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Jayco Tour of Tasmania - NE
Australia, August 17-21, 2005
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Stage 9 - August 21: Launceston criterium, 34 km
Dawson loves the rain as Higgerson takes the overall
By Rod Morris in Launceston
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Olympic Games track gold medallist, Peter Dawson won a rain-soaked final stage of the Tattersall's Cup Jayco Tour of Tasmania, while Sydney 20-year-old Shaun Higgerson clinched overall honours today.
The city of Launceston turned on its nastiest weather for the closing 34 km criterium stage, but hardy spectators still braved the conditions. Dawson was a member of the Australian 4000 m pursuit team, which won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but is no stranger to road racing either. The lightly built West Australian forged a solid partnership with South Australian Chris Jongewaard to dominate the criterium.
The pair got away about 10 laps into the race and were never headed, and it soon became apparent that the duo had struck a deal, with Jongewaard winning the majority of the intermediate sprints and Dawson taking line honours in the stage. Jongewaard had started the day 29 points behind Peter McDonald (NSW) in the Tattersall's Sprint Championship, but by winning 12 intermediate sprints and second in another, turned his deficit into a 9-point victory.
Jongewaard has been one of the sensations of the Tour of Tasmania, taking third in the Scottsdale Criterium stage, fourth from Deloraine to Sheffield the next day and winning the Sheffield Kermesse stage six later in the afternoon before maintaining his good form to finish second to Robert McLachlan in Saturday's George Town Criterium Stage 7.
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Jongewaard is the reigning Australian Mountainbike champion and finished this tour in a highly credible ninth place as Dawson found his well renowned sprinting legs on the tight 850m circuit and enjoyed the win. "Its been a long week and I've been looking to win a stage, to take the last one means a lot to me," he said. "This is what I've been building up to, so I am now really looking forward to the next tour."
The Tattersall's Cup series continues in two weeks with the five-day - 10-stage Tour of the Murray River.
Dawson and Jongewaard worked extremely hard in the rain and at one point had opened up a gap of more than 30 seconds on the chasing peloton. The lead pair had the tail of the bunch in their sights over the closing 10 laps, but couldn't quite reel them in. They did, however, lap a large number of stragglers. The peloton was led home by local Launceston rider Wesley Sulzberger, followed by Gordon McCauley, who took third overall and GC runner-up, Simon Clarke. Tour leader Shaun Higgerson was tucked safely away in the sprinting bunch.
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At the start of the final stage, Higgerson's race tactics were simple: watch Clarke like a hawk eyeing a rabbit. "I didn't want to lose sight of Clarke's back wheel, but I also had to watch McCauley fairly closely, because there were a lot of time bonuses up for grabs and anything could've happened," he said. "In the end it worked out perfectly for me and I am ecstatic to have won the tour, it's by far my biggest win."
The 20-year-old Sydneysider won the tour's opening stage from Launceston to Grindelwald last Wednesday and held the yellow jersey for the rest of the week - no mean feat in itself. "Its quite unusual for someone to hold the lead from start to finish and to have achieved that makes me very proud," he added. Clarke won the opening intermediate sprint yesterday to reduce the margin to 30 seconds and a couple of other bonuses, including his fifth placing in the stage, reduced his overall deficit to 21 seconds at tour's end.
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The leading Tasmanian in the tour was local hero Matthew Goss, who finished fifth, 1.51 minutes behind Higgerson. Another Tasmanian, Sid Taberlay of mountain bike fame, won the Tamar Valley Resort King of the Mountain Championship, while Jongewaard coupled his sprint title win with victory in the Country Club Resort Criterium Championship.
