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Powernet Tour of Southland, NZL, NE (National Event)

Date range:
November 2- 7 2009

November 7, Stage 9: Winton - Invercargill 64.4km

Blackgrove confirms Southland overall win

By:
Cycling News
Published:
November 7, 09:32,
Updated:
November 7, 22:00

Fondard wins final stage

Heath Blackgrove is the winner of the 2009 edition of the Tour of Southland.

Heath Blackgrove is the winner of the 2009 edition of the Tour of Southland.

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United States-based Heath Blackgrove enjoyed the biggest day of his life, winning the 53rd PowerNet Tour of Southland before rushing off to get married.

His strong Zookeepers-Cycle Surgery team only had to cover the options on the final 65km stage into Invercargill after main rival Marc Ryan (Timaru, ColourPlus) missed the key break in the morning's 79-km stage from Te Anau to Lumsden.

While the winds blew fiercely, Blackgrove's team were always on the ball as a group of 25 riders broke clear before Frenchman Romain Fondard (Share The Road) took out the final stage in a sprint.

Blackgrove, the Waimate rider who competes for Team Hotel San Jose, had the luxury of enjoying the final three laps around Queens Park in Invercargill to savour his first major stage tour win, in a race that has become special to him.

The 28-year-old met local triathlete Sharyon Johns at the Zookeepers Cafe where she worked on the 2001 Tour of Southland. Blackgrove barely had time to complete the formalities after his victory before he was whisked away to marry Johns at the home of team manager Paul Clark.

"It's obviously a big day for me," Blackgrove said. "In terms of the race I am very proud to be a New Zealander to win this race. While I've won the nationals twice, this is the premier road race in the country and it's eluded me until now."

Blackgrove, who has twice finished third in the Tour, said the weather was the key factor and he was delighted to be able to bounce back after losing the tour leader's yellow jersey midway through the tour.

"I had a great team around me and they really did it for me."

Blackgrove, the Athens Olympian, fronted a strong team including Beijing Olympians Sam Bewley, Wes Gough and Glen Chadwick along with world rowing champion Hamish Bond.

Blackgrove took the overall honours by 1:03 from Jack Bauer (Share the Road) with Findlay (Bici Vida) third at 1:16. Marc Ryan finished fourth at 1:34 and Peter Latham (Bissell Pro) took fifth overall at 2:45.

It proved an outstanding performance from the 24-year-old Bauer, who held the yellow jersey for two days and impressed with his power on the flat and fortitude on the hills. The winner of nine races in Belgium this year moves to his first full professional contract with a UK-based Pro Continental team next year.

Findlay showed his considerable potential to win the under-23 honours which he dominated, while another talented young rider, Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel), who competed in the world junior championships this year, took out the sprint honours as well as two stage victories. Zookeepers-Cycle Surgery easily won the team honours.

The high-profile American Floyd Landis, caught in the chaos of the mass crash on the opening day, finally rode with prominence on the final two days to finish 17th overall.

