Stratford club cyclists first Taranaki team home in Tour of Wellington | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

Young Stratford cyclists raced against New Zealand's best in the Tour of Wellington last week for the R+R team, managed by John Dean. Shane O'Neill and Brock Roberts rode with fellow club riders, Brett Tivers and Michael Tockler, in the 7-stage tour. Unfortunately, their fifth team member, Simon Brown, had to pull out due to sickness.

'R+R' (a radio communications company in Wellington) competed with 17 other teams, and not surprisingly, Trek Zookeeper's team won and Hayden Roulston finished with the yellow jersey, with average race speeds of 46km/h.

The full tour results can be viewed at www.cycletournz.com/menstour

Michael was the fourth overall under-23 rider for the tour and has been chosen to train in France with the New Zealand under-23 squad.

Next month, Brett is returning to South Africa to ride professionally.

Best wishes to these two cyclists as the sport takes them offshore.

Stratford Road Cycling Club starts its 2007 season with a pack ride from Stratford to Douglas and return, on Sunday February 4.