Southlander Tom Sexton got first use of the SBS Bank Tour of Southland’s yellow jersey after leading home yesterday’s prologue team time trial in Invercargill. 

The New Zealand endurance track representative guided his Business South team to victory in blustery conditions for the 4.2km circuit around Queens Park. 

The result was something of a surprise, with defending champion Michael Vink’s Transport Engineering Southland-Talley’s team trailing in second place by more than 3sec. 

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 “Our goal was to finish top five, but we managed to put together a really smooth performance,” Sexton said. 

“We’ve got some strong pursuiters in our team and we just rode it like a team pursuit.” 

Tom Sexton leads the Business South team across the line in the SBS Bank Tour of Southland prologue. Pic: James Jubb/Studio Jubb 

The 64th edition of New Zealand’s most prestigious stage race gets underway proper today with a 151km stage from Invercargill to Gore. 

The Gore stage has traditionally featured at the end of the week and has proved pivotal in recent years. 

Tour officials have also made the decision not to include a gravel finish to Wednesday’s stage from Mossburn to Queenstown. 

Officials judged the gravel was too dangerous to ride after inspecting it this week and have opted to shorten the climb from 11km to 6km, although the 600m ascent will still provide the riders with a stern challenge. 

Business South, winners of the 2020 SBS Bank Tour of Southland prologue. Pic: James Jubb/Studio Jubb 

The Tour of Southland continues until NOvember 7. More updates will follow.

Results from the 1st stage of the SBS Tour of Southland (November 1):

Lap of Queens Park

1. Tom Sexton (BSS) 04m51s; 2. Keegan Hornblow (BSS) ST; 3. William Green (BSS) ST; 4. Hugo Jones (BSS) ST; 5. Dylan Kennett (TET) at 04s; 6. Bailey O'Donnell (TET) at 04s; 7. Michael Vink (TET) at 04s; 8. Logan Currie (TET) at 04s; 9. Hamish Keast (TET) at 05s; 10. Regan Gough (BSR) at 06s; 11. Campbell Stewart (BSR) at 06s; 12. Joel Yates (BSR) at 06s; 13. Jordan Kerby (BSR) at 06s; 14. Nicholas Kergozou (CPB) at 06s; 15. Madi Hartly-Brown (CPB) at 06s; 16. Glenn Haden (CPB) at 06s; 17. Liam Cappel (CPB) at 06s; 18. Aaron Gate (BSP) at 07s; 19. Alexander White (BSP) at 07s; 20. Ethan Batt (BSP) at 07s; 21. James Oram (BSP) at 07s; 22. Luke Mudgway (BSP) at 08s; 23. Joshua Kench (BSP) at 08s; 24. Ollie Jones (PNL) at 10s; 25. Alex Heaney (PNL) at 10s;

Overall Standings

1. Tom Sexton (BSS) 04m51s; 2. Keegan Hornblow (BSS) ST; 3. William Green (BSS) ST; 4. Hugo Jones (BSS) ST; 5. Dylan Kennett (TET) at 04s; 6. Bailey O'Donnell (TET) at 04s; 7. Michael Vink (TET) at 04s; 8. Logan Currie (TET) at 04s; 9. Hamish Keast (TET) at 05s; 10. Regan Gough (BSR) at 06s; 11. Campbell Stewart (BSR) at 06s; 12. Joel Yates (BSR) at 06s; 13. Jordan Kerby (BSR) at 06s; 14. Nicholas Kergozou (CPB) at 06s; 15. Madi Hartly-Brown (CPB) at 06s; 16. Glenn Haden (CPB) at 06s; 17. Liam Cappel (CPB) at 06s; 18. Aaron Gate (BSP) at 07s; 19. Alexander White (BSP) at 07s; 20. Ethan Batt (BSP) at 07s; 21. James Oram (BSP) at 07s; 22. Luke Mudgway (BSP) at 08s; 23. Joshua Kench (BSP) at 08s; 24. Ollie Jones (PNL) at 10s; 25. Alex Heaney (PNL) at 10s;

Team Overall

1. Business South 14m33s; 2. Transport Engineering – Talleys at 12s; 3. Base Solutions Racing at 18s; 4. Coupland’s Bakeries at 18s; 5. Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy at 21s; 6. Powernet at 30s; 7. Creation Signs – MitoQ at 42s; 8. Vet4Farm at 54s; 9. Circuit Asphalt at 01m03s; 10. Real Journeys at 01m15s;