Tour of Southland second place for Bauer: “I want to represent New Zealand.”
Three weeks ago The GB Weekly reported on Parapara cyclist Jack Bauer’s successful season in Belgium this year.
Jack expressed the hope that he might snare a stage win in his fourth Tour of Southland. The tour, New Zealand’s premier professional road-racing team event, is over and Jack has exceeded his own high expectations, he says, “in a big way.”
“The whole dream came true. I managed that stage win and it was great,” said Jack. “To win the Bluff Hill stage was just fantastic. I’ve done my whole season on the flat in Belgium so I just kind of turned up and hoped for the best on the hills. I was very, very pleased with my form.”
Winning the Bluff Hill stage and his overall form saw him wearing the coveted tour leader’s yellow jersey for the third and fourth days of the six-day tour. He eventually finished second overall, 1 minute 3 seconds behind the winner, Heath Blackgrove.
“Everything has changed for me now,” Jack said. “I can’t come in under the radar and surprise anyone any more. That’s a really good thing. I want to be recognised. I want to represent New Zealand and be respected for what I can do.”
In the last two weeks Jack, now 24, has had some contact with Bike New Zealand, the sport’s national body. They are interested in doing some performance tests with him and he is hopeful that this will lead to increased opportunities to develop his burgeoning career. The GB Weekly will follow this gifted athlete with interest.
Neil Wilson
