Auckland teenager Troy Klink was in a daze last night after stealing the first stage of the Wellington-Wairarapa tour from a clutch of more accomplished riders.
Klink showed initiative when he broke away from the bunch with seven laps remaining in the 40km Hutt City criterium.
He was soon joined by four
other riders, but completed the job brilliantly by leading out in the finishing sprint and holding off the challenge of Victorian Tim Wilson.
The more likely winners of the tour, which finishes in Petone on Sunday, were back in the bunch, 44 seconds in arrears.
Klink, 18, could not conceal his delight - and surprise. "This is my biggest win - it blows me away."
He showed promise in the Auckland Grammar team that won the national secondary schools time-trial title, but he struggled in last weekend's Hawkes Bay tour.
However, Klink has been selected for an international cycling scholarship which he will soon take up in Switzerland.
He will wear the tour leader's yellow jersey when the second stage starts in Masterton this morning and knows he will be hard-pressed to compete long-term against leading New Zealanders Matthew Yates, Karl Moore and Ryan Russell.
It was a tough initiation for the five women in the field, the first time any had ridden the tour.
Only Commonwealth Games track star Sarah Ulmer could stay with the better men and she was the only woman to finish in the bunch.
She wondered if it was a good idea for them to have entered.
"In the first 10 minutes I think we were all regretting the decision," Ulmer said.
"The pace was wickedly fast. It was really hard having to jump out of the seat to keep up into the wind."
Ulmer was delighted with the positive attitude of the men towards them, and had tried not to get in their way.
- NZPA
