Hawke's Bay cyclist Kerri-anne Page last night made the ideal start in her quest for a fourth and second consecutive open women's title in the province's Three-Day Hub Tour.
Page, who is racing in her sixth edition of the tour, won the 6.7km Green Services Centre prologue in Puketapu by 13 seconds from her Heinz Wattie's Ltd workmate Hannah Van Kampen. Promising Waipukurau rider Amanda Jamieson completed the Hawke's Bay trifecta when she finished 30 seconds behind Page.
"I'm pretty stoked because I've won the prologue during each of the three previous tour wins. At the same time I thought Hannah would have got me last night," Page, 26, said.
"Providing there are no mechanical problems, I'm confident I can hold on to this lead for the rest of the tour. But with bike racing anything can happen ... you can't celebrate until you cross the line on day three."
Page, who has been a competitive cyclist for the past 11 years, will race for a team in the Wairarapa-based Trust House Tour of New Zealand from February 18-22. This race is the third event of the 2015 UCI Women's Cycling Calendar and will follow earlier races in Argentina and Qatar.