Stage 6 - March 3: Launceston Country Club Resort ITT, 11km. Start 11.00am, finish 12.45pmResults Preview and course profile Previous stage Roberts by the barest of marginsBy Rod Morris It may have taken 23 years, but South Australian Luke Roberts has avenged the narrow loss of his father, Wayne in the Skilled Tour of Tasmania. Roberts - an Australian Olympic track rider - won this year's 530 km tour by the barest possible margin - 1 second - from his Rio Coffee SA teammate, Russell Van Hout. It was the closest Tour of Tasmania in the history of the event, which - despite some missing years - stretches way back to 1930 when Sir Hubert Opperman beat an international field. Wayne Roberts ran second in the 1979 Tour of Tasmania to John Trevorrow, who these days doubles as the races' director and promoter. Luke Roberts moved into the coveted yellow jersey after running second in Stage 4 from Burnie to Latrobe on Saturday afternoon. He preserved his status in the same day's criterium at Latrobe and then worked hard in the closing stage, an 11.5 km individual time trial. Although Van Hout won the stage in the smart time of 15.18.89, Roberts was third at 15.29.46 and thus held on to his extremely slender lead. It was Roberts' fourth stage placing of the tour and his fifth top five position - a model of consistency! He is however - since John Trevorrow took over the race in 1996 - the first Tour of Tasmania winner to win the GC without actually winning a stage along the way. Van Hout finished the tour in the same way he started, by winning a stage. Second home in the ITT was skillful NSW rider Rodney McGee, competing for the Francaise de Jeux NSW IS team, while Tasmanian Institute of Sport cyclist Sean Sullivan was fourth, less than 5 seconds behind Van Hout. Young Victorian rider Simon Gerrans, who spent Saturday's Burnie to Latrobe stage in yellow after a brilliant win the day prior in the St Helens to Launceston stage, finished fifth in the ITT and later in the afternoon celebrated by leading the Jayco Under 23 to victory in the Teams Championship. Gerrans also finished third in the General Classification and spent the week stamping his name down as a rider of the future. In the space of five days, the tour covered more than 530 km over six stages and some of the most spectacular scenery that Tasmania has to offer. All accolades belong to Roberts, Van Hout and the Rio Coffee team. Fellow team members Stephen Cunningham, Graham Rootes and Jade Lean can take much of the accolades as well after protecting Roberts and Van Hout. "Without all the team - managers, mechanics and masseurs included - it (winning) would have been impossible," Roberts said. "I was reasonably confident at the start of the week and it all fell into place." "After getting away to a good start and grabbing a couple of stage placings, I concentrated on picking up some time bonuses. I am stoked the way the whole week has gone." Sean Sullivan won high praise for his fifth GC placing and along with fellow TIS riders Nathan Clarke and Caleb Manion leave for Europe this Wednesday (March 6) for a season of high intensity racing based out of Belgium. The newly developed Australian international squad, iTeamNova.com had a somewhat disappointing week, with former Tour of Tasmania winner, Alan Iacuone (1997) its leading rider in 11th place. Sydney's gold medal Olympian Brett Aitken - like Van Hout - scored two stage wins, but a fall on day one cost him dearly. Aitken won the Swansea to St Helens and Burnie to Latrobe stages, but overall was well down on GC, finishing 26th and 7.44 minutes behind Roberts. Aitken fell after the last KOM heading into Kingston in the opening stage. "My GC chances were virtually destroyed in that fall," Aitken said. The Wrest Point King of the Mountain Championship was won by New Zealand's Jeremy Yates and keeping with the international flavour, American Mike Tillman won the Country Club Sprint Ace - just ahead of popular Tasmanian Nathan Clarke. Results1 