Cycling: Reid pushes Canadian champ in Wellington tour

Canada's Eric Wohlberg made light of the driving rain yesterday to add the Wellington-Wairarapa road cycling tour to his growing list of victories.

But Blenheim rider Robin Reid stole some of Wohlberg's thunder when he won the morning 16.6km time trial in Lower Hutt, and finished second overall, just 17 seconds behind Wohlberg.

Wohlberg, 39, started the day with a 22s advantage over Canadian team-mate Charles Dionne, and Reid was fourth, 37s behind Wohlberg.

With Wohlberg a former Commonwealth Games time trial champion, and having won a record seven consecutive Canadian time trial titles, he was the favourite to win yesterday's stage, and wrap up the tour ahead of the afternoon's 44km final stage.

Reid was hardly considered in Wohlberg's class but he powered around the course in 20min 52s to push Wohlberg into second place.

Wohlberg would have expected some further stiff competition, but the race director, Jorge Sandoval, the police, and the International Cycling Union's chief commissaire, Russell Miller, of Australia, decided Petone's Jackson St was too treacherous for racing, a decision that deprived Reid of a last chance to make further advances on Wohlberg's margin.

"Robin pulled out something special in the time trial and I was pleased I still had something left in the tank to do a pretty decent ride myself," Wohlberg said.

Reid, 28, did not expect to beat Wohlberg. He said he just tried to cycle as hard as he could in the testing conditions, and had benefited from competing in a series of 16km time trials in Blenheim.

He was hardly seen as a contender for the road race at the Athens Olympic Games unlike Wohlberg, who has already qualified for his third Olympics.

Reid's two stage wins in the tour - he won Friday's 185km race in Wairarapa - and his second overall have helped earn the 2002 tour winner a spot in a New Zealand team to contest a tour in Dubai this month.

Reid will then go on to Europe, and will be based at BikeNZ's newly-created base in France.

He has previously ridden for New Zealand but never at a Olympic or Commonwealth Games, or a world championships.

His efforts helped break some of Canada's stranglehold on the tour, and earned him prized world ranking points.

With his two wins, the New Zealand track team's winning of the opening team time trial, and Jeremy Yates being first up Admiral Hill yesterday, the Kiwis secured four of the six stages, and the Canadians two.

- NZPA