Tour of Wellington

New Zealand, January 11-15, 2000

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Stage 5 - January 15, Wellington - Hawkins Hill, 60 km

I love to hate seeing riders going up Hawkins Hill. It's great for publicity, TV coverage and for the hundreds of spectators that go to see the riders up there each year, but being in the Race Director's car you could see in their eyes that they are hurting.

Watching my good friend G Man going up the hill was painful. I spent time living with G Man (Graham Miller) in China few years ago, and I learned to know him as a person, and how determined he is towards his racing. He doesn't know how to lay back, he loves to make things as hard as possible for everyone else in the race...he hates losing!! And every race he enters, he wants to win - just what the All Blacks needed last year, a few G Men in their team...he is great.

From my car, I watched the riders going up the cruel 15km Hawkins Hill and I wondered what was going through their minds when the chips are down. From where I sit, you can read the pain in their faces, even with those funny sunglasses on, sunglasses that are there as much to hide the pain in their expression, as preventing eye-burning glare.

The final stage was won by Bryce Shapley but Vesty was the man. He won the tour and the KOM.

It was unfortunate that the final criterium stage was abandoned because of a construction on a bridge on the circuit started ahead of schedule, so the race officially finished at the top of Hawkins Hill.

G Man was the first to break away after only 10 kms into the stage, and he was soon joined by his team mate Glen Mitchell. They stayed away until halfway up the hill: first Miller dropped Mitchell, but then Vesty, Shapley, Guyton and the Australian rider Bart Hikson went past him with six kilometres of the hill to go. Shapley won the stage by one second from Vesty.

A criterium was arranged in the afternoon to ensure the large public had something to see, but the criterium did not count for GC. With 20 laps to go Miller, Guyton and David Lee broke away and despite some very dirty tactics by Guyton against Miller, G Man again showed them why he is one of the best criterium riders in New Zealand, he beat Guyton and Lee to win the race.

Results:

1 Bryce Shapley       	     1.28.01
2 Brendon Vesty          	0.02 
3 Warren Clark           	0.04 
4 Bart Hikson            	0.13 
5 Scott Guyton           	0.15 
6 Geoff Burndred         	0.17 
7 Graeme Miller         	
8 Stephen Elden          	0.54 
9 Ryan Russell           	1.21
10 Stuart Terrel         	1.27
11 Tony Chapman          	1.30
12 Matt Yates            	1.34
13 Ben Powell            	1.39
14 Marc Mackay           	2.04
15 Robin Reid            	2.09
16 Karl Moore            	2.33
 
 
Final Classification
 
1 Brendan Vesty              11.48.52
2 Bryce Shapley                  0.11
3 Bart Hikson                    0.55
4 Warren Clark                   1.27
5 Scott Guyton                   1.31
6 Geoff Burndred    	         1.59
7 Graeme Miller                  3.31
8 Stephen Elden             	 5.06
9 Anthony Chapman           	 6.28
10 Stuart Terrell           	 7.36
11 Glenn Mitchell         	 7.49
12 Karl Moore           	10.47
13 Paul Billing         	14.00
14 Ben Powell          		14.46
15 Greg Taylor          	15.32
 
Final KOM
 
1 Brendan Vesty          	30 pts
2 Scott Guyton     		28
3 Bryce Shapley    		22
4 Ryan Russel        		14
 
Final Sprints
 
1 Glenn Mitchell        	34 pts
2 Matthew Yates            	34
3 Brendon Cameron        	34
4 Tim Carswell        		28
 
Teams
 
1 Fuji Xerox        
2 Avanti                	12.27
3 Caravello        		20.20
4 Trust House    		25.29