Tour de force by Villa Maria College cyclists | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Promising 14-year-old Villa Maria College cyclist Chloe McCaughan scored her biggest success when she won the under-15 title in the South Island secondary schools tour in Marlborough.

The Strowan girl kicked off a big month by winning the two-day Cuddons tour overall, and she also won the queen of the mountain title and was sprint ace runner-up.

Now she’s out to build on the victory in the Ricoh Otago tour next weekend and the national schools road championships in Palmerston North a week later.

The Marlborough event was another successful outing for Villa’s strong team. In the overall placings, Emily Mercer of Harewood was runner-up in the under-17s and sister Haley Mercer second in the under-20s, with Cara Smith a place behind. In addition Emily Mercer won the 17s sprint ace green jersey and the queen of the mountain polka dot jersey, while Haley Mercer was best in the 20s queen of the mountain. The cycling silverware was not the only recent sporting success for Villa’s young achievers. The hockey first 11 reached the final of the Marie Fry Trophy tournament in Rotorua, losing 0-1 to Marian College in the final but winning promotion to the top tier Federation Cup next year.