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Crocodile Trophy - NE
Australia, October 18-30, 2005
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Stage 6 - October 23: Koombooloomba - Irvinebank, 98 km
Bettin wins sprint finish in stage 6 of Crocodile Trophy
By John-Michael Flynn at Irvinebank - Outback North Queensland
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Putting the disappointment of yesterday's mechanical dramas behind him, Mountain Bike World Cup Champion Mauro Bettin responded in the best way possible today by winning stage six of the 2005 Crocodile Trophy.
At the end of a 98 kilometre stage linking the World Heritage Rainforest of the Great Dividing Range to the dusty dry Outback Savannah of Lower Cape York, it came down to two riders, Bettin and Australia's Adam Hansen in a frantic dash which the Italian won, right on the line.
If ever there was an incentive to complete a stage, today was the day, with the classic outback 'watering hole' the Irvinebank Tavern sitting adjacent to the Red Bull finishing archway.
And there was many a thirst to be quenched as cyclists endured another steamy day in the saddle, on a stage where the pace was high throughout for the riders contesting the General Classification of the World's Toughest Off-Road Cycle Race.
For Bettin, the leader of the Felt-Shimano Dream Team the result was small consolation for yesterday's agony, when he suffered a flat tyre and lost valuable minutes in the fight for the overall race lead.
"Yesterday is many many problems because of the flat, I didn't have nothing, only water." Bettin Recalled.
"Because of yesterday it is possible that we never come back time."
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But the Italian isn't giving up on securing more stage victories, or making another all out assault on the General Classification as the Crocodile Trophy heads seriously outback.
"Okay it's the Crocodile Trophy, I look at another stage, the race is long long," Bettin said.
How it unfolded
Stage six of the Crocodile Trophy began in the rainforest surrounds of Koombooloomba Dam, nestled among the World Heritage rainforest of Tropical North Queensland.
Competitors were confronted with an easy ride compared to yesterday's fifth stage, on a 98 kilometre course of solid dirt roads and asphalt, which suited the seasoned road riders in the bunch.
It would turn out to be an incredibly tough stage for Austrian Heinz Zorweg, who claimed the leader's jersey on stage five, but who had no support in the way of team-mates, unlike his main rivals for the overall prize, Hansen and Bettin.
Not surprising it was the team-mates of the defending Crocodile Trophy Champion and the World Cup Champion who made the early moves today.
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Riders from the Felt-Shimano Dream Team and the Cairns Coconut Caravan Resort team shooting up the road at regular intervals in a play designed to crack the tough Austrian mountain man.
"Yere that was planned today, it was a road stage so got the boys out and told them to go up the road," Hansen said after being out-foxed by Bettin in the final sprint.
"They chased them and we sent the next two (up the road) and the plan was that Bettin and I jump across and our boys pulled us away from the G.C. rider Heinz."
What resulted was a six man breakaway, made of seasoned road riders, Tour de France cyclists among them, including Hansen, Bettin, Kai Hundertmarck, Stefan Rucker, Markus Eibegger and Matthias Buxhoffer.
Racing on slick tyres, Hundertmarck did much of the driving on the front of the breakaway group as it established a small, yet significant lead in terms of the overall General Classification.
Behind them, the Austrian Zorweg was watching his race lead slowly but surely disappear but with strong assistance from Belgian Christophe Stevens, he managed to limit the damage.
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"Very difficult today because Hansen and Bettin were in the first group and they worked together with about six people and I was alone," Zorweg said after giving up the race leader's jersey.
"I think it is very difficult to get the leader's jersey back and it only is possible if there is a mountain stage like yesterday. If there are mountains I think I can get back the leaders jersey."
For the man who shared the work to help keep Zorweg in contact with the race leaders, the reward at stage end came in the shape of the popular local brew, XXXX Gold, which the Belgian managed to consume at record speed.
"I think I deserve that," Stevens said while clutching an icy cold stubbie (beer bottle).
"I felt really bad, the body was ok but there legs were just .. I don't know.."
The man, who could have had the race lead, but for a flat tyre during yesterday's drama charged stage, still feeling the effect of a long walk through the Aussie bush.
