Cycling: Guyton's hill burst seals win

Rotorua cyclist Scott Guyton produced a sensational move in the penultimate stage of the Tour of Southland on Saturday to take the yellow jersey ahead of Hastings' Jeremy Yates.

Riding for the Southland Times team, Guyton had started the day 50s behind his Zookeepers Cafe rival and needed something special to displace a strong-riding Yates.

That came in the penultimate stage, traditionally a quiet 79km downhill run from Te Anau to Lumsden.

But Guyton unleashed an outstanding ride up Gorge Hill which Yates could not match, and together with team-mate Glen Mitchell of Hamilton and Aucklander Karl Murray, of the Calder Stewart team, the breakaway bunch decimated the tour leader's advantage.

With the Southland Times riders in the peloton doing their best to ruin any attempt at limiting the damage, Guyton had a 25s advantage by the time the riders began the final stage from Winton to Invercargill.

Blenheim's Robin Reid won the ninth stage to Lumsden. Guyton was second and Murray third.

Despite plenty of pressure from the Zookeepers riders, Guyton kept his nerve to finish alongside Yates in 11th place for the stage, but with his second Tour of Southland victory secured.

Guyton, who won the tour in 1998, said this year's triumph left a sweeter taste.

"In 1998 we controlled the tour all the way, to win this one on the final day is really sweet."

Christchurch's Fraser MacMaster won the final stage after a sprint around Queens Park in Invercargill. Dunedin's Greg Henderson was second and Swiss rider Phillip Schnyder third.

Despite losing his tour leader's jersey on the final day, Yates was crowned the under-23 champion. Teammate Gordon McCaulay of Wellington was king of the mountains and Australian Joel Pearson the sprint ace champion.

- NZPA