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Stage 13, Milton - Batemans Bay 120 kmsResults and Report |
With just two stages to go in the Classic after this one, the 62 strong field faced an easier day today - only one 120 km stage, and no serious climbs. The weather was damp at the start, but there was very little wind and it was essentially dry for most of the race. The route involved going south to Batemans Bay (60 km), continuing on to Moruya before looping back to Batemans Bay. There were quite a few non-starters today after various events yesterday - Torsten Wilhelms (Bosch), Antony Malarczyk (Dupont) were in no condition to start after their last lap crash, while Coca-Cola New Zealand's Robin Reid had destroyed his frame in an earlier spill in the criterium. The remaining member of the Kiwi team, Karl Moore was hoping he could survive the next couple of stages, but will not be able to finish the Classic as the team has to fly home to race on Monday. Also, our "Media One" bus was also showing signs of cracking after yesterday, forcing us to abandon at the halfway point in Batemans Bay. There was one intermediate sprint up for grabs coming after just 7 kilometers, making for a fairly fast start. In the opening kilometers a break containing two Websdale Netherlands riders, Jans Koerts and Patrick Claessens, Marcel Wüst (Ger, Festina), Jeremy Hunt (Gbr, Sportscover), Jacques Fullard (SAf, Bates Bikes) went clear. The Dutch were in the box seat for the sprints competition with Koerts and van Heeswijk in 1st and 2nd and Koerts took out the sprint from Wüst and Hunt, promptly dropping back to the main field afterwards. He might have hung around for a bit longer though, as the break rapidly gained time over the bunch. Also, his teammate Claessens was dropped when Wüst and Hunt picked up the pace on one of the hills. The four man group kept adding to their lead over the sluggish peloton, and by the halfway point at Batemans Bay (60 km), they had a lead of 7:50. This gap only came down to 5 minutes by the end allowing, the four to play a more tactical game to determine the stage winner. The two strongest in the break were Wüst
and Hunt, who are also good friends and train together in Spain. The pair
launched a series of attacks on the road back into Wüst was looking somewhat dishevelled, but said of his second stage win "I was happy with today, as it was a long break. Jeremy and I were working well together, and we recognised some of the hills on the way down that were good places to attack on coming home. We both get on really well and wanted one of us to win, and I was the lucky one today." On his appearance: "Well, it's hard to find the time in a race like this to shave when you have so many things to do - talk to the media, go to the doping control, get a massage, have dinner, and go out to the pub until 4 am. I'm really looking forward to a break in Noosa after all this pressure," he added. He and Hunt seemed to have found the perfect cure for a hangover. The sprints competition was all but sewn up by the Dutch today, with Jeremy Hunt being the only one capable of beating new leader, Koerts for the mauve jersey. With only the final stage tomorrow counting towards the points, it will certainly be difficult for him to shake either van Heeswijk or Koerts. In a race dominated by overseas riders so far, Australia's biggest chance of a stage victory rests with Jonathon Hall (Festina) in tomorrow's 13 km time trial. However, he will have to contend with Raimondas Rumsas (MROZ) and Gorazd Stangelj (Slovenia) who will be going full throttle to settle the yellow jersey. Slovenia's Martin Hvastja is also a handy time triallist, coming 12th at the World Championships and fourth in one of the Giro d'Italia time trials this year. For Complete Results
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