Cycling: Tour honours go to Auckland

Riders sprint to the finish line during the third stage of the Tour of the Bay of Plenty on Sunday. Liam Cappel, 16, (front) won the stage and finished ninth overall during the tour. Photo / Ben Fraser

Two Aucklanders were too good for the rest of the field at the second annual Tour of the Bay of Plenty - taking the major honours in the men's and women's races.

The three-day cycling tour, based in Rotorua, finished yesterday following the final stage around Waikite Valley.

In the men's section, the time trial on Saturday proved the pivotal stage with Steve Furminger, 23, (Auckland) posting the fastest time. Furminger won the first stage from Rotorua to Matata then extended his lead by winning the 11.6km time trial also held on Saturday.

He did enough in the last two stages on Sunday and yesterday to win the tour and hold off teammate Cameron Wynniatt.

Rotorua talent Sam Phipps, 19, had a rough start to the tour, crashing in the first stage, which saw him lose over a minute to Furminger. He showed his potential during the rest of the tour claiming third overall about 1m 40s down on Furminger.

In the women's section, Bronwyn MacGregor, 32, (Auckland) held off rival Ruby Livingstone to claim the women's title during the tour. MacGregor was almost three minutes ahead of Livingstone after the first stage but Livingstone immediately clawed back 27 seconds in the afternoon's time trial held at Eight Mile Rd.

Livingstone went on to claim the third and fourth stages but could not overcome a guarded McGregor who protected her lead to the finish line.

Race director Shane Hooks said: "The overall tour was a fantastic success and we would especially like to congratulate local motorists who proved incredibly accommodating to the cyclists on the road."

Wet and testing conditions made for a volatile first day on Saturday, but conditions for the second and third days of the tour were picture perfect. The four stages included a ride from Rotorua to Matata (64.7km) and a time trial (11.6km) on Saturday, two laps around Lake Rotorua (78km) on Sunday, and a ride around Waikite Valley (68km).

The starter tour, which included shorter distances in each stage, was also tightly fought with Auckland's Russell Walmsley holding of Tauranga's Ryan Pratt for the win. Vicki McNaught took out the women's title in the starter tour ahead of Deanne Hannan.

- Tour of the Bay of Plenty overall results: Men: 1 Steve Furminger (5h 36m 14s), 2 Cameron Wynnaitt (5:36.44), Sam Phipps (5:37.49).

Women: 1 Bronwyn MacGregor (5h 45m 20s), 2 Ruby Livingstone (5:47.58), 3 Louise Delaney (5:56.40).