VB spoke to the winners of the Women’s and Men’s Road Race – Kim Ashton of Jersey and Mihkel Räim of Saaremaa, respectively.
Mihkel Räim of Saaremaa – Gold medal
“I’m not a climber, but a sprinter,” Mihkel Räim told VB.
The finish line was 400m down the other side of Blackgang hill, forcing the riders to climb the punishing hill, leaving the opportunity for a fast sprint race to the finish line.
Mihkel took advantage of that. He followed James McLaughlin (Guernsey) up the hill, then, “at the top of the climb I attacked,” he told us
Surprisingly it wasn’t the Blackgang hill that he found hard, but elsewhere on the course, which was a slow, gradual climb, not helped by a head wind. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/mihkel-raim-saaremaa-road-race-winner.mp3]
Kim Ashton of Jersey – Gold medal
After her Women’s race win, Kim Ashton said to VB, “It was tough race – a great course – It suited me down to the ground – I’m quite light, quite powerful.”
Her approach was really interesting, “If I’m hurting, someone else is hurting.”
We asked about Kim’s preparation, she told VB, “My preparation was great to be honest. I had a crash in April that took me out for a long time, because I had a broken wrist.” She then used an indoor trainer, only riding on the road five times before coming to the Isle of Wight.
“I didn’t expect to be here – so to win a medal is great.”
Don’t forget the Time Trial is on this afternoon. Pop along and watch it. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/kim-ashton-jersey-road-race-winner.mp3]
The course
View Road Race – Route for the 2011 NatWest Island Games in a larger map
