Olivia Ray was not even sure if she would be able to stand on the start line at the New Zealand road championships because she was required to participate in the COVID-19 quarantine, but crossing the border gave her a chance to put her silver fern-adorned jersey on her sleeve.

The road race was originally scheduled to consist of three 109-km laps around a circuit that started and finished in Cambridge.

Ray did his best to prepare for the climb, but there was another factor: defending champion Georgia Williams of BikeExchange-Jayco, who could have gone solo and won the time trial title. and was nearly two minutes ahead of her rivals on a course that included the uphill Te Milo climb.

However, stormy weather brought on by the wreckage of Cyclone Dovi brought down trees and power lines on the crucial uphill winding road, and the course was changed to Ray's advantage.

"It's pretty big. I've been trying to get home for months and I couldn't quite make it. I was either flat or rolling half an hour before the race." I'm really happy to have won the jersey."

While last minute course changes tipped the scales in Ray's favor, it was no easy battle for the rider, who changed her company name from Rally Cycling to Human Powered Health and stepped up to the Women's World Tour level in 2022.

Williams was determined in her pursuit of a third road title, constantly on the attack and consequently splitting the field on multiple occasions. At one point, he jumped on an attack by Bronwyn McGregor (Cabuyax Castelli Custom) and swept past Ray, but Ray and Human Powered Health teammate Henrietta Christie joined forces and the race eventually finished with a small group of six.

"I knew every rider was trying to drop me and I understood that, but it was tough because it was attack, attack, attack with just Georgia and Bronwyn and the girls. But if you let up a little bit, they would catch up with you to death."

On a course with no spectators due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the crosswinds often caused racers to line up diagonally, resulting in aggressive racing and attacks that lasted until the last kilometer.

When it came down to a sprint contest, Rey took control early on, taking the lead from reigning criterium champion and U23 rider Allie Wollaston (NXTG by Experza), who then rode a powerful long sprint across the finish line. Wollaston crossed the finish line in second place to take the U23 title.

"It's pretty crazy," Wollaston said. "I went into this race expecting a lot from myself, so to actually win is kind of the culmination of all the training I've been doing. It's cool to win this year after being eliminated last year."