James Oram.
Young New Zealand professional James Oram has finished an outstanding sixth place in the under-23 time trial at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in USA today.
The 22 year old from North Harbour was just 37 seconds from winner Mads Schmidt (GER) and only one second off fourth after
an excellent performance over the 30km test in his final year in the category.
Oram, who rides for the Axeon Racing team in USA, started conservatively to be 17th fastest through the 7km time check, pushing up to 10th fastest at the midway split and finishing strongly for his sixth place.
However the Kiwi, a former time trial medallist as a junior and 10th in the under-23 race last year, would have liked if the course in downtown Richmond in Virginia had been even tougher.
"It was quite technical with some paved sections and some sharp turns and we rode up the climb that we will face in the road race," Oram said. "But I would have preferred another good climb to be honest to make it tougher.
