Riding for local glory

Cyclists ride along Woodside Rd during the Kelvin Hastie Memorial race on the Outram-Berwick circuit on Saturday.

Forty riders gathered on a hot and windy Taieri day for the premier event on the Cycling Otago calendar.

They tackled three laps of a 36km loop, including the Berwick hill.

River Milne was first over the line in the handicap race, Sophie Best was fastest female, Joshua Grieve was fastest junior, and professional rider James Gardner posted the fastest time (2hr 29min 55.1sec) to win the overall title.

It was the 43rd running of the race, which is named for Kelvin Hastie, who won the inaugural Tour of Southland in 1956 then became a selector and administrator.