Lyttle scores major victory in France

Masterton cyclist Scott Lyttle has won one of the biggest amateur cycling races in France.
Lyttle, racing in the Prix de la Ville de Buxerolles, near Poitiers, came home ahead of 180 riders from the 30 best teams in Europe in the 164km event.
The race, one in a series called the Coupe de France, consisted of ten 16.4km laps with a final 1km ascent to the finish line.
In an email from Poitiers, Lyttle said that he "wasn't too flash at all" at the start of the race.
"I was actually creeping to be quite honest with you," Lyttle wrote.
"In the first seven laps I don't think I even made it into the first 100 riders on the road. I did have the company of fellow kiwi Pete Latham back there though, who had just got off the plane a couple of days earlier, so it wasn't actually all that bad. It was around this stage of the race that my team boss, who had travelled all the way up especially to watch us, gave me a bit of the evil eye from the side of the road. For the entire next lap I gave it everything I had to try and get to the front of the race, just to show him that I really am not that bad of a rider. It took me a good 15km to get there but I eventually did make it to the front," Lyttle said.
"For some unknown reason, the first thing I did when I got to the front was attack," he said. "Obviously my brain was lacking a bit of oxygen to make a decision like that but you know what& it worked. I rode off by myself before eventually being caught by six other riders who managed to slip away also. This was it, 35km out from the finish. We worked together really well and steadily built up the gap which eventually grew to a minute or so."
One of the guys in the break punctured which dropped us down to 6 but we carried on working together all the way to the finish. There weren't even any attacks, which was fine by me. I think the others, like me, were scared of the final climb but also of being caught by the main peloton.
The first and only attack was launched by Brice Feillu of Nogent at about 650m from the line. I was the only guy to chase him and when I caught him at around 500 to go, I thought stuff ya! I whacked him straight away, as hard as I could and didn't stop.
I looked back for the first time at around 150m from the line to realise that it was mine. It was insane riding in through the tunnel of noise and people to the finish line of a French Cup all by myself, a true moment to savour. I was greeted by the team boss, Eric Malriel, who was on the finish line, bawling his eyes out! The rest of my team mates soon arrived and the emotions were incredible!"
"The "cherry on the cake" as the French would say, was when I was on the podium.
"I have got another kiwi over here with me this year called Mark Langlands and he stole the show.
"He pulled out the haka and my word it was impressive. It bought the entire crowd to a stand still and if it wasn't for his voice being so loud, you could have heard a pin drop."