Stage 4, Newcastle - Port Stephens, 60 km
Monday, November 6, 2000, 10:00 - 11:23
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Wajs takes the lead
By Jeff Jones
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Mroz
get ready
Photo: © Tom Balks
Poland's Grzegorz
Wajs became the new overall leader in the Commonwealth Bank Cycle Classic
after stage 4, from Newcastle to Nelson Bay. Wajs was in third overall
before the 60 kilometre stage, but with a few kilometres to go, he managed
to attack the decisive 19 man breakaway group to take a solo win. In
second place, in his best Classic result ever was Australian Brent Dawson
(QANTAS), with another Australian, Eddie Hollands (Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriesttaking third.
The first official
road stage of the Classic was not overly long but it was fast, with
dangerous splits occurring at regular intervals. The wind was definitely
aiding the riders from Newcastle to Nelson Bay, but at times it blew
them across the road, and this is what caused the final split.
On the climb of
Stockton Bridge over the Hunter River, a three man British assault sped
away from the pack: QANTAS riders Dan Smith and Jeremy Hunt combined
with Dupont's Julian Winn to grab a 40 second lead on the peloton. Despite
travelling at 55-60 km/h along the flat roads into Williamtown, the
bunch were attentive and brought them back with 32 kilometres to go.
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Early
break
Photo: © Tom Balks
Just four kilometres
later, as crosswinds forced the pack into the left hand gutter, a large
group managed to escape. Most of the top riders were there, although
race leader Jans Koerts had to bridge on his own after an untimely flat.
Once he caught them, he did more than his fair share of the work, wanting
the break to be successful so he could take another stage.
His efforts earlier
backfired on him, as riders started attacking on the final uphill into
town with less than 5 kilometres to go. The successful rider was Poland's
Grzegorz Wajs, who had two Mroz teammates with him in the break. Wajs
continued on from where he left off last night and took the stage with
three seconds to spare on Brent Dawson (QANTAS) and Eddie Hollands (Glen
Parker Cycles). Koerts took 6th, 14 seconds behind and lost his jersey
to Wajs for the time being, although the Dutchman vowed to attack it
again in the criterium later that day.
Wajs said that
he was "really happy with the win," but it was only because his friends
helped him on the day. He was surprised that Jans Koerts didn't join
him, as he was very strong in the break.
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Final
attack
Photo: © Tom Balks
Although a good
climber, Wajs said that he is not confident for the overall win - he
will see how he goes tomorrow. He won the Tour of Argentina earlier
this year, as well as a stage in the Tour of Japan. He recently rode
in the Sun Tour where he worked in support of Eugen Wacker, who won
the overall.
Brent Dawson, who
placed second today said that it was his best placing in the Classic.
"I got three top five's last year, and I was just starting to get into
form when I got sick and had to pull out. This is the first time on
the podium so I'm happy."
Dawson's teammate,
Danny Clark (49) has been a valuable asset to the team for his experience.
"The guy knows everything. He's my dad's hero, my dad's friend's hero.
Last time he was in Newcastle was in 1973 - I wasn't even thought of
back then."
Results
1 Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz 1.12.56 (48.38 km/h)
2 Brent Dawson (Aus) Qantas-One World 0.03
3 Eddie Hollands (Aus) Glen Parker-Fondriest 0.06
4 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Peugeot
5 Graeme Brown (Aus) NSWIS 0.12
6 Jans Koerts (Ned) Websdale 0.14
7 Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz
8 Peter Milostic (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
9 Ashley Hutchinson (Aus) NSWIS
10 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Caravello
11 Julian Winn (GBr) Dupont
12 Pawel Niedzwiecki (Pol) Mroz
13 Dirk Schumann (Ger) Bosch
14 Dan Smith (GBr) Qantas-One World
15 Baden Burke (Aus) Peugeot
16 Yento Barker (GBr) Dupont
17 Dennis Mungovern (Aus) Casino Canberra
18 Scott Suckling (Aus) Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriest
19 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Casino Canberra
20 Paul Van Schalen (Ned) Websdale 0.21
21 Cameron Jennings (Aus) Peugeot 1.50
22 Cameron Hughes (Aus) Peugeot
23 Henk Vaassen (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
24 Bart Duraj (Aus) Mroz
25 Bjorn Hoeben (Ned) Websdale
26 Alan Sieper (Aus) Casino Canberra
