Sport & Motorsport
The 70th edition of the SBS Bank Tour of Southland gets underway today from Queens Park in Invercargill, with official presentations from 11am and a ribbon-cutting at 11.55am featuring past winners Brian Fowler, Eric McKenzie and Warwick Dalton.
It is a return to the traditional start after January's rescheduled event was staged in neighbouring Waikiwi due to the ongoing cleanup from the October 2025 weather event.
Two races are on today, both based around Queens Park. The Riverside Rentals prologue begins at noon — a 4.2km team time trial, one lap of Queens Park, to help settle the nerves in the riders' legs. Teams start at two-minute intervals, with the prologue done around 12.40pm.
Creation Signs-Whoosh NZ Cycling Project took out the prologue in January and will be expected to perform strongly again. The team features New Zealand men's endurance squad members Marshall Erwood and George Jackson.
PowerNet finished second in the prologue last year and has a similar lineup to January, including Taupo's Kiaan Watts, Ollie Jones and Tom Stephenson.
The CS Roofing Stage 1 starts at 3pm — 10 laps of Queens Park, totalling 42km. Defending stage winner Zakk Patterson (Quality Foods Southland/Gough Bros) is one to watch, along with Erwood and Jackson. Recent world championship scratch race silver medallist Tom Sexton (SBS Wealth) is also in the mix.
Watts and Pista-Corsa X-Lab's Dan Morton, another member of the men's endurance track squad, will be watched closely, along with the contingent of Australian riders who have crossed the ditch to test themselves against the crosswinds and heavy chip roads of Southland.
The riders are expected to take about one hour to complete the 42km street race.