Archbold leads young BikeNZ cyclists in prestigious German tour

Timaru cyclist Shane Archbold led the way for the young BikeNZ team on the second stage of the prestigious Thuringen Rundfahrt under-23 road race in Germany today.

Archbold finished ninth in the sprint finish after the 148km stage with a strong performance.

The Australian and Trek Livestrong teams brought back a break that had stretched to five minutes, with the peloton intact with 20kms remaining. A crash brought down Auckland’s Aaron Gate and fellow kiwi Jesse Sergent, the world pursuit silver medallist, who rides for Trek Livestrong. They were both able to chase and rejoin the leading bunch.

Archbold used his sprinting prowess to work up to the front of the pack with a strong ninth placing.
There was a further crash at the finish with Waikato’s Shem Rodger coming down with some abrasions to his shoulder and knee but he is expected to be ready for tomorrow’s tough third stage, a 160km effort with four major categorised climbs and a summit finish.

Michael Vink (Christchurch) and Gate finished in the peloton to record the same time as the winner with Rodger at 58s back, Jason Christie (Ashburton) 4m16s down in the second bunch and Ruaraidh McLeod (Christchurch) at 11m01s.

Australian Michael Matthews (Team Jayco Skins) still leads along with teammates Dennis Rohan and Luke Durbridge with Sergent (Trek Livestrong) at 30s in 10th with Vink, Gate and Rodger the leading New Zealand team at 1m 30s down in a share of 34th.

Details: www.bikenz.org.nz