Blackgrove poised for Tour win

BY NATHAN BURDON

Last updated 13:20 07/11/2009

BARRY HARCOURT

Michael Olheiser (right) wins the Tour of Southland stage in Winton this morning, with Glenm Chadwick (left) second.

Relevant offers

Heath Blackgrove has a firm grip on the yellow jersey heading into this afternoon’s final stage of the Tour of Southland.

The Zookeepers-Cycle Surgery rider was in the decisive break which emerged after the Gorge Hill climb during the penultimate stage from Te Anau to Lumsden and he holds a 1min 07sec lead over Share the Road’s Jack Bauer, with Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) in third place at 1min 16sec.

Blackgrove managed to jump away from his nearest competition, ColourPlus’ Marc Ryan, who was left in the chasing group.

With team mate Glen Chadwick, Bauer, under-23 leader Findlay and Jackson Plumbing riders Michael Olheiser and Stefan Rothe, Blackgrove drove home his advantage and only has to survive the short stage into Invercargill beginning at 1.30pm.

Olheiser won the sprint into Lumsden to take the stage win, with Chadwick second and Blackgrove third.

Ryan saw his tour hopes evaporate in the strong tailwinds as the leaders reached speeds of up to 70kmh.

The final stage is a 64km beat into Invercargill, pushing against strong head winds, finishing at Queens Park at about 3pm.

Ad Feedback

- © Fairfax NZ News

Southland Times Homepage

Post comment

Name:	Required
Email:	Required. Will not be published.

Registration is not required to post a comment but if you , you will not have to enter your details each time you comment. Registered members also have access to extra features. Create an account now.

Maximum of 1750 characters (about 300 words)

I have read and accepted the terms and conditions
These comments are moderated. Your comment, if approved, may not appear immediately. Please direct any queries about comment moderation to the Opinion Editor at blogs@stuff.co.nz

Ad Feedback

Sport Headlines

RSS