Southland cyclist claims 'biggest race in North America'
“I think this is probably the biggest race in North America so it’s super cool to hold onto the yellow jersey and get it done."
Josh Burnett has declared there are “some big goals” in the pipeline for the 2024 SBS Tour of Southland following arguably the 23-year-old’s most significant victory of his career to date.
Burnett became the first Kiwi in 34 years to win the Tour de Beauce in North America in what was also a special victory for his New Zealand Cycling Project - MitoQ team.
The Tour de Beauce was a five-day race. Burnett described, on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast, that the first day over 200 kilometres was “carnage from start to finish”.
Although the Southlander managed to finish in the front group of about 10 which was a good start.
The next day fellow Southlander and teammate Hayden Strong finished 5th with Burnett not far behind. That was before he targeted the next day for his big move in the tour.
Burnett is a strong climber on the bike which was a factor in 2022 when he became the first Southlander to win the Tour of Southland since Doug Bath in 1994.
That climbing strength shone through in the 2024 Tour de Beauce victory when he won the Queens Stage to latch onto the yellow jersey.
“It is a super steep climb to the finish, similar to the Remarkables [in the Tour of Southland] actually.
“We knew it was suited to me, so it was all focused on making sure I got to the base of that climb as fresh as possible and then managed to get away and had a good gap of 25sec or so. It is special to win up such an iconic climb in North America cycling,” Burnett told The Roar Podcast.
It was then a case of Burnett, with the help of his team mates, holding onto yellow jersey for the remainder of the race.
What made the tour victory that bit more special was the Southland flavour to the success with Strong and Marshall Erwood also part of the team, and James Canny at the helm.
“The manager of the New Zealand Cycling Project James Canny, who is also a Southlander, we started planning for this race probably almost six months ago with the unfortunate fold of Black Spoke at the end of last year, but it was the goal to come here and do well.”
“We are super fortunate to have a good Southland boy with James at the helm, and good Southland sponsors as well with Riki [Shuttleworth] and Creation Signs who is an absolute legend, we’ve got Stabicraft on board as well.
“There’s some good Southland riders coming through, and we’ve got the backing of the community as well. It is pretty cool to show off such cool Southland brands over here and get a win to do them proud and say thanks for all they do to promote cycling in New Zealand.”
So where does the Tour de Beauce victory compare to his 2022 Tour of Southland yellow jersey?
“I think this is probably the biggest race in North America so it’s super cool to hold onto the yellow jersey and get it done. I don’t know, I think Southland has the edge on it just because it is my favorite race, [but] I wouldn’t say that too loudly over here.”
Burnett missed the chance to try to defend his Tour of Southland title last year instead taking a break after a busy schedule and driving the team fan.
But he intends to be back riding in the field come the 2024 Tour of Southland in November.
“That’s the plan. Every race, every training ride all leads to the Tour of Southland. I think everyone in this team is super excited for that one, so we’ve got some big goals for that.
“It’s super special to race at home in front of all my friends and family so I can’t wait for that.”
The next assignment for Burnett is a gravel race in North Carolina.
Wonderful... Well Done :)