Young Bungendore cycling champion Mitchell Lovelock-Fay ended a tough year with a triumphant win in the New Zealand SBS Bank Tour of Southlands, a challenging seven stage, 6 day Tour with Avanti Racing Team. He is the first Australian rider in 50 years to take out the Tour.

Arguably his biggest fans, his family in Bungendore, told the Bulletin: “Mitch took out the Queen stage, from Te Anau to the top of Coronet Peak, where he won the stage by 21 seconds and took the yellow jersey. He remained in the yellow jersey for the remainder of The Tour, posting a blistering time in the Individual Time Trial to take second place behind his team mate Joe Cooper, leaving him 41 seconds to protect in the final stage in order to win the Tour”.

“Winning Tour of Southlands means a lot,” said Mitch, “because I had a tough year last year with illness and injury. I spent the year riding for my team mates who I got to see cross the line first in every tour I competed, so to see all my hard work pay off was amazing and inspirational. I knew I was going into the race with good form, so for the team to put their support behind me and pay back the work I had done for them all year was surreal and to see the teamwork that went into the win. I couldn’t ask for better team mates.

“Next up I have the National Championships in Ballarat in January, where I move up to the elite ranks and hope to go top 10 in the road race against the likes of Greenedge, Team Sky and BMC.”

Mitch Lovelock-Fay lives in Canberra (what little time he is there) and is studying to be a teacher through Curtin University as well holding a part-time job teaching disabled children to swim.