Sprint the Bay Update

Current Men's Elite Leader,
Tim Robertson NZL

Tonight at 21.30 (CET), the first start Stage 5 of Sprint the Bay 2012 will be streaming live webcam and results from New Zealand (this page). There were unfortunately some technical issues with sound and live results in the first 2 stages, but things are working well now (although Stage 5 could be problematic with internet reception due to geographical location - we have to wait and see). There have been some impressive and surprising results at this year's Sprint the Bay, especially from the younger generations. Tim Robertson (NZL) and Rachel Effeney (AUS) are the current leaders after Stage 4 at Frimley. The very unique sprint terrain at Stage 5's Sleeping Giant map on Te Mata Peak in Havelock North could see some interesting changes in the overall leads and sub-competitions. See maps from the first 4 Stages here. See the terrain for Stage 5 here:

Oscar McNulty (AUS)
2nd overall, current
White Singlet Wearer

Tane Camebridge (NZL)
3rd overall in Men's
Elite Competition

NZ M20 sprint champion Tim Robertson has unleashed his super-form on the NZ elites and has dominated STB 2012 so far, by holding onto the Yellow Singlet for the whole competition. However, some mistakes in Stage 4 has seen him fall to an 11 second overall lead from Australian junior runner Oscar McNulty, the current White Singlet wearer. Top NZ sprinter Tane Camebridge has also been showing he has what it takes for the overall win, by drawing for first equal with Tim on both Stage 1 and Stage 3. The Green 'Sprint Leg' Singlet and Polka Dot 'Hill Climb' Singlet are being directly targeted by the current wearers Ryan Batin and Paul Jensen respectively.

Current Women's Elite
leader Rachel Effeney (AUS)

In the Women's competition, one runner in particular has completely outshone the entire field. Rachel Effeney from Australia has shown that she's been training very hard since her WOC debut in the sprint in France last year (35th place), by winning outright on all 4 stages so far! The next closest contenders are NZ's National team members Angela Simpson, 1min 40sec behind overall, and  Lizzie Ingham, 2min 14sec down. Lizzie and Angela have both been waiting for Stage 5 to make their big move, and they are confident that the massive hills and technical courses will give them the chance they need to get to the top of the leader-board. Rachel has shown great speed so far, winning the majority of the splits (see links to all winsplits here) but does she have the legs for the big hills of the Sleeping Giant?
See total standings in all competitions after Stage 4 here.

Below is a short clip from the livestream at the business end of Stage 4 at Frimley:

After Sleeping Giant, the STB competitors will duel it out in the final stage at the brand new Arataki map. Stage 6 will be streaming live at 2.00am (CET) on Monday morning. See a terrain sample here: