The majority of the data came from the excellent reporting by Jenny Kisler.
Some additional material was provided by Brian Farrell. None of the other
media has given the Bay Series anywhere near the same coverage. Thanks to
both Jenny and Brian.
Teams for the Bay Cycling ClassicSkilled Engineering 1 Henk Vogels 2 Stuart O'Grady 3 Nick Gates 4 Jason Phillips 5 Leon Vogels Motorola/Festina 6 Neil Stephens 7 Pascal Herve 8 Rik McCaig 9 Brent McCaig 10 Chris White Arnold Thomas and Becker 11 Scott Sunderland 12 Brett Aitken 13 Wayne Kestle 14 Todd Wilksch 15 Jeff Stewart Jayco/VIS 16 Robbie McEwen 17 David McKenzie 18 Jamie Drew 19 Tristan Priem 20 Duncan Smith Sportscover Insurance 21 John Cosgrove 22 Gary Adamson 23 Andrew Tinsley 24 Ian Mountain 25 Steve Higgins Abom Mt Buller 26 Roberto Gaggioli 27 Frankie van Haesebrouke 28 Dean Rogers 29 Andre Morgan 30 Eddie Sauser Alchemy 31 Harm Jansen 32 Tom Leaper 33 Dean Jones 34 Jerone Walters 35 Luke Weir Volvo/Cannondale 36 Cadel Evans 37 Kris Denham 38 Sean Sullivan 39 Tim O'Shannessey 40 Matt Wilson Herald Sun/AIS 41 Steve Williams 42 Josh Collingwood 43 Josh Marsland 44 Andrew Stalder 45 John Pollock Ifco Space Solutions/Geelong Advertiser 46 Shane Kelly 47 Matt Rice 48 Corey Sweet 49 Warren Jennings 50 Cameron McDonald Brevtex WAIS 51 Daniel Trinne 52 Ryan Suckling 53 Eddy Hollands 54 Scott Suckling 55 Shaun O'Neil Qantas 56 Brendan Vesty 57 Glen Mitchell 58 Stuart Mitchell 59 Norm Shaddock 60 Jeroen Hermes Norco Bicycles 61 Nestor Snays 62 Chris Elkye 63 Pelle Kil 64 Scott Davis 65 Alan Davis Fitzroy Cycles 66 Stephen Pate 67 Matthew Allen 68 Allan Iacuone 69 Dylan Boone 70 Andrew Tourney Mildara Blass/Carnegie 71 Robert Tighello 72 Troy Clark 73 Hilton Clark 74 James Taylor 75 Mark Threadgold Terry Hammond Cycles/More Realty 76 Haydn Bradbury 77 Matthew Goold 78 Paul Rugari 79 Matt Jackson 80 Andrew Dore Women's and B Grade TeamsJenny Kisler writes there were mean't to be 60 starters but I have an incomplete list of 30 and no knowledge of the Men's B field. One guy was heard to complain that someone was yelling out "go 162" but for the viewer not knowing anything about cycling it would have been hard to know who on earth was in the field as the commentators didn't know either!)Sandra Smith, Anna Wilson, Liz Tadich, Karen Barrow, Petra Rossner, Lyndelle Higginson, Narelle Peterson, Rahna Demarte, Sally Smalley, Kristy Scrymengour, Alayna Burns, Alex Alty, Mary Grigson, Symenko Jochinke and others. Day One, Barwon Heads, January 7, 1998Jenny Kisler ReportingMen's B Grade - 40 minute Criterium In a race marred by many crashes (Phil Liggett was saying at least 6) Tim Decker ran out the winner. He was part of a small breakaway group that got away after a crash.
1. Tim Decker 2. Matthew Conn 3. Brad Davidson Women - 40 minute Criterium Again, another split in the group, this time not as a result of a crash but more due to the strength of the riders in the group. This left most of the favourites at the front. Symenko Jochinke won the intermediate sprints (and despite the inability of the officials to get her name right once during the entire race, the crowd at least knew she was the current Australian Champion ....they got that right!) Coming into two laps to go a crash at the start of the final straight brought down a few of the favourites, including Anna Wilson and Sandra Smith. Sandra Smith was unhurt and got back on her bike to finish, while Anna Wilson did not finish but later confirmed that she was OK and would ride tomorrow. The final sprint was fought out with the victory going to Karen Barrow over Joanne Robinson and Symenko Jochinke.
