Roe claims chaotic first stage
Even through the Wairarapa wind and rain you couldn’t miss Tim Roe’s smile.
The 27-year-old Australian won the 121-kilometre first stage at the New Zealand Cycle Classic from Masterton to Castlepoint on Sunday in two hours, 57 minutes and 21 seconds.
The IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness rider got a small break on the field on the final climb 2km from the finish, before holding on for the downhill finish to beat Kiwi JLT Condor rider Alex Frame by five seconds, with the New Zealand national team’s Brad Evans in third.
The win was given an extra bit of drama when a weather bomb caught up with the field with 2km to go. Galeforce wind, rain, and even hail, pounded the finish line as Roe flew across it. Ten minutes later and the sun started to poke through the clouds.
‘‘I can’t remember the last time I rode in conditions as bad as that,’’ Roe said once he’d retreated to the safety of his hotel in Masterton.
‘‘I made my move towards the top of the climb. I had good legs and got away then just had to do 2km down the hill. I couldn’t actually see much through my sunnies with the visibility, so I was just hoping it was going to finish soon.’’
Roe was beaming after what was his first Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) accredited win in eight years.
He was seen as a promising up-andcomer at that point, including finish third in this race in 2009 when it was known as the Tour of Wellington, and was signed by American professional team BMC Racing in 2011.
But that led to a horror run of injuries over the next five years.
‘‘Things were getting back on track but last year I broke my kneecap, so it was four months off the bike. This year I’ve luckily got this team, it’s a great team and I’m hoping I can regain my confidence on the bike and start getting results again.’’
Roe is known for his climbing, so should be in the finish of stage two up Admiral Hill.
Two-time Olympic champion Hamish Bond got his first taste of back luck in big-field cycling when a Blindz Direct team-mate clipped his wheel and sent him tumbling to the ground inside the first 10km.
He picked himself up, got back to the peloton with the help of team-mate Joshua Aldridge and somehow finished the stage just 43 seconds down on Roe.
He looked about as miserable as the weather after the stage, nursing a sore and swollen shoulder.
It had been a hard slog for him just to get back to the main pack because there were attacks aplenty at the front of the field.
British rider Jonathan Gould from JLT Condor was deservedly awarded most aggressive rider on the stage in which he was involved in at least four breakaways.
The fast pace and crosswinds led to echelons forming in the pelaton. A crash in the final 15km further severed the field and meant the riders arrived at the finish in drips and drabs.