The 2020 edition of the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland is offering challenges aplenty for budding age group cyclists from around New Zealand.

The event kicks off from Friday October 2 to Sunday October 4, with riders taking on six stages over three days as they battle to be awarded the coveted yellow jersey in their age group.

Tour Manager Glen Thomson and the event's organising committee have come up with a refreshed and challenging route through varied Southland terrain.

Advertisement

Advertise on the Southland App

“The course changes are motivated by the original ethos of the race. Terry Young’s idea for the Yunca Tour was to bring out of town riders here to make the Southland riders stronger, and we wanted to make it more challenging with more hills,” Thomson said.

Rather than be based at the Teretonga raceway as it has been in the past, the opening day of the tour will be based out of Wyndham, featuring two road stages.

The Creation Signs Stage 1 on Friday morning will see riders take on a tough circuit featuring some challenging climbing, ranging from 18km for the U13 riders to 70km for the U19 men.

Stage 1 will decide the first wearer of the Yunca yellow leader’s jersey in each division, as well as the Amalgamated Builders Limited Sprint Ace jersey, and the Road Safety Southland King and Queen of the mountains jerseys.

The Hippos Fire Wood Stage 2 takes place on Friday afternoon, with distances ranging between 18km and 56 km, with the out and back route again featuring a quite hilly profile.

The second day of racing on Saturday 3 October will take riders to Bluff, for two more new stages to the tour.

The NZ Van Lines Stage 3 on Saturday morning takes the form of a kermesse, a race on a short circuit along the Bluff waterfront, and with a flat profile it should give the sprinters a chance to take a stage win. 

The Flying Mullet Stage 4 on Saturday afternoon is sponsored by Deceuninck-Quick-Step professional rider Shane Archbold, and features a hill climb individual time trial up the steep slopes of Bluff Hill.

Advertisement

Advertise on the Southland App

The final day on Sunday will start off with the traditional Wensley’s Cycles Stage 5 inner city criterium, with riders racing around a tight circuit around the city block in which Wensley’s Cycles is located. 

The Kieran O’Neill Orthodontist Stage 6 on Sunday afternoon starts in Grove Bush, and is another stage that will be familiar to riders.

It features some challenging climbs again, with distances ranging between 14km and 90km depending on age group, and has quite often decided who takes home the coveted yellow jersey.

“Bluff is just such an iconic place to race, and they have been so welcoming, as has Wyndham. Hosting stages in these towns also shows our local riders and the riders from out of town these other great parts of Southland,” Thomson said.

Advertisement

Advertise on the Southland App

This year the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland forms part of an exciting week of cycling for Southland, as the SIT ZeroFees Velodrome will also play host to two major track events in the week following the tour.

From Tuesday October 6 to Wednesday October 7, the velodrome will host the Schools Track Championships, presented by ILT, and will feature some of the best secondary schools riders from across New Zealand. 

Then from Friday October 9 to Sunday October 11 the velodrome hosts a round of the National Track Series, which focusses on the development of U17, U19, and U23 riders.