Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    WELLINGTON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand cyclist Joanne Kiesanowski showed that her Olympic preparations were on track after winning the second stage of the Tour de Bretagne Feminin in France on Saturday.

    Kiesanowski outsprinted American Lauren Franges to win the 114 km stage from Hillion to Yffiniac in the Brittany region, grabbing the overall lead with two stages remaining, the New Zealand, the New Zealand media reported on Saturday.

    Kiesanowski, who will compete in the road race in Beijing next month, leads the tour of general classification by 14 seconds with Franges.

    She was well supported by the BikeNZ national team on Saturday in the top rating stage race that features the full United States and British Olympic road teams as well as many of the leading professional teams in Europe.

    With the help from the New Zealand team, Kiesanowski went clear with Franges and outsprinted the American to claim the overall lead as well as head the battle for the sprint points.

    The New Zealand team, including Yvette Hill-Willis, Sarah Murdock and Kerrianne Torckler, are now second in the team classification, just seven seconds behind the United States.