1. Karen Barrow 2. Joanne Robinson 3. Symenko Jochinke 4. Petra Rossner 5. Liz Tadich Elite Men - 60 minute Criterium A conversation with Phil Liggett before the start revealed that he thought Robbie McEwen was a good chance for the win. (This also came with the comment "Don't quote me on that if he doesn't!") The initial introductions revealed that Shane Kelly was not riding today but would be during the remainder of the series. Apart from that a few of the foreigners and star locals were introduced. Neil Stephens got a round of applause from the crowd for his Tour stage win. Early on in the race around the 1.4km circuit, Italian Roberto Gaggioli broke away but was soon brought back. A crash happened on the corner into the final straight with the rider doing the chasing coming down, however the bunch skilfully managed to avoid him (due to lots of shouting and swerving), and despite bit of lost skin the rider4 was able to get back on his bike. About the time of the first sprint a small group got away. This group of 10 contained O'Grady, B McCaig, Aitken, Iacuone, Hollands and Boone. The group managed to build on their lead for most of the race despite a lot of work at the front of the main bunch by Nick Gates (not sure whether he was really trying too hard to catch them though as he had a teammate out front!) and a few others, and occasional appearances by Neil Stephens and Henk Vogels the main group were never really in it. Robbie McEwen's habit of hiding in the back of the bunch til later on left him with no chance to win, while Vogels was probably happy to see a teammate in the breakaway. With a lead of 20 seconds going into the final 5 laps, the main group were closing in but didn't look like they could catch them. With three laps to go Allan Iacuone attacked and got a gap on the breakaways which he held until just before one lap to go. They swept him up and with less than half a lap remaining one of his teammates in the breakaway had a gap on the front. Just about all the way up the final straight it looked as if Dylan Boone would manage to hold them off, however he was caught in the metres before the line, with the race won by Brett Aitken from Brent McCaig. Brett Aitken was also leading the sprint competition at the end of the day.
1. Brett Aitken 2. Brent McCaig 3. Ed Hollands 4. Stuart O'Grady 5. Tristan Priem Brian Farrell Reporting These are exclusive reports from Victorian cycling photographer Brian Farrell. Brett Aitken wins Day One of the Skilled Engineering Bay Classic at Barwon Heads, Victoria. The South Australian rider with the Arnold Thomas and Becker sponsored team took the sprint to win the first stage of the Bay Classic series. Temperatures at around 23 deg made for good hard racing on the 1.4 kilometre circuit around the seaside town of Barwon heads. As soon as the race was settled in to a pace Roberto Gaggioli from Italy made the first move showing tremendous speed . However Neil Stevens powered the bunch to reel him back after a few laps then it was Stephens himself to have a go, Gaggioli joined him and so the pace picked up. The pair were away for five laps before being pulled back by what was the strongest bunch of professional riders we have seen in Australia . Two more laps and another break this time there were eight riders O'Grady was in this group also the McCaig brothers Rik and Brent. O'Grady was the power of this break which held out until the finish with Vogels and Stephens not prepared to chase because they both had team mates in the breakaway they were able to reach up to 30 seconds at one point in time. With 10 mins to go the main field led by John Cosgrove and Andrew Tinsley from Great Britain started to power the main bunch to reel in the breakaway riders. As soon as this was reported over the pa system by Phil Liggett, Alan Iacuone made a bid for a further break and almost succeeded being pulled back by O'Grady at the last lap. Into the finish strait Brett Aitken led out into the wind with too much power for Brent McCaig 2nd from Bendigo followed by Eddie Hollands (WA) with the main field now very close. The women's race was marred by a crash which put Anna Wilson out leaving the road open for Karen Barrows to take the first race of the series. Day 2, Portarlington, Victoria, January 8, 1998B Grade MenNo major crashes today (apart from the guy who cleaned up the loud speakers set up near the first corner!), instead enough of a hill to break the field up and just allow the strong ones to get away. Sprint 1, 1st Derek Crumpler, 2nd Tim Bennett, 3rd Christian Rivette Sprint 2, 1st Tim Bennett, 2nd Scott Morrow Breakaway with 4 laps to go of Tim Bennett and Scott Morrow, Herbert Donavon caught them with three to go and the field came back together right at the finish, with the victory to Tim Bennett.
