Plan comes off perfectly for Vink and team

Australian Nick White (Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel) celebrates being first to the finish line in...
Australian Nick White (Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel) celebrates being first to the finish line in Hokonui Dr, Gore, in yesterday’s 151km stage of the Tour of Southland. PHOTO: JAMES JUBB/STUDIO JUBB
Defending champion Michael Vink has put himself within grasp of a second Tour of Southland title after a stunning ride by his team on the penultimate day of the 63rd edition of the race.

Starting the 151km stage from Invercargill to Gore in third place and trailing Mexican rider Eder Frayre by 47sec, Vink needed something special - and he found it just north of Drummond.

The Placemakers team's plan, hatched the night before, involved getting a rider into the early break and then putting the hammer down before the race reached Winton to try to isolate Frayre and his team.

In practice it turned out even better than that, with the team's James Harvey and Hamish Keast both making the first selection.

When Vink and the rest of his team were able to escape, they sat up and helped charge to the front of the race.

As strong as Frayre had been for the past two days, winning both the Coronet Peak and Bluff Hill climbs, he and the second-placed Corbin Strong were helpless to respond.

"We had a plan and it came off perfectly, and that's thanks to all the boys in the team," Vink said.

"They did their job to perfection, and we were rewarded for it in the end, so that's a very satisfying way to win.

"It's definitely one of the [stages] I'll always remember. I think what we did today was one of the epic rides of the tour, certainly one I'll remember for a long time. It's nice to know that we can do it like that."

Nick White claimed the stage win.

Vink leads by just over two minutes, with Frayre dropping to seventh place at 6min 34sec.

No rider has been able to defend a Tour of Southland title since Hayden Roulston won three times in succession from 2006-08.

Vink is a noted time triallist and will not be scared of the 13km individual time trial at Winton, but he well knows that he has let the race slip with a greater margin on the final day.

The afternoon's final stage is a nervous 77km beat from Winton to the finish in Invercargill's Gala St.

"I'll be riding as hard as I can. It gives me confidence knowing how things went today. I definitely know I've got good legs and having won the time trial in the past is a huge morale boost."

"You never know what can happen on that last stage, so you have to take all the seconds you can get and we will definitely be riding as hard as we can and keeping the other guys fresh because it will be a hard afternoon."

With Strong missing the break, his teammate Reuben Thompson holds a narrow advantage in the under-23 classification.

Southland's Tom Sexton effectively locked down the Sprint Ace classification, following up from a big day on Thursday to ensure he cannot be headed on the final day.

With only the Rakahouka climb remaining, Ollie Jones has also banked the King of the Mountain jersey, but his teammate Paul Odlin will be jealously guarding the 47sec lead he has over Glenn Haden in the over-35 Silver jersey.

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