United States-based cyclist Heath Blackgrove has enjoyed the biggest day of his life, winning the 53rd PowerNet Tour of Southland before rushing off to get married.
His super-strong Zookeepers-Cycle Surgery team only had to cover the options on the final 65km stage into Invercargill after main rival Marc Ryan (Timaru, ColourPlus) missed the key break in the morning 79-km stage from Te Anau to Lumsden.
Blackgrove, the Waimate rider who competes for Team Hotel San Jose, had the luxury of enjoying the final three laps around Queens Park in Invercargill to savour his first major stage tour win, in a race that has become special to him.
The 28-year-old met local triathlete Sharyon Johns at the Zookeepers Cafe where she worked on the 2001 Tour of Southland. Blackgrove barely had time to complete the formalities after his victory before he was whisked away to marry Johns at the home of team manager Paul Clark.
“It’s obviously a big day for me,” Blackgrove said. “In terms of the race I am very proud to be a New Zealander to win this race. While I’ve won the nationals twice, this is the premier road race in the country and it’s eluded me until now.”
Blackgrove, who has twice finished third in the Tour, said the weather is the key factor and he was delighted to be able to bounce back after losing the tour leader’s yellow jersey midway through the tour.
“I had a great team around me and they really did it for me.”
Blackgrove, the Athens Olympian, fronted a strong combination including Beijing Olympians Sam Bewley (Rotorua), Wes Gough (Waipukurau) and Glen Chadwick, who lives in Europe, along with world rowing champion Hamish Bond (Cambridge).
He held a meagre 11 second lead into this morning’s eighth stage from Te Anau to Lumsden from Ryan with a minute back to Nelson’s Jack Bauer (Share The Road). However Ryan and his ColourPlus team missed the crucial break in the 79km stage. With the leading group of six riders, including Blackgrove, his teammate Chadwick, Bauer and under-23 leader Tom Findlay, rushing along at an average speed of nearly 55kph, the tour aspirations of Ryan, known as Dream, turned into a nightmare.
American Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing) won the stage into Lumsden from Chadwick and Blackgrove, who had opened a generous buffer of more than a minute over Bauer and Findlay with the final 65km stage from Winton to Invercargill to contend with.
While the winds blew fiercely, Blackgrove’s team were always on the ball as a group of 25 riders broke clear before Frenchman Romain Fondard (Share The Road) took out the final stage in a sprint.
Blackgrove took the overall honours by 1m3s from Bauer with Findlay (Bici Vida) third at 1m16s,
Ryan fourth at 1m34s and Peter Latham (Bissell Pro) fifth at 2m45s.
It proved an outstanding performance from the 24-year-old Bauer, who held the yellow jersey for two days and impressed with his power on the flat and fortitude on the hills. The winner of nine races in Belgium this year moves to his first full professional contract with a UK-based Pro Continental team next year.
Findlay showed his considerable potential to win the under-23 honours which he dominated, while another talented young rider, Patrick Bevin (Taupo, Ascot Park Hotel), who competed in the world junior championships this year, took out the sprint honours as well as two stage victories. Zookeepers-Cycle Surgery easily won the team honours.
The high profile American Floyd Landis, caught in the chaos of the mass crash on the opening day, finally rode with prominence on the final two days to finish 17th overall.
