Whanganui misses Tour of New Zealand

Rock slips and continued dicey weather along the Whanganui River Rd saw the organisers of the 2017 Tour of New Zealand cancel their Day 6 leg into town yesterday afternoon.

Originally, the North Island leg of the national cycling tour was supposed to depart the next stage from the Chateau village in the national park at 8am and travel 80km to Pipiriki, followed by lunch and then a 60km stage from Ranana to the Whanganui Multisport clubrooms on Anzac Parade.

However, the heavy wet weather around Mt Ruapehu saw organisers cancel most of the Day 5 riding on Wednesday, instead proposing a short 12km stage dash from the national park to the Chateau Tongariro, which was won by Whanganui Cycling Club's own Jason Sturzaker.

North Island tour manager Garry Collin said yesterday morning that from Ratahi through to Pipiriki there had been at least six slips, which included rock falls large enough that the only way around them was to leave the road.

An adviser from Downer NZ, who is travelling with the tour, told Collin there were up to 14 slips from Pipiriki through to the top of Gentle Annie, which is 5km from State Highway 4.

"We have to go along the Whanganui River Rd [for the stage]," Collin said.

"His advice was, we should not personally drive it, and we will not."

The ride had a delayed start at 10am to head to Pipiriki, and then the cyclists were planning to travel by vehicles through Waiouru to stay the night in Palmerston North, resuming their regular schedule today.

"Even the bit we've got is pretty dynamic [weather]...and I reserve the right to stop it," said Collin.

He agreed it was a great shame the tour could not take in the scenic 60km journey towards Whanganui.

"It's one of the great sections of cycling in the North Island, I think. I've done the tour four times."

The tour will finish in Wellington on Saturday, where the North Island and South Island races converge, and so far has raised $325,000 for charity.