Results
1 Romain Fondard (Share The Road) 1:35:38  
2 Jack Bauer (Share The Road)    
3 Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel)    
4 Mathew Gorter (PowerNet)    
5 Justin Kerr (KIA Motors)    
6 Kyle Marwood (Praties Cycling)    
7 Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling)    
8 Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery)    
9 Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery)    
10 Michael Vink (The Southland Times)    
11 Jason Rigg (Praties Cycling)    
12 Gordon Mccauley (Subway-Avanti)    
13 Tom Findlay (Bici Vida)    
14 Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing)    
15 Westley Gough (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery)    
16 Ben King (Calder Stewart) 0:00:06  
17 Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling)    
18 Karl Moore (KIA Motors)    
19 Karl Murray (Share The Road) 0:00:08  
20 Marc Ryan (Colourplus) 0:00:11  
21 Sam Bewley (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery)    
22 Jesse Sergent (Colourplus)    
23 Mike Northey (Ascot Park Hotel) 0:01:21  
24 Carl Williams (Bici Vida) 0:02:48  
25 Taylor Gunman (Bici Vida)    
26 Brent Allnutt (Placemakers)    
27 Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel)    
28 James Ibrahim (Titans Race Team)    
29 Kevin Nicol (Jackson Plumbing) 0:02:50  
30 Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise)    
31 Greg Krause (Jackson Plumbing)    
32 Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes)    
33 Brad Hall (Calder Stewart) 0:02:51  
34 Mike Henton (Southern Institute of Technology)    
35 David Ayre (Winton's Middle Pub)    
36 Shem Roger (KIA Motors)    
37 Chris Macic (PowerNet)    
38 Alex Ray (Bici Vida)    
39 Wade Mangham (Ascot Park Hotel)    
40 Floyd Landis (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport)    
41 Omer Kem (Bissell Pro Cycling)    
42 Paul Odlin (Calder Stewart)    
43 George Bennett (KIA Motors)    
44 Mark Langlands (Calder Stewart) 0:05:17  
45 Matt Marshall (The Southland Times)    
46 David Treacey (Creation Signs) 0:08:30  
47 Simon Croom (South West Helicopters)    
48 Samuel Whitmitz (Titans Race Team)    
49 Matt Hinton (Southern Institute of Technology)    
50 Hamish Presbury (The Southland Times)    
51 Leon Hextall (Benchmark Homes)    
52 Hamish Bond (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery)    
53 Sam Steele (The Southland Times)    
54 Blair Martin (Creation Signs)    
55 David Evans (Creation Signs)    
56 Jamie Whyte (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport)    
57 Douglas Repacholi (Calder Stewart)    
58 Matt Sillars (Benchmark Homes)    
59 Rod Weinberg (Sycamore Print)    
60 Sergio Hernandez (NOW - MS Society)    
61 Joshua Chugg (Praties Cycling)    
62 Stefan Rothe (Jackson Plumbing)    
63 William Alexander (Team Enterprise)    
64 James Mccoy (Benchmark Homes)    
65 Brad Carter (Ascot Park Hotel)    
66 Andy Hagan (Energy Smart)    
67 Scott Wilder (Bici Vida)    
68 Nick Lovegrove (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport)    
69 Simon Brown (Southern Institute of Technology)    
70 Alasdair Dempsey (Team Enterprise)    
71 Robin Reid (KIA Motors)    
72 Lee Evans (Energy Smart)    
73 Joseph Cooper (Subway-Avanti)    
74 Jonathon Atkinson (Energy Smart) 0:11:20  
75 Alex Mcgregor (Sycamore Print) 0:11:50  
76 Logan Hutchings (Colourplus) 0:13:05  
77 Latham Croft (Titans Race Team) 0:17:00  
78 Jeremy Meech (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport)    
79 Alex Malone (Creation Signs)    
80 Hayden Kegg (Creation Signs)    
81 Travis Kane (South West Helicopters)    
82 Nico De Jong (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport)    
83 Thomas Hubbard (Winton's Middle Pub)    
84 Nathan Earl (Praties Cycling)    
85 Chris Kendall (Energy Smart)    
86 Matt Gilbert (Share The Road)    
87 Johno Gee (Energy Smart)    
88 Logan Calder (Placemakers)    
89 Michael Torckler (Team Enterprise) 0:18:48  
90 Andrew Ballantyne (South West Helicopters)    
91 Josh Brown (Team Enterprise)    
92 Michael Stallard (PowerNet) 0:18:51  
93 Sheldon Gorter (Sycamore Print)    
94 Russell Gill (PowerNet)    
DNF Corey Farrell (NOW - MS Society)    
Final general classification
