Cycling: Bauer in show of strength
The 24-year-old grabbed the win by half a wheel in a three-man sprint at the end of the 186-kilometre event, seeing off his more experienced rivals, Julian Dean (Garmin-Transitions), and pre-race favourite Hayden Roulston (Columbia), a five times Tour de France competitor.
Bauer will now compete in the Tour of Wellington and will also contest the individual pursuit at the New Zealand Track Championships before linking up with his Endura colleagues for the Tour du Haut Var in the South of France next month.
"To take a sprint over those two, I didn't really think was possible," said a delighted Bauer. "It was a quality field so I'm stoked."