James Piccoli wins the 2017 Tour of Southland in New Zealand
26-year-old Montreal-native wins stage up Bluff Hill
On Saturday, Montreal-native Jame Piccoli became the first Canadian and only the fourth foreign rider to win the 61st Tour of Southland in New Zealand. The seven stage race used to have UCI status but is now run as a national tour event.
Piccoli is a talented climber and it was by winning on the steep slops of Bluff Hill on Thursday after 148 km of racing that he set up is overall classification triumph.
“After Bluff, I knew we had a chance, especially with the team we’ve got,” Piccoli said adding that the climb was “probably the steepest hill” he ever raced up.
The next day he finished fifth in the stage that took the riders from Invercargill to Gore. Piccoli took the leaders jersey having attacked the peloton and bridged to the breakaway.
The next day, Piccoli claimed the tour leader’s yellow jersey after the fifth stage from Invercargill to Gore on Friday. In a daring ride, Piccoli left the peleton on his own to chase down a breakaway group of six riders and finish fifth on the stage.
The race wrapped up with a time trial on Saturday morning which Piccoli finished second in followed by a short 77 km road stage. The 26-year-old won with a 35 second gap on second place rider Michael Vink in Invercargill.
James Piccoli won the overall at Tour of Southland in NZ! Congratulations on fantastic week of racing! pic.twitter.com/b4ip95cLqv
— Elevate Webiplex Pro Cycling (@ElevateWebiplex) November 4, 2017
It was 2009 Tour of Southland winner Heath Blackgrove who gave Piccoli the idea of racing the 61st edition of the race only two weeks ago. Piccoli has had a busy summer with at the Tour of the Gila, Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay, Tour of Utah where he was third on Stage 2 and Tour of Alberta under his belt.
“My manager of my professional team [Elevate KHS Pro] is Heath Blackgrove, a previous winner of the race, and he said this is an awesome race and invited me to come down.
“It’s my first time in New Zealand and I’d have to say I enjoyed it,” Piccoli said after the race concluded on Saturday.
Piccoli was guest riding for Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel.
