MEDIA RELEASE

Defending champion returns for postponed SBS Bank Tour of Southland

14/1/2026 - A rescheduled SBS Bank Tour of Southland will see the return of defending champion Josh Burnett who will be gunning for a third win in his home cycle race.

Traditionally staged in early November, the 69th edition of New Zealand’s longest-running stage event had to be postponed in the aftermath of Southland’s dramatic October 23 storm which plunged the province into a state of emergency.

Burnett, however, was set to miss the November race due to a badly broken arm suffered in a riding accident, with the delay providing him with a summer to prepare.