1. Tim Bennett 2. Herbert Donavon 3. Derek Crumpler Overall leader still Tim Decker Women Anna Wilson was looking to make up for yesterday's lack of points at the finish with an early attack today. She rode away from the main bunch early but was chased down by a group containing Sandra Smith, Karen Barrow, Ellie Kennedy and Alayna Burns. Anna took the first sprint. Symenko Jochinke and Liz Tadich were both left in chase groups. Symenko joined the Wilson group but didn't look too comfortable as Wilson kept attacking. Liz Tadich had to chase and catch onto the back of this group a couple of times after overshooting the same bend at the bottom of the hill twice- just as she was tacking on to the back of the leaders! In the end neither Tadich of Jochinke had the strength to stay with this group in the final two laps and Anna Wilson was simply too strong for the rest of the field- winning the sprint easily. Sprint 1, 1st Anna Wilson, 2nd Sandra Smith, 3rd Karen Barrow Sprint 2, 1st Anna Wilson, 2nd Sandra Smith, 3rd Alayna Burns
1. Anna Wilson 2. Karen Barrow 3. Kristy Scrymengour 4. Alayna Burns 5. Mary Grigson 6. Sandra Smith Men After a few attacks by Roberto Gaggioli and a couple of other riders the field was pretty much together for the first sprint. Today McEwen was extremely watchful at the front-keeping an eye on who was trying to get away- and making up for yesterdays mistake in letting the break go! Henk Vogels was today's rider at the back of the bunch. After several laps in last place he moved up the field but by this stage McEwen, O'Grady and co were all contesting the first sprint and ready to make their move. A breakaway of 4 riders went early and Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady and a couple of others jumped across to the back of this group. The breakaway soon contained ten riders (with the officials having little idea who was in the breakaway- there were a few comments on McEwen's poor tactics as he had missed the breakaway, only for them to later realise he had been in it all along...this wasn't very impressive and I don't think Robbie was too impressed either!...especially seeing as Robbie was hard to miss being the only rider in orange and Rabobank colours!) The ten riders included McEwen, Gaggioli, Aitken, O'Grady, Corey Sweet, Scott Sunderland, Cadel Evans, Chris White and Jerone Walters.After the second sprint O'Grady made his move in a very impressive effort, leaving the group he had been with well behind. This group also appeared unwilling, or maybe just unable!, to chase and O'Grady soon had a gap of 20 seconds. He kept pushing hard and the chase group let him go, resulting in O'Grady's lead increasing to over 30 secs. At this point he soon had the main field in his sights and went through them (with a little assistance from a couple of teammates who should have known better!) He soon left them behind and with Henk Vogels making his first appearance for the day - yelling some encouragement on his back wheel (something which earned him a warning from the judges and an order to drop back to the main field!) O'Grady soon caught David McKenzie and Harm Jansen who were trying to get across to the remainder of the lead group. O'Grady sat in front of this group for the rest of the race, until they dropped off to allow him a solo victory lap. At this point the chase group behind had broken up after catching the field (who were then removed from the race) with first Gaggioli attacking and then Cadel Evans. Gaggioli attempted to get across to Evans but was unable to bridge the gap. In the end it was Stuart O'Grady by 20sec from Cadel Evans with Brett Aitken outsprinting Gaggioli for third and White just behind them. McEwen followed them in, ahead of Sunderland and the rest. Sprint 1, 1st Brett Aitken, 2nd Matthew Allen, 3rd Stuart O'Grady Sprint 2, 1st Brett Aitken, 2nd Robbie McEwen, 3rd Stuart O'Grady Sprint 3, 1st Stuart O'Grady and daylight well and truly 2nd!!!
