Black Spoke have stamped their mark on stage one of the New Zealand Cycle Classic, with James Oram winning stage one in extreme weather conditions.
Black Spoke's James Oram wins stage one of the 2023 NZ Cycle Classic. Photo: Dave Lintott/Lintott Photography
As the Wairarapa region experienced heavy rain overnight and during Wednesday morning thanks to the tail end of Cyclone Hale, Oram used his knowledge and experience on a circuit concluding with a short sharp hill climb.
"I went early before anyone could see the finish line with the hope to catch them by surprise and hoping they would hesitate, and they did," said Oram, who won the shortened stage in 2hr 47mins.
"[Ryan] Cavanagh was so close to me at the finish line there ... I thought he was going to get me."
The stage was supposed to be 158.1km but had to be shortened by approximately 30km due to the weather conditions - a decision made by Race Director Jorge Sandoval.
The race, which began in Masterton, included a slow neutralised start after one rider needed a bike change.
For the first 90km, the peloton raced around the rolling rural roads in the drenched countryside, many covered in debris and surface water
While there were early attacks from Black Spoke, CCache x PAR KUP and Couplands Booth Group and solo attacks from St George Continental's Jack Aitken - they never stuck.
With about 25km to go, New Zealand National Team's James Harvey made a solo breakaway but eventually was caught by a group of riders including Oram, Cavanagh (KINAN), Ben Oliver (MITO Q) and teammate Alex White.
The five riders put their heads down and maintained a 30 second lead heading back into town, before Oram got himself to the front of the group - to take the stage win.
When asked about the decision to make the stage shorter Oram said: "We were kind of hoping there would be another lap so we could try and split the race on the back section of the course, but it was definitely a smart call - there was a lot of rain out the back there, even visibility was poor, so it was a great call by the organisers."
The five-day Tour continues on Thursday with stage two taking riders south from Masterton to the wine village of Martinborough, finishing with an eight-lap circuit around the village.
