Cycling: Miller left in lurch by cycle tour team

Graeme Miller's Avanti team-mates went awol on him at precisely the wrong moment yesterday, to gift the leader's yellow jersey - and probably the Tour of Wellington cycling title - to unbelieving rival Brendon Vesty.

Vesty produced a near carbon-copy of his tour-winning ride last year when he powered up the Rimutaka Hill virtually unchallenged to clinch the Fuji Xerox Cycle Classic's pivotal 157km third stage from Masterton to the hill summit.

The Hastings strongman starts today's 137km fourth stage in Upper Hutt with a 24-second lead over Fuji Xerox team-mate Chris Jenner but, more importantly, he has a buffer of 1min 2sec over Miller and a stranglehold on the yellow jersey.

Miller climbed strongly for third place behind Vesty and Jenner yesterday but the horse looks to have bolted, even with three stages and more than 245km to race.

Yesterday's stage shaped as a battle of the climbers, Vesty and Jenner versus Avanti's world junior champion Jeremy Yates and Bryce Shapley.

But with Yates and Shapley missing in action at the foot of the hill, it was left to Miller, no mountain goat by his own admission, to limit the damage with another gutsy ride.

Avanti were pinning their hopes on Yates but he was dropped when the entire Fuji Xerox team attacked about 18km from the foot of the hill.

Yates was apparently attending to a call of nature, and though he grafted away and eventually finished fifth, he rolled on to the Rimutakas too late to be a threat.

Avanti even sacrificed overnight leader Robin Reid to help get Yates into position. Reid did much of the donkey work at the head of the peleton, chasing the stage's initial breakaway, suffered for it up the hill and finished the day 24th on general classification, 13m 25s down on Vesty.

Vesty has defended his title perfectly so far, keeping in touch without over-extending himself in stages one and two before yesterday's big push.

"Today couldn't have worked out better and we should win the race now whether it's me or Chris [Jenner]," Vesty said.

"He [Yates] just got caught out but that's cycle racing, it's happened to me before. Maybe he's learned he's got to stay up the front a little more from this."

Miller has not conceded defeat yet though he admits it is going to take something special to wrest the yellow jersey from Vesty.

- NZPA