Sport & Motorsport
Wilson Hannon even shocked himself with victory on Bluff Hill on the penultimate day of the 2026 SBS Bank Tour of Southland today.
The Palmerston North rider was outstanding on the 150km stage six from Invercargill to Bluff, instigating the decisive break of the day and then riding his way clear on iconic Motupōhue to secure one of the biggest victories of his young career.
“That's just ridiculous. I'm shocked,” the iBuilt rider said.
“That's just not something that I ever kind of thought of doing, not something I ever thought I was capable of.”
Hannon was aggressive after the race had covered 47km in the first hour of racing, helping create a break which quickly jumped out to 3min. He was the last man standing from the break, with Jack Clark (Macaulay Ford-GoodTech) second on the stage ahead of third-placed tour leader Matthew Wilson (Advanced Personnel).
“The plan going into today was just to see if I can claw back a little bit of time and springboard up,” Hannon, who is riding his third Southland tour, said.
“I was going up the climb, just doing my own pace and then I get past the steep corner and I realise the guy behind me had dropped the wheel. Then I look back and I just couldn't see anyone. I was like, oh my gosh, I actually have a chance.”
Winning on Bluff Hill was something that will take some getting used to for Hannon.
“I think you could ask any cyclist in New Zealand what they thought of the Bluff Hill Climb and they would all say the exact same thing. It's one of the hardest climbs you can do in New Zealand cycling, definitely one of the most iconic in New Zealand.
“It's an unreal feeling. I'm just so proud. So proud of iBuilt for helping me out. (Team sponsor) Bill Blackmore has been such a big part of my cycling journey.”
While Mattjhew Wilson wasn’t able to grab a stage win after missing out to Josh Burnett in a photo finish on Bluff Hill in January’s rescheduled event, he was happy to move a day closer to a potential tour win.
The Cambridge rider, who has finished runner-up overall in the past two editions, has only a 14km individual time trial and a final 77km stage from Winton to Invercargill standing between him and victory.
Wilson won the Winton time trial in January, albeit on a different course.
“It’s nice to know that I’ve got that one up my sleeve and could potentially add a bit more time to the (general classification). It’s a new course, so that will change things a bit, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Wilson has a 1min 16sec lead over under 23 leader Levi Hone (Team Brennan) and over 35 leader Ben Dyball (Macaulay Ford-GoodTech). Fourth-placed Finnegan Murphy (Latitude Cycling Team) is at 1min 33sec.
George Jackson (Creation Signs-Whoosh-NZ Cycling Project) has a one point lead over Australian Max Campbell (Macaulay Ford-GoodTech) in the Sprint Ace standings.
Jeremy Presbury (Creation Signs-Whoosh-NZ Cycling Project) has wrapped up the King of the Mountain classification with a day to go, while Team Brennan continue to lead the Teams Classification.