The Olympic rowing champion Hamish Bond has shown he's not only a force to be reckoned with on the water but also the road.
Bond has moved into second place overall after finishing third on stage three of the cycle tour of Southland.
Olympic medallists Hayden Roulston and Hamish Bond (right) on the Tour of Southland. Photo: Photosport
The stage was won by Bonds' teammate Michael Torckler.
Bond said he and Torckler were in the peloton biding their time when he saw an opportunity to try and catch the leading pack.
"When we got to the bottom of the climb, my teammate Mike Torckler and myself, I sort of went off and he was the only one that could hold the pace that I was holding," Bond said.
"I got about halfway up the climb with him on my wheel and then Mike...he just turned the screws again and I tried to follow him but I couldn't.
"So [I'm] really lucky that he was able to track down all of the breakaway guys and managed to win the stage and I just couldn't quite catch the last of the guys who were in the break today and came in third.
Bond said he is not entirely surprised by his performance
"I've always wanted to see what happened if I gave a little bit of time to cycling and I guess I've devoted my training to it since coming back from Rio.
"This has been a perfect opportunity to see what I could do and I guess today I proved to a few people what I am capable of.
"I always hoped that I could do something but...I've always said talk is cheap you know? I've tried not to say anything because..,for me I'm big about letting your actions do the talking and I think today I let that happen."
Michael Torckler also holds the tour leader's yellow jersey with a 36 second lead over Bond in second spot.
- RNZ
