be the first female cyclist riding for the ASB Rural team in the 2017 BDO Challenge.
“ASB has been involved in the BDO Challenge for the past four years. I have been road cycling for eight years and 2017 is the last year of the challenge so I jumped at the opportunity to be involved.”
Along the way our cyclists were hosted by regional ASB rural teams who ensured the team members were well-fed and rested each night to replenish their energy levels.
And here's how it's done…
- Day one (110kms) - Lower Hutt to Masterton over the Rimutaka hill.
- Day two - on to Palmerston North through the wind and rain which saw 1 stage cancelled due to high winds.
- Day three (105km) – Palmerston North to Wanganui.
- Day four (105kms) – a ride up into the central plateau, finishing under the mountains in Ohakune.
- Day five - an epic and gruelling ride to the Chateau Tongariro then a time trial (7km team race) up Bruce Road to the Whakapapa Ski Field Car Park.
- Day six (122.3km) - With the mountain conquered, day six dawned and the team cycled from Taupo to Te Awamutu in awful, wet conditions.
- Day seven - the final stretch from Hamilton to Glen Murray. Drama ensured as one of the bikes broke on the final stage. This resulted in bike's being swapped and a chasing group formed and pushed hard to ensure the team regained their lead and the overall win for the week!