1. Stuart O'Grady 2. Cadel Evans 3. Brett Aitken 4. Roberto Gaggioli 5. Chris White 6. Robbie McEwen Overall leader still Brett Aitken from Stuart O'Grady (just!), and Aitken still leads the sprint competition! Day 3, Torquay, Victoria, January 9, 1998B GradeA breakaway after the first sprint contained Christian Rivette, David Pell and Ben Lindsay. This break looked to be threatening, but in the last five laps the field were slowly closing in. Tim Bennett got across to the group and the field caught them right on the line with Bennett too strong for Lindsay and the other breakaways all swept up. Sprint 1 - 1 Michael Walsh, 2 Derek Crumpler, 3 Matt Conn Sprint 2 - 1 David Pell, 2 Christian Rivette, 3 Ben Lindsay Results: 1. Tim Bennett 2. Ben Lindsay 3. Tim Decker Women An early break of Kristy Scrymegour and Anna Wilson went away. An attack by Sandra Smith soon brought them back. Soon after Anna Wilson attacked by herself and soon had a gap to the field. The first sprint saw Anna in front still, and by the second sprint she had increased her lead. The bunch had organised a chase but by this stage Anna was catching riders who had dropped off the back. In the field, Karen Barrow and Sandra Smith had a "discussion" about who they were chasing for! While this was happening Anna had won the second sprint and had the field in her sights. Soon after she caught the field. On the final lap Anna dropped back to give the crowd a victory salute and the bunch did another lap and fought out the sprint for second. Victorian Anna Wilson, the dominant rider in this event over the last two years (1996 winner, 1997 second) scored a decisive win in the Women's race by lapping the field in a pursuit-style performance. The Overall classification is still headed by Victorian Karen Barrow who came second in Torquay. She leads Wilson in the overall by 4 points. Sprint 1 - 1 Anna Wilson, 2 Symenko Jochinke, 3 Joanne Robinson Sprint 2 - 1 Anna Wilson, 2 Joanne Robinson, 3 Symenko Jochinke Results: 1. Anna Wilson 10 points 2. Karen Barrow 7 3. Sandra Smith 5 4. Symenko Jochinke 3 5. Joanne Robinson 2 6. Petra Rossner 1 Men An early attack by Gary Adamson (UK, Neil Stephens and Stephen Pate) went. This was soon followed by an attack by Pate, Aitken, McKenzie and Sweet but was chased down by Henk Vogels and Robbie McEwen. The field then stayed pretty much together until after the third sprint. There was a crash involving four riders just after the second sprint, but no major injuries. With a couple of laps to go Harm Jansen, who had been sitting right on the back of the pack the entire race, made a move. This attack was brought back with Henk Vogels giving O'Grady the leadout until the front straight. A traffic island at the corner into the front straight nearly brought down Vogels and O'Grady, but Vogels managed to jump it and end up inside the barriers among the crowd while O'Grady managed to stay on the road and contest the final sprint with Aitken. The sprint went to the photo, and while this was being developed an interview with O'Grady revealed he thought Aitken had won. As it turned out he was right and Aitken won by not very much! O'Grady also said that although he had not raced this series before he thought it was a "super series" and was really enjoying the racing! So at the seaside resort of Torquay, Round 3 of the Bay Cycling Classic saw South Australian Brett Aitken beat fellow South Australian Stuart O'Grady (GAN) in a photo finish. He retains the overall men's classification by the slim margin of 5 points from O'Grady. With two more rounds to go Geelong (Saturday) and the final round being raced on the St. Kilda Esplanade in Melbourne on Sunday, the two South Australian riders appear to have the overall classification between them. Aitken is also leading the sprint classification. In Torquay on Friday, the hour long criterium on a tight 700 metre course, saw constant surging but no decisive breaks being made. The tight circuit contributed to a major crash with 3.5 kms to go but fortunately only one rider, Todd Wilksch from Victoria was forced out of the race (and the series). On the spot reporter, Brian Farrell reports that Neil Stephens found his legs today and he didn't let any breaks get away and then set up a good finish for his sprinters - the McCaig brothers. But in the