The bunch was together until Berry which was at the 91 km mark. There was a crash at Berry (I think) and Swart, Van Weeswijk, Jeremy Hunt, and others unknown at this stage went down. Hunt was the worst affected and his tour is over being taking to the Hospital suffering severe concussion. Van Heeswijk recovered quickly and obviously contested the sprint for third.
Swart was fairly seriously injured finishing 8 minutes down over the last 20 kms or so. He said afterwards that his knee was very sore and he could put no pedal pressure through it. It is not known whether he will be able to start tomorrow.
Van Heeswijk is also doubtful even though he hold the yellow after the stage. He says his leg is very stiff and has started to swell once it cooled down after the stage was over. He was okay while he was still warm but was limping badly at the presentation and is clearly not certain.
The strongest rider of the day was evidently the Englishman John Tanner who now lies at 44 secs. Other big performances were put in by Micheal Andersson of Denmark and from the German Patrick Moster. Recall that Andersson ripped the field apart last year on Macquarie Pass and destroyed the chances of the AIS rider Robbie McEwan. Also figuring in that move were the German Bosch team who are now starting to figure in things again this year if Grabsch and Moster's riding today is anything to go by.
So for a dud Tour there is still some intrigue. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow evening. After they race and I race in the afternoon.
The weather in the area of Goulburn where they finish is going to be 20 degrees and overcast with some showers.