27 Brent Millar (Aus) Casino Canberra
28 Timo Scholz (Ger) Bosch
29 Michael Tolhurst (Aus) Casino Canberra
30 Giles Baudet (Aus) Team Caravello
31 Heiko Szonn (Ger) Qantas-One World
32 Tomas Buchacek (Cze) Bates Bikes
33 Darren Rolfe (Aus) NSWIS
34 Thorsten Wilhelms (Ger) Bosch
35 Jaarod Poad (NZl) Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriest
36 Stephan Gottschling (Ger) Bosch
37 Phil Thuaux (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
38 Anthony Malarczyk (GBr) Dupont
39 Scott Bradburn (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
40 Tino Haakman (Ned) Websdale
41 Steve Williams (Aus) Team Caravello
42 Danilo Klaar (Ger) Bosch
43 Jono Davis (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
44 Hilton McMurdo (Aus) Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriest
45 Matt Illingworth (GBr) Dupont
46 Martin Lonie (GBr) Bates Bikes
47 Dariusz Skoczylas (Pol) Mroz
48 Mark Chadwick (Aus) Peugeot
49 Adam Cox (Aus) Bates Bikes
50 Joshua Collingwood (Aus) NSWIS
51 Russel Van Hout (Aus) Bates Bikes
52 Chris White (Aus) Team Caravello
53 Ben Day (Aus) Bates Bikes
54 Andrew Payne (Aus) Team Caravello
55 Huw Pritchard (GBr) Dupont
56 Ben Brooks (Aus) NSWIS
57 Martijn Simons (Ned) Websdale
58 Danny Clark (Aus) Qantas-One World
59 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Qantas-One World
General classification after stage 4:
1 Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz 3.42.40
2 Jans Koerts (Ned) Websdale 0.11
3 Brent Dawson (Aus) Qantas-One World 0.32
4 Eddie Hollands (Aus) Glen Parker-Fondriest 0.33
5 Graeme Brown (Aus) NSWIS 0.34
6 Dirk Schumann (Ger) Bosch 0.36
7 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Peugeot 0.45
8 Peter Milostic (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec 0.51
9 Julian Winn (GBr) Dupont 0.51
10 Yento Barker (GBr) Dupont
11 Baden Burke (Aus) Peugeot
12 Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz
13 Pawel Niedzwiecki (Pol) Mroz 0.58
14 Scott Suckling (Aus) Glen Parker-Fondriest
15 Dan Smith (GBr) Qantas-One World
16 Ashley Hutchinson (Aus) NSWIS 1.03
17 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Caravello 1.13
18 Dennis Mungoven (Aus) Casino Canberra
19 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Casino Canberra
20 Paul Van Schalen (Ned) Websdale 1.20
21 Hilton McMurdo (Aus) Glen Parker-Fondriest 2.05
22 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Qantas-One World 2.12
23 Bjorn Hoeben (Ned) Websdale 2.17
24 Phil Thuaux (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec 2.20
25 Dariusz Skoczylas (Pol) Mroz 2.27
26 Danilo Klaar (Ger) Bosch
27 Adam Cox (Aus) Bates Bikes
28 Steve Williams (Aus) Team Caravello
29 Danny Clark (Aus) Qantas-One World 2.34
30 Stephan Gottschling (Ger) Bosch
31 Timo Scholz (Ger) Bosch
32 Henk Vaassen (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
33 Jono Davis (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
34 Russel Van Hout (Aus) Bates Bikes
35 Matt Illingworth (GBr) Dupont
36 Anthony Malarczyk (GBr) Dupont
37 Ben Brooks (Aus) NSWIS
38 Darren Rolfe (Aus) NSWIS
39 Tino Haakman (Ned) Websdale
40 Giles Baudet (Aus) Team Caravello
41 Chris White (Aus) Team Caravello
42 Andrew Payne (Aus) Team Caravello
43 Cameron Hughes (Aus) Peugeot
44 Cameron Jennings (Aus) Peugeot
45 Brent Millar (Aus) Casino Canberra
46 Ben Day (Aus) Bates Bikes
47 Bart Duraj (Aus) Mroz 2.49
48 Scott Bradburn (Aus) NSW Sport & Rec
49 Martin Lonie (GBr) Bates Bikes
50 Tomas Buchacek (Cze) Bates Bikes
51 Joshua Collingwood (Aus) NSWIS
52 Heiko Szonn (Ger) Qantas-One World
53 Michael Tolhurst (Aus) Casino Canberra
54 Huw Pritchard (GBr) Dupont 3.34
55 Martijn Simons (Ned) Websdale
56 Mark Chadwick (Aus) Peugeot
57 Thorsten Wilhelms (Ger) Bosch 6.32
58 Jaarod Poad (NZl) Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriest
59 Alan Sieper (Aus) Casino Canberra 7.09
Points classification:
1 Jans Koerts (Ned) Websdale 10 pts
2 Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz 8
3 Hilton McMurdo (Aus) Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriest 5
4 Dirk Schumann (Ger) BOSCH 3
5 Graeme Brown (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport 3
6 Bjorn Hoeben (Ned) Websdale 3
7 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) QANTAS-One World 3
8 Brent Dawson (Aus) QANTAS-One World 3
9 Ashley Hutchinson (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport 2
10 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Glen Parker Cycles-Fondriest 2
11 Phil Thuaux (Aus) NSW Sport & Recreation 1
12 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Peugeot 1
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