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Robyn Edie / Stuff
Tom Sexton leading his Business South team on Gala Street in Invercargill to win the SBS Tour of Southland team time trial event on Sunday.
Southlander Tom Sexton will wear the yellow SBS Bank Tour of Southland jersey for the first time after taking home the prologue team time trial at Invercargill on Sunday.
The New Zealand endurance track representative led his Business South team to victory in stormy conditions for the 4.2km circuit around Queens Park.
The result was somewhat surprising, as defending champion Michael Vink’s Southland-Talley Transportation Engineering team lagged behind in second place by more than 3 seconds.
Business South is a local composite sponsor representing more than 20 local small businesses.
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Robyn Edie / Stuff
The Business South team on the podium after winning the SBS Tour of Southland team time trial event at Invercargill on Sunday.
“Our goal was to finish in the top five, but we had a really smooth performance,” said Sexton.
“We have some strong pursuers on our team and we handle it like a team pursuit.”
The 64th edition of New Zealand’s most prestigious stage race begins on Monday with a 151km stage from Invercargill to Gore.
Riders will start at the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome in Invercargill at 10 am and are expected to finish at Hokonui Dr in Gore at approximately 2 pm
The Gore stage has traditionally been featured at the end of the week and has proven to be pivotal in recent years.
Tour officials also made the decision not to include a gravel finish on Wednesday’s stage from Mossburn to Queenstown.
Officials judged the gravel to be too dangerous to drive after inspecting it this week and have chosen to shorten the 11km climb to 6km, although the 600m climb will continue to pose a tough challenge for runners.
Unconfirmed podium results: Business South 4.51: 97, 1; Transport Engineering Southland-Talley’s 4.55: 26, 2; Base Solutions Racing 4.57.07, 3.
Southland is well represented among 102 running backs on the field this year. Included is world points racing champion Corbin Strong, who has made no secret that he wants to give the 2020 Tour of Southland a good push, as he is unsure how many more Tour of Southland he will be able to race in the future.
Strong’s PowerNet completed the prologue time trial at 5.01.15.
