Defending Champ Michael Vink Takes Slim Lead In 2020 SBS Bank Tour Of Southland

Defending champion Michael Vink will take the slimmest of leads into the final stage of the 2020 SBS Bank Tour of Southland.

Vink (Transport Engineering-Talley’s), who is attempting to join an elite club of riders who have won New Zealand’s most prestigious stage race three times in a row, leads 2016 winner Aaron Gate (Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy) by 1sec after this morning’s 13km individual time trial around Winton.

Gate won the stage with a stunning ride in cold, windy conditions, the only rider to break the 16min mark, with Glenn Haden (Coupland’s) second and Logan Currie (Transport Engineering-Talley’s) third.

Gate’s team mate James Oram is in third place, 5sec in arrears, with overnight leader Corbin Strong trailing by 37sec after placing 23rd on the stage.

“It’s going to be an exciting last stage, everyone wants to see good racing and tight racing and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Vink said.

This afternoon’s 77km stage gets underway from Winton at 1.30pm and finishes in Invercargill at about 3pm.

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