Tour of Southland stage one wrap

Tour of Southland stage one wrap

4 November 2016, 7:01PM
SBS Bank

There was no denying United States rider Travis McCabe from claiming the yellow jersey on the second day of the 2016 SBS Bank Tour of Southland.
 
A third place finish on Monday's second stage has seen the Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel rider jump to the top of the standings after he lost the yellow jersey on appeal following the team time trial on Sunday.
 
Stage honours after the 170km beat from Invercargill to Lumsden went to Australian rider Ayden Toovey from Tineli Performance Bikewear, with Southland’s Matt Zenovich (PowerNet) second.
 
McCabe was initially set to wear yellow for the opening stage before an appeal saw him lose the jersey to Olympian Regan Gough, but there was no denying him on Monday.
 
McCabe’s Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel team will now look to position themselves for the challenges that lie ahead.
 
“We’ll see how the weather is, hopefully it holds up. We will take it day by day,” McCabe said.
 
“We will approach each day as a one-day race. Fortunately, we have Taylor Gunman in (contention), he’s our GC guy for the week so we’ll be riding for him and trying to keep it all together.”
 
Toovey first rode the Southland tour as a teenager in 2012 and is making his second appearance on the SBS Bank-sponsored race.
 
“I remember (Hayden) Roulston was just destroying everyone that year. I always wanted to come back, but I just never found the time.”
 
It was a good day for the all-Australian Tineli team, with Liam Magennis and Sam Cox prominent in a significant break which included Roman van Uden (PowerNet), Logan Griffin (Olivers Real Food Racing), Ollie Jones (Olphert Contracting) and Southlander Nick Kergozou (Barry Stewart Builders).
 
The six-strong break led by more than four minutes at one point, but was shut down after Nightcaps as the peloton braced itself for an assault on the Lumsden stage finish.
 
“I was lucky enough to make it into the front group and from there it was just a slog-fest to the finish,” Toovey, who is coming off a second-placed finish in the prestigious Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic, said.
 
“I backed myself in a sprint, but there was a few guys going and a few guys who were hesitant. We came over here looking for results. Personally I came over looking to finish the season on a high, so this was a good way to start.”
 
McCabe leads the tour by 4sec from Toovey, who is the race’s leading under 23 rider.
 
Southlander Kergozou leads the sprint standings, with Jones leading the King of the Mountains classification.
 
Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel leads the team classification, with Paul Gough leading the silver jersey classification for riders 35 years and over.
 
Tuesday's second stage is a 150km stage from Riverton to Te Anau which includes the imposing Blackmount hill climb.
 
The 2016 SBS Bank Tour of Southland is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and finishes in Invercargill on November 5.
 
SBS Bank Tour of Southland leader Travis McCabe (Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel).
 
Australian rider Ayden Toovey celebrates victory in stage one of the SBS Bank Tour of Southland in Lumsden.

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