Lyttle strikes first in French foray

Masterton cyclist Scott Lyttle has won his first road race in France where he is riding professionally for the US Montabon 82 team.
It was the Boucle du pays Vaurais over the shorter-than-usual stance of 91km but on a hilly course which was blustered by strong winds.
The success was huge for Lyttle , 22, who is based in France and had set himself the goal of winning a race there this season
But he was the first to admit it was a surprise for the win to come so early and be so comfortably achieved.
After just 4km Lyttle was part of a 12-man break which turned out to be the winning move.
As each climb passed the leading bunch continued to shrink until it was just down to five riders for the sprint home.
"It was a weird race for me?.I had this feeling that I have never really had before while racing in France," Lyttle said. "It felt so easy, I hardly touched the pedals all day and just knew it was my turn to win."
Lyttle won every stage of the King of the Mountain and was aided by the fact the finish of the race was on a hill that was only 400m long but had an average gradient of 15 per cent.
"It was like twice as steep as the Rimutakas," Lyttle said. "And with the spectators at the top it was like a deafening tunnel of noise."
For Lyttle it is his second season with Montabon, and he is delighted with the strength of his team which includes riders from Italy, Germany, Poland, Britain, Finland and France.
His next big assignment is the Tour of Mallorca which will be raced between March 29 and April 2.