Oly rowing champ wins NZ cycling title
Double Olympic gold medal-winning rower Hamish Bond has won New Zealand's national road cycling time trial title.
Bond clocked 50 minutes 50.90 seconds over the 40 kilometres to finish a minute and a half clear of Michael Vink's second-placed 52:19.92, with Jason Christie third in 52:28.43.
The times were the fastest in the three years that the championships have been run on a challenging course in Napier made doubly hard by fierce winds.
After winning back-to-back Olympics golds in 2012 and 2016 with Eric Murray in the pair, Bond shifted his focus to cycling.
The 31-year-old, who won 22 national titles in rowing, finished third in his debut last year and said it had been a battle in difficult conditions.
"It was a real challenge down on the aero bars in that big crosswind," he said.
"I'm a lot faster than 12 months ago. I have been basically training exclusively for time trialling for the last 12 months including three months in the UK.
"I'm still quite a margin behind the top people in the world. I have to get faster, get more power, be more aerodynamic and keep thinking about my equipment."
