But at the end of the gruelling 138km third stage of the 2016 Tour of Southland, which took cyclists from Mossburn to Coronet Peak, Bond said it was the ''happiest third place I've ever got in my career''.
The double Olympic gold medal-winning rower had, until yesterday, only ever biked up the skifield access road once - and that was last Thursday.
''I knew I could get up there pretty quick ... at the bottom [yesterday] I felt as though I could push along a little bit.''
Now he's in second place overall in the 2016 tour, behind Vantage Windows & Doors teammate Michael Torckler, who won yesterday's stage - the first in Torckler's eight tours.
Further, yesterday's result put the rookie team, also comprising Bond's brother Alistair, Alex Bardoul and James Lassche, all rowers, and Southland cyclist Joshua Haggerty, in third place overall.
Bond said he was ''really pleased'' to have helped Torckler - known as the ''King of Comebacks'' - cross the finish line first and felt like the team had already exceeded expectations.
''When we came down here, our goal was ... just to feel as though we had an impact on the race.
''We've more than exceeded that now.
''It was just about having a go, seeing what I could achieve if I gave a bit of time to training for biking, and now I've got a bit of an idea, I guess.
''I'm not the most confident on a bike, but I know how to suffer - I've been doing that for 10 years ... I've got no problem with it.''
Meanwhile Torckler, who is now leading the tour, said despite battling sore legs, he had been excited ahead of yesterday's stage, his favourite of the seven-day tour.
Conditions for him were ideal and the end result was ''pretty much perfect''.
''This is my first stage win - [it's my] eighth time down here; it's taken a while.''
It wasn't until the last kilometre that the 29-year-old knew he had it in him to overtake Tim Rush (Mike Greer Homes), who had been part of a breakaway group that had led the charge from near Fairlight.
Coming into Frankton, the leaders had more than five minutes on the peloton.
The chasing group shut that lead down as they travelled through the Ladies Mile and Dalefield areas on their way to the steep and windy skifield access road.
''I was a bit uncertain coming up the climb ... it wasn't until right inside the last kilometre [I knew].''
Torckler has made a remarkable recovery after being involved in a hit and run while training in the United States in 2012.
The then 25-year-old was hit by a car coming around a bend, was thrown from his bike and hit the car windshield, breaking his arm and almost being killed.
He was flown to hospital in critical condition but less than a month later was back in New Zealand and on his bike, returning to racing in the 2012 Tour of Southland, where he finished 61st.
The Kia Motors-Ascot Park Hotel team (Alex Frame, Ryan Thomas, Travis McCabe, Taylor Gunman, Fraser Gough and Steven Lampier) are in first place overall, with Powernet (Roman van Uden, Ryan Wills, Alex Heaney, Alexander Ray, Sjoerd Kouwenhoven and Matt Zenovich) in second.
Today, the tour heads back to Southland and, in stage four, the 120 cyclists travel 148km from Invercargill to Bluff Hill.