end, it was Aitken who triumphed. Henk Vogels nearly lost his bike in the same place as Karen Barrows crashed last year. Sprint 1 - 1 David McKenzie, 2 Brett Aitken, 3 Stephen Pate Sprint 2 - 1 Matthew Allen, 2 Jason Phillips, 3 Robbie McEwen Sprint 3 - 1 Corey Sweet, 2 David McKenzie, 3 Matthew Allen Results: 1. Brett Aitken (SA) 10 points 2. Stuart O'Grady (SA) 7 3. Robbie McEwen (Qld) 5 4. Rik McCaig (Vic) 3 5. Brent McCaig (Vic) 2 6. Stephen Pate (Vic) 1 Day 4, Geelong, Victoria, January 10, 1998B GradeSprint 1 - 1 Christian Rivette, 2 Matt Conn, 3 D. O'Keefe Sprint 2 - 1 Tim Bennett, 2 Ben Lindsay, 3 Christian Rivette The field stayed together until just before the second sprint when Ben Lindsay and Tim Bennett moved away from the field. They were just off the front of the field but didn't look like being caught. Tim Bennett also appeared to be doing most of the work. The form sprinters have been Rivette and Crumpler but Bennett has been the strongest of the field and there doesn't seem to be anyone to threaten him for the overall title. Results 1. Tim Bennett 2. Ben Lindsay 3. Malcolm Crumpler Women Karen Barrow attacked early but was brought back. Liz Tadich was looking strong and attacked before the second sprint, when she was brought back Anna Wilson attacked. She was simply too strong for the field and rode away from them easily. For a while they appeared to chase but then seemed content to fight it out for second place. Anna ended up with a half lap lead by the end of the race. So Anna Wilson put on another pursuit performance to record her third win in 3 days and allowed her to take the overall lead in the 5 race series from fellow Victorian Karen Barrows by four points. The final day in St Kilda will see the final result decided between Wilson and Barrow. Wilson has already won the sprint title. Sprint 1 - 1 Sandra Smith, 2 Joanne Robinson, 3 Anna Wilson Sprint 2 - 1 Anna Wilson, 2 Joanne Robinson, 3 Louisa Robinson Results 1. Anna Wilson (Vic) 2. Petra Rossner (Ger) 3. Sandra Smith (WA) Men An early crash brought down a couple of riders including Rik McCaig, whose handlebars broke. The crash left McCaig out of the race with a sore shoulder. The crash also resulted in two groups on the road with a sizeable gap in between with some frantic chasing occurring at the back. Vogels and Gates were the main names in the back group while the front group contained Stephens, Aitken, McEwen and O'Grady who all seemed keen to leave this back group behind. After quite a few laps of desperate chasing this group finally got back to the leaders. There was a smaller group who were also delayed by the crash and never regained the main field, and these riders included Leon Vogels (Henk's brother). Neil Stephens attacked after the first sprint but was brought back. After the second sprint Gaggioli and Stephens attacked. This was followed immediately by an attack by Corey Sweet (who has been at the front a lot in the past few days with Priem on his wheel. Weir and Hollands chased them and formed a group of four dangling about 8-9 secs off the front of the main field. Sweet was doing a lot of the work. Josh Collingwood came out of the bunch to chase and got halfway across the gap but just couldn't make it. Henk Vogels began the chase and did a couple of laps on the front before pulling out. Nick Gates also did a turn on the front. Collingwood was soon caught but the four continued to hang just out of reach at 7 sec. Ryan Suckling (Holland's teammate was doing a good job of slowing the bunch through the corners. Stephens and Sunderland then took up the chase but it happened to late with less than 5 laps to go and the four holding the gap. Sweet tried an attack with 2 laps to go but in the end it was Hollands in the sprint from Priem. Aitken still in overall and sprint lead. Eddie Hollands from Western Australia took advantage of some solid work from Victorian Tristan Priem to make the break with 15 minutes left to ride in the one hour event. The four breakaway riders held off a late challenge by the peloton with Holland's winning the sprint. The peloton were at 3 seconds at the end. The leading points riders Brett Aitken and Stuart O'Grady (both from South Australia) did not gain points and if this is repeated and Hollands wins the final race in St Kilda, he can take the