Young Australian cyclist Mitchell Lovelock-Fay timed his finish to perfection in grabbing the yellow jersey with a stage four win in the Tour of Southland.
Lovelock-Fay, 22, kicked on strongly over the final 2.5km in the challenging 186km stage from Te Anau to Coronet Peak on Thursday.
He finished the punishing final climb 12 seconds clear of second-placed Michael Torckler, with under-23 rider Liam Aitcheson a further 23sec back in third.
Lovelock-Fay clocked four hours 52 minutes 41 seconds for his stage win, taking the race leader's yellow jersey from fellow Australian Ben Hill, who finished stage four over four minutes behind in 22nd place.
Lovelock-Fay holds an 18sec lead over New Zealand under-23 rider Hayden McCormick in the general classification, with Joe Cooper a further 1min 02sec behind in third.
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Friday's 156km fifth stage travels form Invercargill to Lumsden, with the seven-stage tour finishing on Sunday.