1 Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 21:44:52  
2 Jack Bauer (Share The Road) 0:01:03  
3 Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) 0:01:16  
4 Marc Ryan (Colourplus) 0:01:34  
5 Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) 0:02:45  
6 Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 0:03:48  
7 Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) 0:06:34  
8 Ben King (Calder Stewart) 0:06:38  
9 Michael Vink (The Southland Times) 0:11:45  
10 Romain Fondard (Share The Road) 0:12:53  
11 Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing) 0:13:06  
12 Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) 0:13:12  
13 Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise) 0:13:17  
14 Mathew Gorter (PowerNet) 0:13:18  
15 Karl Moore (KIA Motors) 0:13:57  
16 Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel) 0:15:53  
17 Floyd Landis (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) 0:16:00  
18 Alex Ray (Bici Vida) 0:16:39  
19 Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes) 0:16:42  
20 Justin Kerr (KIA Motors) 0:17:35  
21 Jesse Sergent (Colourplus) 0:17:49  
22 Mike Northey (Ascot Park Hotel) 0:19:32  
23 Westley Gough (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 0:20:01  
24 Taylor Gunman (Bici Vida) 0:20:58  
25 Matt Marshall (The Southland Times) 0:21:46  
26 Wade Mangham (Ascot Park Hotel) 0:23:49  
27 James Ibrahim (Titans Race Team) 0:23:55  
28 Brent Allnutt (Placemakers) 0:24:40  
29 Greg Krause (Jackson Plumbing) 0:25:19  
30 Blair Martin (Creation Signs) 0:26:56  
31 Shem Roger (KIA Motors) 0:27:08  
32 Sam Bewley (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 0:27:11  
33 Brad Hall (Calder Stewart) 0:27:52  
34 Gordon Mccauley (Subway-Avanti) 0:28:47  
35 Sergio Hernandez (NOW - MS Society) 0:29:20  
36 Robin Reid (KIA Motors) 0:29:25  
37 Kevin Nicol (Jackson Plumbing) 0:29:43  
38 Mark Langlands (Calder Stewart) 0:31:26  
39 Joseph Cooper (Subway-Avanti) 0:31:48  
40 Paul Odlin (Calder Stewart) 0:33:04  
41 Joshua Chugg (Praties Cycling) 0:34:42  
42 Stefan Rothe (Jackson Plumbing) 0:34:48  
43 David Evans (Creation Signs) 0:35:09  
44 Alex Mcgregor (Sycamore Print) 0:35:16  
45 Leon Hextall (Benchmark Homes) 0:35:40  
46 Logan Hutchings (Colourplus) 0:36:03  
47 Carl Williams (Bici Vida) 0:37:28  
48 Karl Murray (Share The Road) 0:40:52  
49 Nathan Earl (Praties Cycling) 0:40:55  
50 Jason Rigg (Praties Cycling) 0:42:01  
51 Douglas Repacholi (Calder Stewart) 0:47:08  
52 Omer Kem (Bissell Pro Cycling) 0:47:37  
53 Nico De Jong (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) 0:48:03  
54 Sam Steele (The Southland Times) 0:52:50  
55 Chris Macic (PowerNet) 0:55:15  
56 Matt Sillars (Benchmark Homes) 0:57:12  
57 Brad Carter (Ascot Park Hotel) 0:58:16  
58 Sheldon Gorter (Sycamore Print) 0:58:52  
59 James Mccoy (Benchmark Homes) 1:00:13  
60 Jamie Whyte (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) 1:01:42  
61 Nick Lovegrove (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) 1:03:49  
62 George Bennett (KIA Motors) 1:03:51  
63 Simon Brown (Southern Institute of Technology) 1:06:34  
64 David Treacey (Creation Signs) 1:07:38  
65 Mike Henton (Southern Institute of Technology) 1:08:11  
66 Andy Hagan (Energy Smart) 1:09:13  
67 Josh Brown (Team Enterprise) 1:11:01  
68 Hamish Bond (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 1:12:02  
69 Hamish Presbury (The Southland Times) 1:12:29  
70 David Ayre (Winton's Middle Pub) 1:19:01  
71 Simon Croom (South West Helicopters) 1:20:00  
72 Jonathon Atkinson (Energy Smart) 1:21:38  
73 Michael Stallard (PowerNet) 1:28:48  
74 Samuel Whitmitz (Titans Race Team) 1:34:35  
75 Michael Torckler (Team Enterprise) 1:37:57  
76 Matt Hinton (Southern Institute of Technology) 1:39:35  
77 Alasdair Dempsey (Team Enterprise) 1:42:12  
78 Logan Calder (Placemakers) 1:47:06  
79 Rod Weinberg (Sycamore Print) 1:48:40  
80 Hayden Kegg (Creation Signs) 1:56:15  
81 Kyle Marwood (Praties Cycling) 1:56:57  
82 Scott Wilder (Bici Vida) 1:58:38  
83 Russell Gill (PowerNet) 2:06:22  
84 Matt Gilbert (Share The Road) 2:08:46  
85 Lee Evans (Energy Smart) 2:15:01  
86 Alex Malone (Creation Signs) 2:16:22  
87 William Alexander (Team Enterprise) 2:23:50  