overall men's classification. On the spot reporter Brian Farrell told me that in the finishing straight Robert Gaggioli head butted Tristan Priem who responded with a much bigger head butt which cost both of them the race. It is unlikely that the UCI officials present will act on the incident. Aitken has already secured the sprint classification. Sprint 1 - 1 Robbie McEwen, 2 Roberto Gaggioli, 3 Matt Wilson Sprint 2 - 1 Roberto Gaggioli, 2 Brett Aitken, 3 Jeff Stewart Sprint 3 - 1 Corey Sweet, 2 Eddy Hollands, 3 Tristan Priem Result 1. Eddy Hollands (WA) 10 points 2. Tristan Priem (Vic) 7 3. Luke Weir 5 4. Corey Sweet 3 5. Roberto Gaggioli 2 6. Matt Allen 1 Day 5, St. Kilda, Victoria, January 11, 1998B GradeThe B grade field kept together with a few minor attacks going but nothing serious. Tim Bennett was pretty quiet today and seemed content just to have the overall lead. Sprint 1 - 1 Jason Morris, 2 Christian Rivette. Sprint 2 - 1 Malcolm Crumpler. Result 1. Malcolm Crumpler 10 2. Tim Decker 7 3. David Perry 5 Women The field stayed together, an early attack by Karen Barrow and a few later attacks by several riders including Barrow and Wilson. With 2 laps to go a crash brought down Anna Wilson (who later admitted to Phil Liggett that it was her fault! and meant that Karen Barrow needed to finish top 3 to win overall. Anna attempted to chase back to the field but had buckled her wheel and it was rubbing on the frame and so left her unable to chase. However Karen Barrow didn't have the legs in the final sprint and so Anna retained her overall lead. Sprint 1 - 1 Anna Wilson, 2 Symenko Jochinke, 3 Joanne Robinson Sprint 2 - 1 Symenko Jochinke, 2 Geraldine Denham, 3 Joanne Robinson Result 1. Petra Rossner 10 points 2. Sandra Smith 7 3. Bridget Evans 5 4. Chelsey Zucker 3 5. Karen Barrow 2Men A pre-race conversation with Robbie McEwen revealed that the weather, (over 30°C, was not a problem, he was more worried about repeating last year's crash on the final corner! During the race the field kept pretty much together. Stuart O'Grady made several attacks but each time was chased down by Aitken or his teammates. Josh Collingwood also made a couple of attacks after the sprints but couldn't get away. After the second sprint an attack of Corey Sweet, Ryan Suckling and Brent McCaig looked like it may get away. Another attack by Stuart O'Grady followed. Aitken was being extremely watchful and chased this one down with McEwen on his wheel. McEwen had tested the legs and looked good for the final sprint. After the third sprint Collingwood tried again. Then an attack by Dylan Boone, Haydn Bradbury, Allan Iacuone, Harm Jansen and Brendan Vesty went and looked like it might succeed. However it was again brought back, mainly due to the chase by Jason Phillips and Henk Vogels with Vogels doing a lot of the work. By this stage it was looking like a sprinters race. Bradbury went again but the field was together with 2 laps to go. The VIS squad then moved 3 of their riders to the front with Robbie McEwen in fourth wheel looking ominous! The final sprint saw McEwen well clear in a display of awesome speed! Sprint 1 - 1 Scott Suckling, 2 Stephen Pate, 3 Brett Aitken Sprint 2 - 1 David McKenzie, 2 Matthew Allen, 3 Warren Jennings Sprint 3 - 1 Luke Weir, 2 Nick Gates, 3 Matthew Allen Result 1. Robbie McEwen 10 points 2. Brett Aitken 7 3. Frankie van Haesebrouke 5 4. Stuart O'Grady 3 5. Stephen Pate 2 6. Brent McCaig 1 Final Overall Classifications:In calculating the overall classifications points were awarded as follows: Individual Stage points 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 and Sprint points 5, 3, 1.B Grade Men Overall: 1. Tim Bennett 33 2. Tim Decker 28 3. Malcolm Crumpler 20 4. Ben Lindsay 17 B Grade Sprint: 1. Derek Crumpler 21 2. Tim Bennett 14 3. Christian Rivette 13 Women Overall: 1. Anna Wilson 30 2. Karen Barrow 28 3. Petra Rossner 21 4. Sandra Smith 18 Women's: 1. Anna Wilson 31 2. Symenko Jochinke 22 3. Sandra Smith 11 3. Joanne Robinson 11 Men Overall: 1. Brett Aitken 32 2. Stuart O'Grady 23 3. Robbie McEwen 16 4. Eddy Hollands 15 5. Tristan Priem 9 5. Brent McCaig 9 Men's Sprint: 1. Brett Aitken 30 2. Matthew Allen 17 3. Stuart O'Grady 13 4. Corey Sweet 10 Men's Teams Overall: 1. Arnold Thomas and Becker 32 2. Jayco VIS 25 3. Skilled Engineering 22 |