"I felt like I was walking all day yesterday and that's what I did yesterday. I just couldn't go fast with Adam and Bettin."
The race is on - five contenders for GC honours
With seven stages still remaining in the Crocodile Trophy of 2005, at least five riders are still in contention for overall honours.
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Australia's Adam Hansen, who today regained the leaders jersey, holds a margin of 6.16 from Austrian Heinz Zorweg and Bettin at 23.43.
Christophe Stevens and Matthias Buxhofer also cannot be ruled out of the race for overall honours, but will need both good luck for themselves and bad luck from their fellow protagonists to bridge the gap.
Still, this is the Crocodile Trophy and with the race heading into the 'real outback' tomorrow on a demanding 123 kilometre stage across rough bush tracks between Irvinebank and Chillagoe, anything can happen.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Watson/mwphotography.com.au
- Stage 6 gets underway
- The breakaway - hey, this isn't supposed to be a road race!
- The breakaway - and plenty of not-very-much
- A closer look at that strange non-dirt surface.
- Working together.
- Mauro Bettin (Felt Dream Team) grabs a bottle
- Mauro Bettin looks pretty pleased as things go well on stage 6
- Matthias Buxhofer (VAV-Versicherung R. u. R. Völkl) powering along the road to third
- Matthias Buxhofer back on the dirt
- Matthias Buxhofer stops to grab a Red Bull
- Two GTI team riders together - they would finish just a few minutes apart
- Adam Hansen (Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon) grits his teeth with the effort
- Adam Hansen (Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon) going hard in pursuit of the race lead
- Kai Hundertmarck (Dream Team 1) might be wishing he had one of those too
- Kai Hundertmarck (Dream Team 1) tackled a long, dusty climb.
- Jens Zemke (Dream Team 1)
- Heinz Zörweg (ARBÖ Wienstrom Lamster Fadewa) - the overnight leader was back in second after stage 6
- Mauro Bettin takes the sprint from Adam Hansen
- Adam Hansen & Mauro Bettin in the final stages of the race.
Results
1 Mauro Bettin (Ita) Dream Team 1 3.01.37 2 Adam Hansen (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 3 Matthias Buxhofer (Aut) VAV-Versicherung R. u. R. Völkl 0.54 4 Kai Hundertmarck (Ger) Dream Team 1 3.35 5 Heinz Zörweg (Aut) ARBÖ Wienstrom Lamster Fadewa 10.26 6 Christophe Stevens (Bel) 7 Jens Zemke (Ger) Dream Team 1 11.13 8 Markus Eibegger (Aut) Team Rapso 13.06 9 Stefan Rucker (Aut) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 10 Johannes Huber (Ger) Team Huber 24.02 11 Sibl Radoslav (Cze) Favorit Brno - Bikezone 24.11 12 Johannes Reiser (Aut) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 24.22 13 Robert Vlug (Ned) team.hollandonline.nl 27.54 14 Joe McDonnell (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 33.17 15 Tim Northy (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 16 Lars Erik Johnson (USA) Dream Team 2 17 David Wood (Aus) Dream Team 2 18 Salvatore P. Albano (Ita) Team Bike Tarvisio 2005 33.26 19 Struan Lomont (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 34.41 20 Guido Van Olffen (Ned) GTI team 45.08 21 Macor Loris (Ita) Pedale Tarvisiano 46.32 22 Peter Stenico (Aut) Peto 48.59 22 Harry Ensink (Ned) GTI team 50.05 24 Mikkel Brinch Norgaard (Den) Team ACM 50.20 25 Bart Machiels (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 2 50.35 26 Cristophe Desimpelaere (Bel) Team ACM 54.16 27 Kim Proctor (Aus) 54.52 28 Beat Lustenberger (Swi) Trek-VC