Cycling: Vink creates history at national championships

Twenty-year-old Michael Vink created cycling history with his solo victory. Photo / Supplied

Hometown cyclist Michael Vink created history with his solo victory in the road cycling national championships in Christchurch today.

The 20-year-old held off the chasers to win the gruelling 183km race in a course record time to claim the overall honours and successfully defend his under-23 crown.

The Mico Protrain rider became the first cyclist to take out the under-23 title and win the overall honours, adding to a successful weekend for Vink which saw him also claim the under-23 time trial on Friday.

His winning time of 4:38:09 was six seconds faster than PureBlack Racing's James Williamson in second place, while it also registered more than five minutes quicker than Hayden Roulston's winning time last year.

In hot and testing conditions which saw just 13 of 70 starters finishing, Vink's solo attack on the penultimate lap of the race worked a treat. He held off a fierce charge from Williamson and US-based Team Bissell pro Patrick Bevin who both came up just six seconds short.

Vink's attack came after he dropped Jeremy Vennell on the penultimate climb up the testing Dyers Pass hill to open up a 45 second buffer with a lap remaining.

"I would have liked Vennell to stay on for longer but at the bottom of the climb he said he was gone," Vink said. "So at that stage I had no choice but to go solo and time trial my way to the finish."

Pre-race favourite Jack Bauer, about to begin his World Tour career with Garmin Cervelo, made the initial charge from the pack, but it was Bevin and Williamson who took up the chase. Vink's margin was reduced to 35 seconds at the top of the climb and cut to just 12 seconds at the 1km mark, but Vink managed to hold on to record the win.

"This win means a lot to me, not just that I won but how I won it," he said. "It has given me a lot of confidence because I know I can win this level of race now. The national champs are always tough and fast races because there's no prize for finishing second.

"I knew the chasers would be coming at me but at that stage you can't worry about them. It was a matter of putting your head down and giving it everything you have. If it was good enough then it was good enough."

The pace was on from the start today, with riders recording speeds of up to 60km/h, before a group of nine made the first break. The group, including former Olympian Robin Reid and newly-crowned New Zealand road cyclist of the year Jesse Sergent, pushed out to a 1m38s lead at the halfway mark, but were eventually reeled in.

Taranaki's Michael Torkler, Vink and Vennell then pushed clear, before Vink turned up the heat on the penultimate lap to score the ultimate reward.

Vink will prepare for the New Zealand cycle classic in the Manawatu race later this month with his Mico Protrain team, before heading to Belgium where he will race for a top amateur team.

"If I can get some good results I hope this will lead to a professional contract. The team have some great race starts around Europe in some top stage races."

Results, RaboDirect National Road cycling Championships, 183km:

Elite: James Williamson (PureBlack Racing) 4:38:15, 1; Jeremy Yates (Mico Protrain) at 1:49, 2; Jeremy Vennell (Team Bissell) at 2:04, 3.

Under 23: Michael Vink (Mico Protrain) 4:38:09, 1; Patrick Bevin (Team Bissell) at six seconds, 2; Josh Atkins (Canterbury) at 22 secs, 3.