Jan 31st, 10.  Wet, slippery roads couldn't stop Kiwi Jack Bauer in his mission to give the NZ Champion jersey a good showing in front of some hardy Wellington cycling fans today.

Bauer laps the field and takes the win ©RoadCycling.co.nz

Stage 5, the final stage of the Trust House Cycle Classic, was cancelled due to wet and dangerous road conditions but organisers wanted to give the riders and fans one last race.

Riders who trialled the course told organisers the wet white road markings, manhole covers and bus stop markings on top of tight corners made the course too dangerous for a large criterium, especially one at the speed expected.

The call was made to cancel the Stage and race an optional 30min + 3 lap demonstration criterium.

The call denied Drapac Porsche the chance to bridge the 5sec deficit which would propel Lachlan Norris to tour victory.

Before the call was made, Norris told RoadCycling.co.nz he didn't know what would happen and his plan was to stay at the front of the action.  Drapac Porsche chose not to ride the optional race.

In the demonstration race, Bauer took early control and easily won the race which didn't count towards the tour General Classification.

While some riders chose to sit out the optional ride and not risk the slippery roads, about 40 of the original 110 rider peloton took to the start line with a few still motivated for the win.

After just a few laps of the 1m10s circuit in central Wellington the silver and black jersey of the NZ Champion was out in front of the peloton receiving cheers from the small but vocal crowd.  

It wasn't just the wet weather which affected crowd numbers, some were confused about the start time with different publications showing differing times.

Bici Vida's new recruit Mike Northey didn't want to sit back and let Bauer have an easy race and the Aucklander shot from the front of the peloton in chase. 

In the early laps he was just 5sec behind Bauer but as the number of laps increased, so did the time gap.

Mike Northey (Bici Vida) chases Jack Bauer ©RoadCycling.co.nz

Northey didn't reach Bauer but his efforts meant he was the only rider not to be lapped by the NZ Road Champion and he finished in 2nd position.

Bauer credits today's performance to time spent as a cycle-courier in Wellington and as a top NZ mountain biker.

"I spent a year here as a cycle courier and knew all the hot lines," said Bauer, referring to knowing how to take the corners as fast as possible.

Bauer, who has had a break since winning the national title in Christchurch in early January and hasn't featured well in the Trust House Cycle Classic, was happy the final race went to plan.

"I've had a shocker of a week so far, but I have been finding my legs as each day went on and I have been hoping to do better each day," said Bauer.

"The criterium is short and someone like me can usually hold on.  It went to plan.  It was cool to put on a bit of a show to the Wellington fans," he said.

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