Piccoli confident in defending title
Canadian cyclist James Piccoli is confident his team will be able to defend its title during the Tour of Southland this year.
Piccoli and fellow competitor Samuel Miller, of Southland, visited Waverly Park School yesterday to teach the children about road safety and about the SBS Banksponsored tour, which starts on Sunday. Piccoli arrived in Southland two days ago and said he was feeling confident heading into the tour.
The Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel team had built a strong group of riders, Piccoli said.
‘‘We’re looking forward to the race and trying to defend our title.’’
If successful , Piccoli would be the second international rider win back-to-back titles. Last year, he became the fourth international winner in tour history with a 35sec win over Michael Vink.
When asked if he was going to try to extend that lead this year Piccoli said he would see how the race played out. ‘‘Every bike race plays out a bit differently and we’ll see what the tactics are and how the race unfolds.’’
This year the team has changed out two riders but kept the core. Australian cyclist Mark O’Brien has joined the team along with eight-time world and twotime Olympic rowing champion Hamish Bond.
The tour is a stepping stone for Bond, who has his sights set on representing New Zealand on the bike at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Piccoli said he was expecting Bond and O’Brien to arrive in Invercargill tomorrow or Saturday.