Roe Wins Stage One of the New Zealand Cycle Classic

Roe Wins Stage One of the New Zealand Cycle Classic

- WEATHER BOMB DISRUPTS FINISH -

Wild weather and a challenging course didn’t put off Australian rider Tim Roe who won the opening stage of the New Zealand Cycle Classic in the Wairarapa today.

Racing for team IsoWhey Sports Swiss Wellness Australia, the 27 year old finished the hilly 121km stage from Masterton to the coastal community of Castlepoint in 2hr 57minutes while Alex Frame (JLT Condor) was second and Brad Evans (New Zealand National Team) third. In what can only be described as an incredibly dramatic finish thanks to a wild weather system complete with “a wall of water” that drowned spectators and race officials who lined Jetty Road in front of the Castlepoint lighthouse, Roe was thrilled to claim the win and his first UCI points in eight years.

“It was really tough, it was hard racing … every team was attacking,” said Roe, who used to race for Team BMC and then spent the last few years overcoming a variety of injuries. “I can’t remember the last time I rode in conditions like that … it was hard core.”
The opening stages of today’s race saw several teams attempt to breakaway and be represented at the front, but it wasn’t until the 50km mark that strong cross winds began to fracture the peloton. Despite a group of four riders making a getaway, the peloton kept responding then at the 90km mark four riders including Neil Van Der Ploeg, Jonathon Mould, Jordan Kerby and Callum Gordon lead the main bunch by 1m 07secs. New Zealand team member James Oram and Matthew Zenovich closed in on the quartet and the six riders remained together as they zoomed through Tinui Village, extending their lead to 1m 23secson ahead of the main group.

With five kilometres to go, 13 riders made attack after attack before being hit with torrential rain and high winds making visibility difficult. The bunch stayed together until the final hill when Roe made his move and maintained the lead down the steep descent into Castlepoint, where crowds huddled under umbrellas and any shelter they could find at the finish line.

Joe Cooper, who was crowned NZ National Road Cycling Champion earlier this month, finished five seconds behind Roe, while Olympic gold medallist rower Hamish Bond turned cyclist racing for Team Blindz Direct finished 43 seconds behind the winner – quite a feat after Bond came off his bike in the early stages of the race. Triple Olympic track gold medallist Ed Clancy, who is taking a year away from his GB track commitments to concentrate purely on the road for 2017, finished 1m31 seconds behind Roe.

Race director Jorge Sandoval was pleased with the first stage of the five day race – the course route a new addition as part of the 30th anniversary of the NZ Cycle Tour.

“I’ve had great feedback from the riders about the course. It was challenging especially with the cross winds and we were all really looking forward to the finish but that front just blew through and brought with it pouring rain and fierce winds … it was so dramatic, “he said. “The weather bomb came late to Castlepoint.”

Stage two of the tour will begin from the Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park in Masterton tomorrow morning at 10am. This challenging 147km stage will see riders travel from Masterton towards Riversdale via the Masterton - Castlepoint Rd before riding through Wainuioru via the Limeworks and Te Wharau Hill then finishing atop Admiral Hill in Gladstone.

The New Zealand Cycle Classic is a five-stage, elite international men’s road cycling race staged entirely in the Wairarapa. It isthe only Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) sanctioned race to be held in New Zealand in 2017.

Being held simultaneously is Huri Huri: Wairarapa’s Bike Festival which celebrates the Wairarapa’s bike-friendly roads, tracks and trails; the people that ride on them and the bikes they ride. The 2017 Festival (www.hurihuri.co.nz) has a variety of events and activities held across the region, catering to all levels of involvement in biking and to all ages. These include the Town to Tide multisport race; the Castlepoint Station family fun ride; Pedal for Parkinsons road cycle; mountainbike workshops and a kids programme.

For more information please visit www.cycletournz.com.

Results
1. Tim Roe (IsoWhey Sports Swiss Wellness)
2. Alex Frame (JLT Condor)
3. Brad Evans (New Zealand National Team)

KOM Jersey: Callum Gordon (Team Skoda)
Sprint Jersey: Robert McCarty (JLT Condor)
U23 Jersey: Scott Ambrose (Team Novodisk)
Most Aggressive Jersey: Jonathon Mould (JLT Condor)

ENDS

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