Walsh victory in Tahitian Tour de l'amitié

11 August 2009

Attn Sport Editors

Walsh rides to victory in Tahitian Tour de l'amitié- updated.

BikeNZ rider Richard Walsh took out the Master’s General Classification at the Tour de l’amitié in Tahiti on Sunday, after a fantastic comeback in hot and humid conditions.

On Saturday’s (NZ time) Stage 7 which featured heavy rain and 33 degree heat, Walsh (Hamilton) claimed back the master’s blue jersey from Tahitian rider Serge Taruoura with one stage remaining. Walsh held a 44 second lead going into the final stage, a 59km criterium around the streets of capital Papeete.

“Richard Walsh’s effort was outstanding!” Said BikeNZ team manager Nick Dodson.

Meanwhile Logan Mort (Auckland) finished 3rd on General Classification in the U23 classification, and climbed to 6th overall.

BikeNZ entered two development teams in the Tour de l’amitié in Tahiti, with the top team finishing 3rd in the teams classification.

“Logan was here last year and knew what was needed to succeed at this tour. It was a great solid effort and he deserved his 3rd place in the U23 classification”

“Both Mort and Sheldon Gorter (5th U23) went very well. At one stage Sheldon climbed to 2nd overall and started to get better and better. However in the hot and humid conditions, he cooked himself in the time trial and passed out just after the finish line. Unfortunately this drained him for the following stages. Courage wise he performed outstandingly! Sheldon put everything into the time trial”

“This is the kind of commitment we need to succeed on the international stage.”

The NZ team were affected by illness during the week, with Lester Settle and Simon Honour having to withdraw. However the Kiwis fared better than the Australian teams who had 5 withdrawals due to illness and crashes.

“Richard (Walsh) even acted as doctor. Like last year, a bug went round the tour and we lost Simon Honour and Lester Settle. Richard put in a lot of effort with our guys, including helping out the Aussies too!”

The Chilean team Fare Oviri- OGM dominated the tour, taking out the top 3 positions on General Classification.

“That Chilean team was so strong. They had some Olympic riders, and to be honest were over- qualified for the tour. Even some of New Zealand’s elite riders would have struggled.”

“The tour de l’amitié is an ideal development tour for these riders. The level of the Chilean riders gives us a good idea of the next step.”

“The only competition for us was in the Masters and U23. It was fantastic to win the Masters, while the Tahitians deserved to win the U23 classification.”

The BikeNZ team were complimented by two more teams from Cycling Southland. Both Southland teams performed strongly with top 10 finishes in the Masters class for Garth Cooper (8th) and Dean Bell (9th).

Full results are at http://www.ftc.pf

Overall Results of the Tour de l’Amitié in Tahiti:

General Classification: 1 Gonzalo Garrido (Fare Oviri), 2nd Luis Sepulveda (Fare Oviri), 3rd Patricio Almonacid (Fare Oviri), 8th Logan Mort (BikeNZ), 11th Sheldon Gorter (BikeNZ), 12th Richard Walsh (BikeNZ), 13th Jason Barlow (Cycling Southland), 17th James Gibson (BikeNZ), 21st Shane Gough (Cycling Southland), 26th Kerry Harford (BikeNZ), 27th Garth Cooper (Cycling Southland), 32nd Dean Bell (Cycling Southland), 36th Glen Lewis (BikeNZ), 38th Ray Robinson (Cycling Southland), 41st Aaron Sinclair (Cycling Southland),

U23 General Classification: 1st Taruia Krainer (Tahiti 1), 2nd Benjamin Hill (2 Wheel Industries 2 Australia), 3rd Logan Mort (BikeNZ), 5th Sheldon Gorter (BikeNZ)

Masters General Classification: 1st Richard Walsh (BikeNZ), 2nd Serge Taruoura (Tahiti 3), 3rd Jean-Pierre Bernadat (Tahiti 3), 7th Kerry Harford (BikeNZ), 8th Garth Cooper (Cycling Southland), 9th Dean Bell (Cycling Southland), 11th Glen Lewis (BikeNZ), 13th Ray Robinson (Cycling Southland),

ENDS

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