Southland’s Josh Burnett has claimed victory in the penultimate stage of the 2022 Tour of Southland to put himself on the verge of a historic win in his home race.

Just 77km now stands between Burnett and a win which would see him become the first Southlander to win New Zealand’s most prestigious stage race since Doug Bath in 1994.

Riding in only his second-ever time trial, Burnett (Creation Signs-MitoQ) blitzed the 13km individual time trial around Winton in 16min 42sec to increase his overall lead to 43sec over Australian rider Carter Bettles (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast), with Josh Kench (Powernet) at 56sec in third place.

The final stage of this year’s tour starts at 1.30pm and runs 77km from Winton to Invercargill.

Southland’s Josh Burnett has claimed victory in the penultimate stage of the 2022 Tour of Southland to put himself on the verge of a historic win in his home race. Photo: Studio Jubb/Tour of Southland
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