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Rio Coffee 15.18.89 2 Rodney McGee (Aus) (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 0.08 3 Luke Roberts Rio Coffee 0.11 4 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Tas. IS 0.15 5 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Jayco U23 0.20 6 Ashley Humbert (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 0.24 7 Nathan Clarke (Aus) Tas. IS 0.29 8 David Pell (Aus) Jayco U23 0.34 9 Stuart Dangerfield (GBr) Norco Appleby- 0.35 10 Jamie Drew (Aus) IteamNova.com 0.49 11 Sid Taberlay (Aus) TIS 0.57 12 Peter Rogers (Aus) Skilled 0.58 13 Karl Menzies (Aus) Giant Tas 1.00 14 Mark Jamieson (Aus) TIS No. 2 1.02 15 Dave McPartland (Aus) Jayco U23 1.03 16 Ben Brooks (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 1.04 17 Klayten Smith (Aus) Avanti 1.05 18 Paul Rowney (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 1.07 19 Jeremy Yates (NZl) New Zealand 1.09 20 Stephen Rossendell (Aus) TIS No.2 1.16 21 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Japan 1.16 22 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Skilled 1.16 23 Alan Iacuone (Aus) IteamNova.com 1.17 24 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Japan 1.22 25 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Skilled Quest 1.22 26 Craig Gordon (Aus) Norco Appleby 1.25 27 David Harrigan (Aus) Avanti 1.26 28 Nick Sanderson (Aus) Jayco VIS 1.27 29 Brendan Cato (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 1.27 30 Bruce McIntosh (Aus) Jayco U23 1.28 31 Lee Godfrey (Aus) Jayco U23 1.29 32 Chris Carr (Aus) Carnegie 1.31 33 Johny Clarke (Aus) Jayco VIS 1.35 34 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) TIS 1.36 35 Chris Wilding (Aus) Giant Tasmania 1.42 36 Mike Tillman (USA) TIS No. 2 1.42 37 Cameron Jennings (Aus) Skilled 1.49 38 Makoto Ijima (Jpn) Japan 1.49 39 Trent Lowe (Aus) Jayco VIS 1.49 40 Cameron Hughes (Aus) Skilled Quest 1.52 41 Peter Milostic (Aus) Skilled 1.54 42 Anthony Chalinore (Aus) Avanti 1.59 43 Brett Aitken (Aus) Skilled 2.02 44 Jai Crawford (Aus) Giant Tasmania 2.02 45 Thomas Boulachi (Aus) Avanti 2.08 46 Alan Duncan (NZl) New Zealand 2.11 47 Todd Parnell (Aus) Norco Appleby 2.15 48 Sion Jones (GBr) Norco Appleby 2.17 49 Mark Bowden (Aus) Norco Appleby 2.18 50 Robin Reid (NZl) New Zealand 2.19 51 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Japan 2.19 52 Graham Rootes (Aus) Rio Coffee 2.23 53 Caleb Manion (Aus) TIS 2.25 54 Steve Aitken (Aus) Giant Tasmania 2.29 55 Bram de Waard (Ned) Skilled Quest 2.30 56 Trent Wilson (Aus) IteamNova.com 2.31 57 Mark Leis (Aus) Giant Tasmania 2.33 58 Jade Lean (Aus) Rio Coffee 2.33 59 Matt Conn (Aus) TIS No.2 2.41 60 Stephen Cunningham (Aus) Rio Coffee 2.41 61 Andrew Reid (NZl) Skilled Quest 2.45 62 Stuart Lowe (NZl) New Zealand 2.46 63 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Japan 3.22 64 Dave McKenzie (Aus) IteamNova.com 4.01 65 Robert Licciardo (Aus) Carnegie 4.20 Final general classification 1 Luke Roberts (Aus) Rio Coffee 13.17.18 2 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Rio Coffee 0.01 3 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Jayco U23 0.13 4 Ashley Humbert (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 0.25 5 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Tas. IS 0.26 6 David Pell (Aus) Jayco U23 0.50 7 Stuart Dangerfield (GBr) Norco Appleby 0.53 8 Jeremy Yates (NZl) New Zealand 1.31 9 Dave McPartland (Aus) Jayco U23 1.35 10 Ben Brooks (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 1.36 11 Alan Iacuone (Aus) IteamNova.com 1.51 12 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Japan 1.56 13 Craig Gordon (Aus) Norco Appleby 1.59 14 Thomas Boulachi (Aus) Avanti 2.43 15 Sid Taberlay (Aus) TIS 3.14 16 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) TIS 3.14 17 Brendan Cato (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 3.46 18 Karl Menzies (Aus) Giant Tas 4.38 19 Bruce McIntosh (Aus) Jayco