Local pedal power could carry the day

A local victory in the teams section of the Trust House Cycle Classic Tour of Wellington and Wairarapa in January is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Ace Masterton riders in Scott Lyttle and Edwin Crossling will be part of the same five-member combination which finished runners-up last year in a stunning performance which also saw Lyttle and teammate Josh Wilson placed in the top 10 individuals.
"They are all very accomplished riders who know what it takes to succeed at this level and work well as a team, you couldn't ask for a lot more."
Manager Matt Harvey, also of Masterton, is convinced a similarly impressive effort from a quintet which also includes Richie Porte and Tim Walker can happen providing they have no fitness problems between now and race time.
"They are all very accomplished riders who know what it takes to succeed at this level and work well as a team, you couldn't ask for a lot more," he said.
Lyttle has just completed his third season in France riding for Castlesarrasin. He has managed 18 top five placings, including six wins this year, capped off by a third in the highly-competitive UCI Tour of Chantal-Biya Cameroons.
This will be Lyttle's seventh Trust House Classic.
Crossling is a past national junior secondary schools and New Zealand Bikewise Junior Tour champion. He too has raced successfully in France this year and will be a strong contender for the under-23 jersey, in particular, at what will be his third Classic appearance. Australian Wilson is no stranger to the Trust House tour either, having competed in the Team Solway Park colours over the past three years. He has been riding on the international circuit over that period, being based with a French team in 2005 and an Italian squad in 2006 and again this year. He took second place on the tough Admiral Hill stage of last year's Classic.
Porte lives in Tasmania but has spent time in Italy with Wilson's team and has achieved top placings during his European season.
A noted time-trialer and climber he made an impressive contribution to the Team Solway Park effort last year and will be expected to do the hard yards again.
Walker, too, accompanied Wilson to Italy and like his fellow Australians had an excellent European season. He is a superb support rider in tours such as the Classic and that makes him another key member of this year's line-up.