Jumbo-Visma development rider Finn Fisher-Black produced the fastest ride of the day to win the under-23 men’s time trial at the New Zealand championships in Cambridge on Friday.
He was even quicker than elite men’s winner, Tokyo-bound track cyclist Aaron Gate, who hung on to edge a fast-finishing Jumbo-Visma star George Bennett by just 0.7 seconds over the rolling 44 kilometre course.
The 19-year-old Fisher-Black highlighted his enormous potential by posting a time of 54 min 7.54 sec, which was 9.22 seconds faster than Gate over the same course.
However, because he was entered in the under-23 classification Fisher-Black was ineligible to win the elite title.
That went to in-form Black Spoke Cycling Academy rider Gate, the recent winner of Gravel and Tar.
Gate was 19 seconds ahead of Bennett at the 14km check point but did just enough to deny the WorldTour professional his first national title after a nervous finish saw Bennett get within one second.
BikeExchange rider Georgia Williams comfortably won the elite women’s time trial to add to her previous titles from 2018 and 2019.
Williams posted a winning time of 38 min 46.58 sec to beat runner-up Jamie Nielsen by 21.6 seconds.
Olympic rower Hamish Bond finished fourth in the elite men’s time trial, 39.11 seconds behind Gate.
