Hawkes Bay student Hannah van Kampen has upset the more fancied riders to win the elite women's road race at the BikeNZ Club National Championships in Cambridge.
The 20-year-old, who is on a sports scholarship at the Eastern Institute of Technology, produced a brave break on the final lap of the five-lap, 100-kilometre race.
van Kampen, who turns 21 next week, opened the gap to a minute and 20 seconds then, and still held a 30-second advantage with a kilometre remaining as the big guns, led by Olympians Jaime Nielsen and Lauren Ellis, turned up the heat.
But the junior rider enjoyed an early birthday present when she held on to win by just six seconds from Nielsen, who won the bunch sprint from fellow Te Awamutu club rider Racquel Sheath.
Van Kampen also took out the under-23 title after finishing runner-up in the time trial, while Nielsen was awarded the elite title to go with her time trial victory.
