Tour all set for final-day showdown
Matt Zenovich and Tim Rush are bracing themselves for a showdown on the final day of the 2017 Tour de Lakes A-grade cycling race.
The traditional Vital Signssponsored Tour de Lakes event started on Good Friday and is set up for an exciting finish today. It was touted as a two-way battle between North Otago’s Rush and Southland’s Zenovich in the lead up to the race and that is how it shaped up through the first three days of the tour.
Rush went into the time trial stage yesterday with an overall lead in the A-grade section only for Zenovich to blast out an impressive ride to finish 30sec clear of the next best rider. The stage three time trial on was a 20km ride from Manapouri to Te Anau.
Zenovich had suggested before the stage his legs were tiring but it was far from the case.
The standout ride meant he went from a few seconds down to lead the pack by 26sec heading into stage four which was an 80km ride from Te Anau to Five Rivers.
Following a bunch finish into Five Rivers, Zenovich was able to cling to that 26sec lead over Rush, with Southland’s Josh Haggerty a minute behind in third place.
An intriguing final day is now in store today with a change from to the tour course this year.
Stage five is set for a graded mass start from Nugget Point to the top of Coronet Peak, before competitors are driven to Glenorchy for the start of the final stage to Moke Lake.
In the B-grade, Brendan Akeroyd has a 15sec lead over Michael White, while in the C-grade Wayne Miller is 1min 32sec clear.
In the women’s race, Jeannie Blakemore holds the lead heading into the final day.