Results from the final day of the PowerNet Tour of Southland
Stage 8, Te Anau to Lumsden, 79kms
1. Michael Olheiser (USA) (Jackson Plumbing) 1h28m06s
2. Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) ST
3. Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) at 02s
4. Jack Bauer (Share The Road) at 02s
5. Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) at 02s
6. Romain Fondard (FRA) (Share The Road) at 01m12s
7. Marc Ryan (Colourplus) at 01m12s
8. Gordon McCauley (Subway-Avanti) at 01m12s
9. Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes) at 01m12s
10. Stefan Rothe (GER) (Jackson Plumbing) at 01m12s
11. Jesse Sergent (Colourplus) at 01m12s
12. Justin Kerr (KIA Motors) at 01m12s
13. Kevin Nicol (USA) (Jackson Plumbing) at 01m12s
14. Michael Vink (The Southland Times) at 01m12s
15. Taylor Gunman (Bici Vida) at 01m12s
16. Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) at 01m12s
17. Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise) at 01m12s
18. Karl Murray (Share The Road) at 01m12s
19. Ben King (AUS) (Calder Stewart) at 01m12s
20. Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) at 01m12s
Stage 9, Winton to Invercargill, 65km
1. Romain Fondard (FRA) (Share The Road) 1h35m38s
2. Bauer (Share The Road) ST
3. Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel) ST
4. Mathew Gorter (PowerNet) ST
5. Justin Kerr (KIA Motors) ST
6. Kyle Marwood (AUS) (Praties Cycling) ST
7. Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) ST
8. Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) ST
9. Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) ST
10. Michael Vink (The Southland Times) ST
11. Jason Rigg (AUS) (Praties Cycling) ST
12. Gordon McCauley (Subway-Avanti) ST
13. Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) ST
14. Michael Olheiser (USA) (Jackson Plumbing) ST
15. Westley Gough (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) ST
16. Ben King (AUS) (Calder Stewart) at 06s
17. Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) at 06s
18. Karl Moore (KIA Motors) at 06s
19. Karl Murray (Share The Road) at 08s
20. Marc Ryan (Colourplus) at 11s
Overall Standings
1. Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 21h44m52s
2. Jack Bauer (Share The Road) at 01m03s
3. Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) at 01m16s
4. Marc Ryan (Colourplus) at 01m34s
5. Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) at 02m45s
6. Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) at 03m48s
7. Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) at 06m34s
8. Ben King (AUS) (Calder Stewart) at 06m38s
9. Michael Vink (The Southland Times) at 11m45s
10. Romain Fondard (FRA) (Share The Road) at 12m53s
11. Michael Olheiser (USA) (Jackson Plumbing) at 13m06s
12. Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) at 13m12s
13. Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise) at 13m17s
14. Mathew Gorter (PowerNet) at 13m18s
15. Karl Moore (KIA Motors) at 13m57s
16. Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel) at 15m53s
17. Floyd Landis (USA) (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) at 16m00s
18. Alex Ray (Bici Vida) at 16m39s
19. Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes) at 16m42s
20. Justin Kerr (KIA Motors) at 17m35s
21. Jesse Sergent (Colourplus) at 17m49s
22. Mike Northey (Ascot Park Hotel) at 19m32s
23. Westley Gough (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) at 20m01s
24. Taylor Gunman (Bici Vida) at 20m58s
25. Matt Marshall (The Southland Times) at 21m46s
Team Overall
1. Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery 65h36m34s
2. Bici Vida at 17m02s
3. Ascot Park Hotel at 20m24s
4. Colourplus at 24m49s
5. KIA Motors at 26m49s
6. Share The Road at 31m08s
7. Bissell Pro Cycling at 31m41s
8. Jackson Plumbing at 38m54s
9. Calder Stewart at 40m03s
10. The Southland Times at 1h00m35s
Sprints
1. Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel) 80
2. Kyle Marwood (AUS) (Praties Cycling) 40
3. James McCoy (Benchmark Homes) 31
4. Gordon McCauley (Subway-Avanti) 24
5. Karl Murray (Share The Road) 24
6. Samuel Whitmitz (AUS) (Titans Race Team) 23
7. Jack Bauer (Share The Road) 19
8. Ben King (AUS) (Calder Stewart) 14
9. Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) 12
10. Mark Langlands (Calder Stewart) 11
King of Mountains
1. Ben King (AUS) (Calder Stewart) 54
2. Michael Vink (The Southland Times) 26
3. Karl Moore (KIA Motors) 14
4. Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise) 12
5. Jack Bauer (Share The Road) 12
6. Mark Langlands (Calder Stewart) 10
7. Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 10
8. Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) 10
9. Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) 8
10. James Ibrahim (AUS) (Titans Race Team) 8
For full race information, see www.tourofsouthland.com.
