Day 4 - January 5: Port Arlington. Start 12.30pm, finish 3.30pm

Elite Men    Elite Women    B Grade

Results    Preview and course profile    Previous stage    Next stage

Report

Finning has that winning feeling.

By Karen Forman In Portarlington

Sean Finning
Photo: © Karen Forman/CN

Sixteen year old Sean Finning got his first year as a scholarship holder with the Victorian Institute of Sport off to a good start with a convincing win - Dave McKenzie-style - in the B grade event on the fourth day of the 2002 Skilled Geelong Bay Classic today.

Like MacKenzie in the open race later in the day, the young Castlemaine club rider set off on a solo breakaway and maintained it right to the line.

But unlike MacKenzie, Finning made his break a full 35 minutes before the finish of the 45 minute event.

And despite all efforts by series leader Cody Stevenson, sprint ace Nicholas Sanderson and other major players including Ben Jackson, Brodie Cullin and Luke Dale, he managed to hold them off.

Watching in admiration, the voice of cycling, Phil Liggett, visiting Australia from his home base in England for this months' Tour Down Under in Adelaide, said: "That takes a bit of doing on a circuit like this.""

The Portarlington course has three hills within a kilometre and two challenging, tight corners. It is a course for riders with a heck of a lot of endurance and ability to ride fast up hills . . . and then recover fast.

Stevenson finished second in a bunch sprint with Sanderson third.

Finning was justifiably rapt afterwards.

"It was my first time in this series," he said, "and I have just been feeling my way through the first few days.

"I think the course probably suited me. I took off fairly early and thought I would try to stay away . . . and hope they didn't chase too hard.

"I think two seconds was the biggest my break got, so it wasn't that big really. I was surprised to find myself alone at the end, surprised that nobody went with me..."

Finning, who enters Year 12 at high school this year, is on a part time scholarship with the VIS, for both road and track.

His goal for the year is to try to make the track worlds. Already he has won eight national titles on the track and road and six Oceania titles and his age division.

"I do a bit of everything," he said.

Next up are the country titles, followed by States, Nationals and, he hopes, the Worlds.

Photography

• Sean Finning - coasts to the win
• The B Grade podium - Nicholas Sanderson, Sean Finningand and Cody Stevenson

Results

1 Sean Finning
2 Cody Stevenson
3 Nicholas Sanderson
4 Brad Edmunds
5 Alex James
6 William Walker
7 Sion Jones
8 Julian Blackwell
9 Ashley Baines
10 Shaun Lewis
 
Sprint 1
 
1 Sean Finning
2 Nicholas Sanderson
3 Ashley Baines

Sprint 2 

1 Sean Finning
2 Nicholas Sanderson
3 Chris Pascoe
 
Most combative 
 
1 Sean Finning
 
Sprint ace
 
1 Nicholas Sanderson   (12)
2 Brodie Cullan         (7)
3 Ben Jackson           (5)
3 Cody Stevenson        (5)
5 Geordan Murray        (4)
6 Brad Bullock          (3)
7 Sean Finning          (3)
8 Chris Pascoe          (2)
9 Ashley Baines         (1)
 
Pointscore
 
1 Cody Stevenson       (42)
2 Brodie Cullen        (22)
3 Bradley Edmunds      (19)
4 Ben Jackson          (19)
5 Chris Pascoe         (16)
5 Alex James           (16)
7 Nicholas Sanderson   (15)
8 Sean Finning         (12)
9 Daniel Newnham       (11)
9 Dane Cheers          (11)
11 Adeam Tully         (10)
12 Brad Bullock         (9)
13 James Hannan         (7)
14 William Walker       (5)
14 Leigh de Luca        (5)
16 Sion Jones           (4)
17 Robert Younger       (3)
17 Julian Blackwell     (3)
19 Ashley Baines        (2)
20 Shaun Lewis          (1)

back to top