Travis triumphs in New Zealand
Travis Meyer (SouthAustralia.Com AIS) adds another stage win
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SouthAustralia.com-AIS new recruit Travis Meyer has won overall honours in the Trust House Classic/Tour of Wellington with a dominant performance that included two stage wins. The 18 year-old West Australian also won the Under 23 title, finished third in the sprint classification and led SouthAustralia.com-AIS to victory in the team's title.
Meyer finished the 580km event with a total race time of 14:27.09, 1.51 minutes clear of second placed Robin Reid (Delmaine Foods) and more than five minutes faster than compatriot David Pell (Savings & Loans). He took over the race lead on the second day of the five day, seven stage event and held it all the way to the end.
"In all my 21 years doing the Tour of Wellington, I have never seen a rider like him," said race director Jorge Sandoval. "He may never realise what he did in this country this week. He put cycling on the map."
Meyer, who has won five Junior World Championship titles on the track in the past two years, went into the final stage with a margin that should have allowed him to coast to victory, but he had other ideas. The teenager raced the one hour plus three laps of the 750m circuit with a vengeance, launching two solo attacks and lapping all bar six of the 70-strong field.
"I wanted to ride strong to show I was the true winner," said Meyer, who became the youngest ever tour winner. "I didn't expect to win like that but I wanted a hard race.
"It's unbelievable to have won a great, hard tour and to beat some of these guys in my first major one is just fantastic," he said.
But there was no time for celebration as Meyer was up at 3am this morning for an early flight back to Sydney for this week's Australian Track Cycling Championships.