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Tim de Waele
Southlander Corbin Strong, riding for the Israel-Premier Tech team, digs in during stage 16 of the 110th Tour de France, 2023 – a 22.4km individual climbing time trial stage from Passy to Combloux. (Getty Images)
Southland rider Corbin Strong has finished his first Tour de France with a ninth place finish in the iconic final stage sprint on Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The former Southland Boys’ High School student has finished the gruelling 21-stage and three-week tour with two top 10 stage finishes and four more top 15 stage finishes.
The tour is dubbed the world’s toughest cycle race, making Strong’s final effort into Paris “really significant”, Cycling Southland’s SBS Tour of Southland director Glen Thomson said.
First-time riders of the tour were normally “on their knees” at the end of the event.
“It was significant in that he was in good shape at the end of the Tour de France. It shows he is mentally tough, and his body has come through it … he hasn’t been smashed by the event.”
Thomson believed the experience would enhance Strong’s future on the road.
“Riders are always better after finishing a grand tour, they are recalibrated mentally in terms of knowing what they are capable of, and also for their bodies, they have never had such hard training, there’s nothing like it.”
Strong, who rode for the Israel – Premier Tech team, was the first Kiwi since Eric McKenzie in the 1980s to be selected by his team to compete for stage wins in the Tour de France, Thomson said.
Michael Steele
Corbin Strong on stage 16 of the 110th Tour de France 2023. (Getty Images).
McKenzie achieved four top five stage finishes, including a third placing on a stage in 1983, but an individual stage win remained elusive for a New Zealander.
Thomson said Strong was a focused young man with clear goals.
“He just gets after it. The whole family are dogged, they just don’t give up.”
Strong’s former coach in Southland, Sid Cumming, said the 23-year-old was only meant to ride the first two weeks of the tour for his Israel – Premier Tech team, but because he was going so well he was told to continue.
It didn’t surprise Cumming. “From my experience the more he did, the better he got, he thrives on hard work … that last stage showed he still had power at the end.”
Strong’s father Alan Strong said his son had been buoyed by his results early in the tour and had carried his form through.
“His ability to rebound day after day seems to be right up there. The confidence he will gain from this is his biggest takeaway.”
Strong hasn’t got much time for rest; he will represent New Zealand at the men’s world road race championships on August 6 in Scotland, a 271km race.
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