88 Johno Gee (Energy Smart) 2:33:33  
89 Latham Croft (Titans Race Team) 2:33:41  
90 Thomas Hubbard (Winton's Middle Pub) 2:48:59  
91 Travis Kane (South West Helicopters) 3:18:03  
92 Jeremy Meech (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) 3:22:47  
93 Andrew Ballantyne (South West Helicopters) 3:42:49  
94 Chris Kendall (Energy Smart) 3:45:03  
DNF Corey Farrell (NOW - MS Society)    
Points classification
1 Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel) 80 pts
2 Kyle Marwood (Praties Cycling) 40  
3 James Mccoy (Benchmark Homes) 31  
4 Gordon Mccauley (Subway-Avanti) 24  
5 Karl Murray (Share The Road) 24  
6 Samuel Whitmitz (Titans Race Team) 23  
7 Jack Bauer (Share The Road) 19  
8 Ben King (Calder Stewart) 14  
9 Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) 12  
10 Mark Langlands (Calder Stewart) 11  
11 Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 11  
12 Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 10  
13 Karl Moore (KIA Motors) 10  
14 Romain Fondard (Share The Road) 10  
15 Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing) 10  
16 Stefan Rothe (Jackson Plumbing) 8  
17 Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) 8  
18 Logan Hutchings (Colourplus) 7  
19 Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) 7  
20 Alex Ray (Bici Vida) 7  
21 Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise) 6  
22 Sam Steele (The Southland Times) 6  
23 Brad Hall (Calder Stewart) 5  
24 Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) 4  
25 Matt Sillars (Benchmark Homes) 4  
26 Michael Vink (The Southland Times) 4  
27 Marc Ryan (Colourplus) 3  
28 Paul Odlin (Calder Stewart) 3  
29 Westley Gough (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 3  
30 James Ibrahim (Titans Race Team) 3  
31 Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes) 3  
32 David Treacey (Creation Signs) 3  
33 Lee Evans (Energy Smart) 3  
34 Jesse Sergent (Colourplus) 2  
35 Sam Bewley (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 2  
36 Sergio Hernandez (NOW - MS Society) 2  
37 Nathan Earl (Praties Cycling) 2  
38 Latham Croft (Titans Race Team) 2  
39 Michael Stallard (PowerNet) 2  
40 Chris Macic (PowerNet) 2  
41 Mike Northey (Ascot Park Hotel) 2  
42 Logan Calder (Placemakers) 2  
43 Jonathon Atkinson (Energy Smart) 2  
44 Douglas Repacholi (Calder Stewart) 1  
45 Robin Reid (KIA Motors) 1  
46 Justin Kerr (KIA Motors) 1  
47 George Bennett (KIA Motors) 1  
48 Michael Torckler (Team Enterprise) 1  
49 Mathew Gorter (PowerNet) 1  
50 Alex Mcgregor (Sycamore Print) 1  
51 David Ayre (Winton's Middle Pub) 1  
Mountains classification
1 Ben King (Calder Stewart) 54 pts
2 Michael Vink (The Southland Times) 26  
3 Karl Moore (KIA Motors) 14  
4 Jeremy Yates (Team Enterprise) 12  
5 Jack Bauer (Share The Road) 12  
6 Mark Langlands (Calder Stewart) 10  
7 Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 10  
8 Aaron Strong (Ascot Park Hotel) 10  
9 Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) 8  
10 James Ibrahim (Titans Race Team) 8  
11 James Mccoy (Benchmark Homes) 8  
12 Brad Hall (Calder Stewart) 6  
13 Patrick Bevin (Ascot Park Hotel) 6  
14 Gordon Mccauley (Subway-Avanti) 4  
15 Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 4  
16 Nathan Earl (Praties Cycling) 4  
17 Marc Ryan (Colourplus) 2  
18 Jesse Sergent (Colourplus) 2  
19 Paul Odlin (Calder Stewart) 2  
20 Robin Reid (KIA Motors) 2  
21 Mike Northey (Ascot Park Hotel) 2  
22 Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing) 2  
23 Jonathon Atkinson (Energy Smart) 2  
Teams classification
1 Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery 65:36:34  
2 Bici Vida 0:17:02  
3 Ascot Park Hotel 0:20:24  
4 Colourplus 0:24:49  
5 KIA Motors 0:26:49  
6 Share The Road 0:31:08  
7 Bissell Pro Cycling 0:31:41  
8 Jackson Plumbing 0:38:54  
9 Calder Stewart 0:40:03  
10 The Southland Times 1:00:35  
11 Praties Cycling 1:08:08  
12 Benchmark Homes 1:10:52  
13 Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport 1:16:42  
14 Creation Signs 1:42:49  
15 PowerNet 1:45:22  
16 Team Enterprise 1:48:55  
17 Sycamore Print 2:28:54  
18 Southern Institute of Technology 3:32:21  
19 Titans Race Team 4:09:52  
20 Energy Smart 4:15:37  
21 South West Helicopters 7:21:16  

Photos