Züri 2 1.08.10 29 Knud Juul-Jensen (Irl) Team ACM 2 1.12.12 30 Giancarlo Schönberg (Ita) Pedale Tarvisiano 1.28.52 31 Günter Rafeiner (Aut) Sport Nora 1.30.25 32 Eric Paquay (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 1 1.34.33 33 Jos Kerkhofs (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 1 34 Karl Frank (Aut) SV Panaceo Post 1.40.27 35 Han Vaalt (Ned) GTI team 36 Astrid Boehm (Den) Team ACM 2.15.11 37 Ejnar Fausing (Den) Team ACM 2 38 Claude Dabaliz (NZl) 2.00.51 39 Paul West (GBr) Endura/Shred 2.33.42 40 Rudi Donckers (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 1 41 Reinhard Hörmann (Aut) VAV-Versicherung R. u. R. Völkl Women 1 Astrid Boehm (Den) Team ACM 5.16.48 General classification after stage 6 1 Adam Hansen (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 22.25.41 2 Heinz Zörweg (Aut) ARBÖ Wienstrom Lamster Fadewa 6.16 3 Mauro Bettin (Ita) Dream Team 1 23.43 4 Christophe Stevens (Bel) 27.29 5 Matthias Buxhofer (Aut) VAV-Versicherung R. u. R. Völkl 39.33 6 Sibl Radoslav (Cze) Favorit Brno - Bikezone 1.12.24 7 Kai Hundertmarck (Ger) Dream Team 1 1.15.20 8 Jens Zemke (Ger) Dream Team 1 1.43.15 9 Markus Eibegger (Aut) Team Rapso 2.07.42 10 Lars Erik Johnson (USA) Dream Team 2 2.11.32 11 Salvatore P. Albano (Ita) Team Bike Tarvisio 2005 2.15.44 12 Robert Vlug (Ned) team.hollandonline.nl 2.20.09 13 Tim Northy (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 2.45.54 14 Johannes Huber (Ger) Team Huber 3.00.10 15 David Wood (Aus) Dream Team 2 3.14.01 16 Stefan Rucker (Aut) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 3.17.03 17 Joe McDonnell (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 3.23.01 18 Johannes Reiser (Aut) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 3.52.02 19 Guido Van Olffen (Ned) GTI team 4.09.21 20 Struan Lomont (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 4.09.54 21 Peter Stenico (Aut) Peto 4.41.35 22 Macor Loris (Ita) Pedale Tarvisiano 4.49.43 23 Mikkel Brinch Norgaard (Den) Team ACM 5.26.54 24 Harry Ensink (Ned) GTI team 5.45.28 25 Kim Proctor (Aus) 6.42.38 26 Bart Machiels (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 2 6.58.26 27 Beat Lustenberger (Swi) Trek-VC Züri 2 7.01.49 28 Knud Juul-Jensen (Irl) Team ACM 2 7.20.37 29 Cristophe Desimpelaere (Bel) Team ACM 7.21.32 30 Jos Kerkhofs (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 1 9.04.00 31 Karl Frank (Aut) SV Panaceo Post 9.10.07 32 Eric Paquay (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 1 10.06.05 33 Giancarlo Schönberg (Ita) Pedale Tarvisiano 10.15.42 34 Han Vaalt (Ned) GTI team 10.17.34 35 Paul West (GBr) Endura/Shred 13.23.22 36 Claude Dabaliz (NZl) 14.09.04 37 Günter Rafeiner (Aut) Sport Nora 15.31.44 38 Astrid Boehm (Den) Team ACM 16.54.15 39 Ejnar Fausing (Den) Team ACM 2 18.25.45 40 Rudi Donckers (Bel) Belgium Bikers Marathons 1 41 Reinhard Hörmann (Aut) VAV-Versicherung R. u. R. Völkl Women 1 Astrid Boehm (Den) Team ACM 39.19.56 Points classification 1 Mauro Bettin (Ita) Dream Team 1 65 pts 2 Adam Hansen (Aus) Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 62 3 Christophe Stevens (Bel) 47 4 Heinz Zörweg (Aut) ARBÖ Wienstrom Lamster Fadewa 39 5 Markus Eibegger (Aut) Team Rapso 30 6 Kai Hundertmarck (Ger) Dream Team 1 25 7 Matthias Buxhofer (Aut) VAV-Versicherung R. u. R. Völkl 24 8 Sibl Radoslav (Cze) Favorit Brno - Bikezone 10 Team classification 1 Dream Team 1 83.16.15 2 Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 1 4.35.36 3 Cairns Coconut Caravan Simplon 2 9.40.42 4 GTI team 18.51.37 5 Team ACM 28.35.23
