Slim lead for Gardner into last SBS Bank Tour of Southland stage

Aucklander Dan Gardner will carry a 15sec lead into the final stage of the 2023 SBS Bank Tour of Southland.

Gardner (PRV-Pista Corsa) has finished eighth in the penultimate stage this morning, a 13km individual time trial based in Winton, with Commonwealth Games silver medallist Ben Oliver (Creation Signs-MitoQ) claiming stage honours a producing a blistering 15min 55sec for the race of truth.

Gardner’s time was 16min 23sec.

Oliver only just edged out the ageless Joe Cooper (Central Benchmakers-Willbike), whose performance lifted him to second overall and within 15sec of Gardner.

Gardner, who has lived in Auckland for the past two years, is bidding to become the first Englishman to win the Southland tour since Invercargill-based Tom Tindale won the second-ever edition in 1957.

The final stage, a 77km beat from Winton to Invercargill, gets underway at 1.30pm.