Fowler tour leader

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 36

Fowler tour leader

By

RAY CAIRNS

Mark Bell, the British champion, was the prologue stage winner, but Brian Fowler, the Canterbury junior and national champion, will be tour leader when the Healing-3ZM Tour of the South leaves Christchurch this morning. This unusual state of affairs came about in the country’s richest cycling race, when Bell finished with 19 points, to Fowler’s 18, the 17 of Alan Peiper (Victoria) and 14 of Steve Cox (Hamilton). But Bell, after winning a host of points early in the race round the Bishopdale Shopping Centre, then flagged away his effort, and finished a little more than 4 min behind Peiper, the last sprint winner. So, although he had a 10s bonus for his criterium win, Bell also dropped 80s for the deficit he faced, leaving Fowler in the lead with a time of 32min 4s. Peiper is at 3s, Cox at ss, and the main body of the field are 6s behind Fowler. There was never any lack of action, Bell’s dynamic sprinting giving the field a caning in the first third, then Brian Boswell (Victoria) also showing some aggression, before Peiper and Cox took over for the final third. But it was significant that some of the big names — Jack Swart, Blair Stockwell and Clyde Sefton prominent among them — were content to ride along and they took little part in the sprints. There are eight town sprints in the 143 km to Arthurs Pass and three “King of the Alps” climbs, with the riders praying for the easterly wind to continue so they will be in Arthurs Pass close to the expected time of just before noon.

Then there is a further 94km stage to Greymouth in the afternoon.