James Fouche is the new men's road race champion. Photo / Photosport
James Fouche is the new men's road race champion. Photo / Photosport
One of New Zealand's most promising riders is now the national champion.
20-year-old James Fouche has produced a stunning ride to crush all comers in the men's road race, storming to victory by a remarkable three minutes and 14 seconds on the 166km Napier course.
Fouche won the Under-23 road race title last year, and claimed the Under-23 time trial championship on Friday, but today took the biggest prize of his career to date, trouncing a field of experienced riders to claim the black and white national jersey.
The Team Wiggins rider spent last year racing in Europe's top age-group races - competing in the Under-23 versions of the Giro d'Italia, Paris Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Ronde van Vlaanderen - but today he smoked riders of all ages.
"It means heaps - this is my first road elite win. I wanted to thank Team Wiggins for re-signing me, I wanted to give back to them - it will be cool to bring the jersey back to them," said Fouche.
James Fouche is the new men's road race champion. Photo / Photosport
Fouche was part of an initial 12-man breakaway, and as is often the case in national championships, the early escapees proved hard to peg back. With most competitors riding for themselves, and smaller groups clustered across the road, it meant that co-operation behind the breakaway was minimal, allowing the 12 riders to take a three and a half minute lead.
"I find this race is all about getting in the early break. I was gunning for that. I went right from the start," said Fouche.
As it turned out, giving him such a gap was a mistake. While most of the breakaway were eventually pegged back by the strongest members of the peloton over nine ascents of 'Hospital Hill', Fouche was too strong, and on the seventh of nine times up the climb, he showed it.
With the likes of George Bennett, Patrick Bevin, Michael Vink and Hayden McCormick making up the remnants of the peloton at three minutes down, Fouche pushed on from the remaining five members of the breakaway.
Two-time champion Joseph Cooper was left behind, while World Tour rider Tom Scully was the only one who could keep him in sight, 27 seconds behind with two laps to go.
"I was a bit sceptical about going with three laps to go, but I just did it anyway," recalled Fouche.
"I was definitely surprised [at leaving everyone behind] - I wanted to test it, to see who could follow. I was stoked to be able to gap everyone, but I wasn't too sure if I could hold it or not - it played into my hands well."
A good time trialist, there seemed to be a chance that Scully could reel Fouche back in, but the youngster was in another dimension. With over 140 kilometres of racing already in his legs, he produced the back-to-back fastest laps of the race, by some margin.
Suddenly, as he took the bell for the final lap, he had a lead of 1.58 on the despairing chasers, and he only extended that advantage to ride into Napier with nobody in sight.
Kees Duyvesteyn beat Scully in a sprint to claim an impressive second, while the World Tour duo of Bevin and Bennett finished fifth and seventh respectively. They were solid performances from the current stars of the sport, but the day belonged to a future star.
