About the Benchmark Homes tour
Eight rounds form the 2008 Benchmark Homes Tour now in the format’s fourth year. The season long competition that originates from Canterbury is regarded as New Zealand’s premier road cycling competition with rounds held in Nelson, Hanmer Springs, Christchurch, and Timaru.
The housing firm-sponsored series is conducted by awarding the first fifteen place-getters in each round with points towards the overall classification. The various classifications within the series offer added suspense to each round as the series unfolds like a television drama over the course of the season.
Teams-based
The main features of the series that has made the competition so popular are the mass starts of 120 – 150km in length, and the encouragement of sponsored teams-based racing that has the athletes resembling advertising billboards on wheels promoting various brands, products and services. Each team is permitted to field its own service vehicle in the race convoy that allows the athlete to get instructions via radio from their ‘directeur sportif’, and be fed and serviced. This format all contributes to the European flavour that the series promotes in its objective of both identifying the season’s most consistent rider and team, and providing grounding for aspiring professionals who one day hope to compete in the Tour de France
The Benchmark Homes Trophy
Perhaps equally as important as the individual classification is the overall team prize. The ‘Benchmark Homes Trophy’ provides the winning sponsor the opportunity to proudly display the trophy in its pride of place as supporter of the best cycling team in domestic road cycling.
Olympian Robin Reid (Nelson/Blenheim) and current New Zealand representative Paul Odlin (Nelson) each secured an impressive series win in 2006 and 2007 respectively following eight-time Tour of Southland winner Brian Fowler’s (Christchurch) win in the inaugural 2005 series. These are the three names only that are engraved on the ‘Bruce & Amy Dawe Trophy’ that is awarded to the series winner.
Fowler has won six of the twenty-two rounds held prior to the commencement of the series’ fourth edition. Olympian Hayden Roulston (Ashburton) has won four rounds, and fellow-Olympian Marc Ryan (Timaru) has won three (Ed. – Ryan has won Round One of the 2008 series). Both Paul Odlin and Dan Waluszewski (Upper Hutt) follow with two rounds each, whilst the remaining rounds have been won by Reid, Joseph Chapman (Otago), Edward Barrett (Christchurch), Scott McDonnell (Christchurch), and Reon Park (Timaru).
The Sponsors
The Benchmark Homes Tour has several key sponsors that add to the professionalism of the series. Armstrong Subaru play a key role by supplying its new range of Subaru motor vehicles to the race commissaires at each round, in addition to co-sponsoring last year’s leading ‘equipe’ Benchmark Homes Cycling Team.
Tineliis the supplier of both the classification leader jerseys and Officials’ apparel. The classification leader jerseys are awarded at each round to the Series Leader, Under 23 Leader, Masters Leader, and Women’s Leader.
Spin Advertising & Design is responsible for the promotion of the series, including the series branding and design of the advertising material that is printed by Clarity Press.
The remaining sponsors are made up of those that sponsor a round of the Benchmark Homes Tour, namely Benchmark Homes, The Cyclery Timaru, Parry Field Lawyers, Ocean Ridge Kaikoura, NZCT/Woollastons, Revolution Properties, Lowe & Associates Accountants, and Noret.
The Papanui Cycling Club conducted 2008 Benchmark Homes Tour concludes October 18 in Oxford when another deserving series winner will have their name added to the roll of illustrious winners to date
About the Tour Director
Greg Hume is the founder for this series, Greg has raced overseas and wanted to bring the European Tour experience here to NZ. This Tour now boasts 100+ riders racing just like you may see at the Tour de France.
We have now 11 teams with multiple riders per team including some of the top overseas 'pros'...
a typical comment from a local Canterbury Cat 2 rider...
"It's amazing to be able to race in an event with riders you see on the TV like Hayden Roulsten & Greg Henderson, and I sooo enjoy the experience of having to work for a team, like getting drink bottles and chasing for the captain... it makes me feel like a pro (which I'm definitly not!)"
Alex Mann
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