U23 5.09 20 Paul Rowney (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 5.15 21 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Japan 5.23 22 Cameron Hughes (Aus) Skilled Quest 5.35 23 Caleb Manion (Aus) TIS 6.25 24 Trent Wilson (Aus) IteamNova.com 6.41 25 David Harrigan (Aus) Avanti 7.27 26 Brett Aitken (Aus) Skilled 7.44 27 Lee Godfrey (Aus) Jayco U23 8.07 28 Robin Reid (NZl) New Zealand 8.16 29 Rodney McGee (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 8.42 30 Chris Carr (Aus) Carnegie 9.23 31 Cameron Jennings (Aus) Skilled 9.32 32 Bram de Waard (Ned) Skilled Quest 10.59 33 Klayten Smith (Aus) Avanti 12.23 34 Mark Leis (Aus) Giant Tasmania 14.01 35 Peter Rogers (Aus) Skilled 23.16 36 Trent Lowe (Aus) Jayco VIS 26.39 37 Stuart Lowe (NZl) New Zealand 27.36 38 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Japan 28.08 39 Anthony Chalinore (Aus) Avanti 28.30 40 Dave McKenzie (Aus) IteamNova.com 29.20 41 Makoto Ijima (Jpn) Japan 29.37 42 Jamie Drew (Aus) IteamNova.com 30.44 43 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Skilled Quest 32.08 44 Chris Wilding (Aus) Giant Tasmania 33.02 45 Stephen Cunningham (Aus) Rio Coffee 33.27 46 Mark Jamieson (Aus) TIS No. 2 35.06 47 Andrew Reid (NZl) Skilled Quest 35.09 48 Matt Conn (Aus) TIS No.2 36.23 49 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Japan 37.11 50 Nathan Clarke (Aus) TIS 37.49 51 Johny Clarke (Aus) Jayco VIS 41.10 52 Steve Aitken (Aus) Giant Tasmania 41.31 53 Sion Jones (GBr) Norco Appleby 45.01 54 Jai Crawford (Aus) Giant Tasmania 45.12 55 Mike Tillman (USA) TIS No. 2 45.36 56 Graham Rootes (Aus) Rio Coffee 46.49 57 Nick Sanderson (Aus) Jayco VIS 47.46 58 Mark Bowden (Aus) Norco Appleby 48.18 59 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Skilled 49.43 60 Stephen Rossendell (Aus) TIS No.2 51.11 61 Peter Milostic (Aus) Skilled 51.50 62 Jade Lean (Aus) Rio Coffee 52.28 63 Alan Duncan (NZl) New Zealand 56.13 64 Todd Parnell (Aus) Norco Appleby 1.07.45 65 Robert Licciardo (Aus) Carnegie 1.41.40 66 Andrew Mason (Aus) Jayco VIS 1.51.44 Wrest Point Casino King Of The Mountain Classification 1 Jeremy Yates (Aus) NZ 20 pts 2 Sid Taberlay (Aus) TIS 14 3 David Harrigan (Aus) Avanti Blackman Bicycles 9 4 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Rio Coffee, SA 8 5 Stuart Dangerfield (GBr) Norco Appleby 7 6 Ben Brooks (Aus) FdJ NSW IS 6 7 David Pell (Aus) Jayco U23 6 8 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Skilled Quest 6 9 Luke Roberts (Aus) Rio Coffee, SA 5 10 Jamie Drew (Aus) IteamNova.com 4 11 Nathan Clarke (Aus) TAS IS 4 12 Klayten Smith (Aus) Avanti Blackman 3 13 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Jayco U23 3 14 Jai Crawford (Aus) Giant Tas. 1 Country Club Sprint Ace Championship 1 Mike Tillman (USA) TIS No. 2 12 pts 2 Nathan Clarke (Aus) Tas IS 11 3 David Pell (Aus) Jayco U23 6 4 David Harrigan (Aus) Avanti Blackman Bicycles 6 5 Klayten Smith (Aus) Avanti Blackman 6 6 Brett Aitken (Aus) Skilled 5 7 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Skilled Quest 4 8 Russell Van Houte (Aus) Rio Coffee SA 3 9 Matthew Yates (NZl) New Zealand 3 10 Rory Sutherlan (Aus) Skilled 3 11 Caleb Manion (Aus) Tas IS No. 1 2 12 Bruce McIntosh (Aus) Jayco U23 2 13 Todd Parnell (Aus) Norco Appleby 2 14 Andrew Mason (Aus) Jayco VIS 2 15 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Japan 2 16 Luke Roberts (Aus) Rio Coffee 2 17 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Tas IS 1 18 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) TIS No. 1 1 19 Dave McPartland (Aus) Jayco 1 Teams classification 1 Jayco Under 23 2 Tasmanian Institute of Sport 3 Francaise de Jeux NSW IS 4 Avanti Blackman Bicycles NSW 5 Skilled 6 New Zealand 7 Japan 8 IteamNova.com 9 Skilled Quest 10 Giant Tasmania 11 Rio Coffee SA 12 Norco Appleby Tas. 13 Tasmanian Institute of Sport No. 2 14 Jayco - VIS 15 Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club
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