Cycling: Roulston dashes to win Te Anau stage

Jeremy Yates. Photo / APN

A "wardrobe malfunction" cost Share the Road's Jeremy Yates the Tour of Southland yellow jersey in a race-defining stage from Winton to Te Anau yesterday.

Calder Stewart-Bike NZ gun Hayden Roulston narrowly fought off Yates' teammate Jack Bauer in a sprint to the finish line of the 163km stage.

Bauer earned the yellow jersey for his gallant effort, but a meagre three seconds separates the pair - setting up a battle of epic proportions for today's final two stages.

"It's going to be tough, but I'm going to do it," Bauer, of Nelson, said.

"I've only got to hold on to three seconds this year. Anything can happen, of course, but I'm up for it. The legs are good and the team is strong."

Roulston, who completed the ride in 3h 42m 59s, was equally confident.

"If you were a betting man, I wouldn't bet against me tomorrow. I've won the race twice on this stage so we'll just wait and see.

"I might have to turn myself into a sprinter overnight," said the double Olympic medallist, who is eyeing his fourth Southland tour title.

"It's going to come down to the wire; it's never over until that last millimetre.

"I'm going to fight to win this race, I believe I'm good enough to win it and I've got a strong enough team to win it. We're all in very high spirits now," he said.

Roulston said Share the Road had employed the wrong tactics.

"Share the Road did another tactical error, if you ask me, by riding so hard before the hill that, when they got to the hill, there was no one left. Apart from the two on GC, it blew to bits on the hill and after that it was just dog eat dog."

Blackmount Hill proved a pivotal point in the race, with Roulston striking soon after the arduous ascent, forcing Bauer to tack on.

"I knew all the energy I'd saved up until today would play to my advantage and, as you can see, it did."

Crosswinds, rain and even the odd bit of sleet made for challenging conditions, much to Roulston's delight after four days of uncharacteristic sunshine.

"I was doing the rain dance, wind dance, everything dance last night, I can assure you.

"When I woke up in the middle of the night and heard the wind and the rain, I started smiling."

Yates, who has been plagued by bad luck during his 10-year quest to win the Tour, was left devastated after crashing for the second time in two days, this time out of contention.

He was thrown to the road when the sleeve of the rain jacket he was attempting to remove caught in his front wheel.

- NZPA