Gordon still in top 20

Callum Gordon. File photo by Paul Rickard.

GISBORNE’S Callum Gordon lost his King of the Mountain jersey after the second stage of the New Zealand Cycle Classic.

But Gordon, riding for Team Skoda, was far from disappointed with yesterday’s performance.

“We (Skoda) have Alex West first in the under-23 class heading into today’s third stage — 136 kilometres from Masterton to Martinborough,” said Gordon, who is 19th on general classification, with the Skoda team fifth.

“Yesterday was brutal,” he said.

“I was destroyed after the first stage — 121km from Masterton to Castlepoint — when I did a lot of attacking, but I’m feeling a lot better today.”

Skoda go into today’s stage minus a team member after an injury to one of their riders.

“The goal is to make sure Alex wins the u23 title,” Gordon said.

“My goal is a top-20 finish.”

Australian rider Sam Crome (IsoWhey Sports Swiss Wellness) won the stage in three hours, 49 minutes, two seconds.

A cohesive and powerful performance by the New Zealand national team had James Oram finishing the stage in second place and claiming the overall yellow jersey as well as the King of the Mountain jersey.

“We got the stage win but it was bitter-sweet to lose the yellow jersey,” said Crome after his team mate Tim Roe won it yesterday.

“I knew I had to bide my time and attack when I could. I got the stage win for the team but we haven’t got the yellow, so we will aim to get that back.”