Kiwi cycling star Corbin Strong had an ideal lead-in to the Paris Olympic Games Road Race with a brilliant sprint finish to claim the stage 2 win of the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium.

Strong, who will contest the men’s road race in Paris with Laurence Pithie on August 3, produced an impeccable performance with his Israel – Premier Tech teammates.

The kiwi rider was powerful in the uphill finish into the town of Ouffet with his teammates providing the ideal leadout after they earlier kept the breakaway in check.

“I’ve been thinking about this week here for a couple of months now,” said Strong. “Training went really well, I’m really happy with how the form is, and it’s nice to come here and get the win.

“I think if you watched the stage, it was such a privilege to be a part of this team today. They were all behind me – I even thought to myself in the last 3kms with the work my teammates did, that I better pull this one off! 

“I had a lot of confidence in myself today.”

Strong has now won races in each of his three professional seasons with Israel Premier Tech comprising the opening stage of the Tour of Britain in 2022, a stage of the Tour de Luxembourg in 2023, and now this success in Belgium.

With three more days of punchy terrain, Strong says he will do all he can to keep hold of the leader’s orange jersey.

Then he can turn his attention to Paris and swapping into the all-black New Zealand jersey.