Inverell rider Dylan Sunderland has won his second-straight Spirit of Tasmania Tour following the final stage in Devonport on Saturday.
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In his last event as an amateur before tackling the UCI World Tour next year, the 23-year-old finished the criterium in 12th place, to keep the yellow jersey and finish the general classification 36 seconds ahead of his Team BridgeLane teammate Chris Harper. Another teammate, Tyler Lindorff, finished in third place - one minute and 36 seconds behind Sunderland.
Speaking to the Leader after winning the penultimate stage of the five-day event on Friday, Sunderland said he expected the criterium to be a mere formality leading to him winning the tour again, given the big lead he had over his nearest rival who was not a teammate.
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He also said he was surprised by how well he had performed at the event, as he had had a "really big block of endurance [training] coming into next year".
"But yeah, it's pretty good to see that result when I'm not feeling too good," he added.
Sunderland has described his elevation to the World Tour, cycling's premier races, as the fufilment of a long-held goal.
He will ride for the South Africa-based Team NTT, formally Team Dimension Data, next year - basing himself in the Spanish city of Girona.
He described signing with Team NTT thus: "It's what I've spent so many years working towards. So to achieve that, it's just super exciting. I can't wait to get going next year."
