Sport & Motorsport
It was third time lucky for Matthew Wilson today as the Cambridge rider was finally crowned champion of the SBS Bank Tour of Southland.
The Advanced Personnel rider had finished runner-up to Josh Burnett in 2024 and in January’s rescheduled race, but now has his named etched on the trophy following an historic 70th edition of the longest-running multi-day race in Australasia.
Wilson was a worthy champion, showing outstanding power on the final 6km climb during the Mossburn to Remarkables stage and then backing that up with a third-placed finish on Bluff Hill before winning this morning’s individual time trial in Winton.
“So happy to finally get the job done, you know, after being close for two years now,” Wilson said.
“When the team started, the goal was to win the tour within five years and we’ve done it in four, so couldn’t be more happy.”
After a week’s worth of furious racing where speeds averaged close to 50kmh over the 900km course, Wilson’s biggest challenge was on Thursday’s longest stage.
“I actually came down with a bit of a cold on day five, the 180k stage. So I had a bit of a grim day for me, and the boys took care of me that day, and then we've slowly been getting better since then,” he said.
A professional gravel bike and mountainbiker based in the United States, Wilson said coming home to win New Zealand’s longest-running road race was special.
“I'd say I've had better international results, but in terms of the ones I'm personally proud of, I think it's definitely one of the highest.
“So many people in New Zealand know about the Tour of Southland. It's been running so long, so in terms of just winning it as a Kiwi cyclist, it's a pretty big deal.”
After winning the 14km individual time trial in the morning, Wilson began the final 77km stage from Winton to Invercargill with a 1min 50sec lead over Australian rider Levi Hone (Team Brennan), with Finnegan Murphy in third place at 2min 9sec.
A dangerous section of gravel road works meant the stage had to be shortened by about 14km, making for a furious sprint to the finish line at Invercargill’s Gala St.
George Jackson (Creation Signs-Whoosh-NZ Cycling Project) claimed his first stage win in six Southland tours, holding off Australian Max Campbell (Macaulay Ford-GoodTech) for the Sprint Ace jersey, a great reward after being a warrior all week for his team.
The James Canny-led NZ Cycling Project team had a strong 2026 event, with Jackson’s green jersey, Jack Drage taking Most Combative honours on the final stage, and Jeremy Presbury winning a stage, holding the tour leader’s orange jersey for a time and winning the King of the Mountain classification. Presbury was also the highest-placed Southland rider overall.
Team Brennan made a big impression in their first visit to Southland, claiming Team Classification honours and Hone finishing second overall and winning the under 23 classification.
Australian Ben Dyball, a former grand tour rider, defended the over 35 classification he won back in January.
Meanwhile, Wilson was looking forward to a nap as part of his tour celebrations.
“It's been a very long year. I felt like I was really just kind of hanging on and riding off the old form from earlier in the year,” he said.
“I wasn't ever the freshest coming into the week but I knew I just needed to hang on for just a few more days and can now finally have a bit of time off the bike.”