Big Canberra rider Robert McLachlan retained his lead in the Tattersall's Cup series, which includes races from three different tours, starting with the recent Tour of Gippsland, apexing at the Tour of Tasmania and climaxing with the Tour of the Murray River. McLachlan has amassed 135 points and holds a 24-point advantage over Gordon McCauley and a further 14 points to Tasmanian Bernard Sulzberger. The top 10 riders in the Tattersall's Cup series will win automatic starts, including air fares and accommodation to the Tour of Queensland in late October. McLachlan has won six stages in the series, including two in the Tour of Tasmania. McCauley, who won the Tour of Gippsland, is yet to win an individual stage, but has scored several minor placings.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- The final stage of the tour began in chilly and wet conditions in Launceston
- All Shaun Higgerson had to do was stay upright on the final stage to keep his tour leader’s jersey
- Robert McLachlan won two stages of the Jayco Tour of Tasmania
- Sean Finning from Victoria corners on the wet roads during the final stage criterium
- The field on greasy roads in Launceston for the final stage
- Wes Sulzberger goes on the attack during the 34km criterium
- Trent Stevenson (24) from Victoria finished 29th in the final stage
- Peter Dawson (centre) has heads turning as he breaks from the peloton at the back
- Cameron Wise from Victoria in the main field giving chase to Dawson and Jongewaard
- Chris Jongewaard leads Peter Dawson into a bend with the peloton behind
- The final stage in Launceston was a 34km criterium covering 40 laps of an 850m circuit
- Nash Kent from New South Wales finished in 35th place on the final stage
- Steven Robb from Victoria was placed 33rd on the final stage
- Peter Dawson leads Chris Jongewaard along the home straight with a good gap back to the main field
- The chasing peloton make their way up the home straight in Launceston
- Riders needed divine intervention to avoid crashing on this slippery and narrow corner
- Looking down on the main field chasing around the slippery streets of Launceston
- Spectators take up vantage points to see the tour and to keep dry on a wet and cold day
- A good crowd turned out in Launceston despite the cold and wet conditions
- Peter Dawson from Western Australia takes out the final stage in Launceston
- Wes Sulzberger from Tasmania wins the sprint for third place
- Stage winner Peter Dawson can’t wait to open his champagne
- A happy Peter Dawson with the podium spray
- 2005 Jayco Tour of Tasmania winner Shaun Higgerson from New South Wales zips up
- The final GC podium (l-r): Simon Clarke (2cnd) Shaun Higgerson (1st) and Gordon McCauley (3rd)
- Media commitments for tour winner Shaun Higgerson
- Tasmanian Sports Minister Jim Cox (left) and Launceston Mayor Janie Dickenson with tour winner Shaun Higgerson
- Jayco representative Rob Gaylard congratulates tour winner Shaun Higgerson
Results
1 Peter Dawson 46.30 2 Chris Jongewaard 3 Wesley Sulzberger 0.35 4 Gordon McCauley 5 Simon Clarke 6 Johhny Walker 7 Bernard Sulzberger 8 Cameron Wise 9 Mathew Rex 10 Patrick Shaw 11 Matthew Gilbert 12 Casey Munro 13 Michael Ford 14 Matthew Goss 15 Joshua Collingwood 16 Shaun Higgerson 0.41 17 Robert McLachlan 18 Stuart Shaw 19 Peter Milostic 20 Jarrod Harman 21 Richard Moffatt 22 Matt Haydock 23 James Maebus 24 Joshua Marden 25 Jason Hegert 26 Peter McDonald 27 Andrew Naylor 28 Matthew Rice 29 Trent Stevenson 30 Darren Lapthorne 31 Peter Herzig 32 Daniel Burtt 0.49 33 Steven Robb 0.50 34 Caleb Manion 0.57 35 Nash Kent 3.30 36 Joshua Wall 37 William Robinson 38 David Oliver 39 William Murray 40 Russell Gill 41 Sean Finning 42 Aaron Salisbury 43 Robert Hodgson 44 Samuel Rix 45 Jason Johnson 5.50 46 Luke Dale 47 Heath Keenan 48 John Rayner 49 Sid Taberlay 50 David Hiley 51 David Kemp 52 Luke Bettany 53 Robert Cater 54 Scott Peoples 11.40 55 Steven Pilson 56 Matthew Sydes 57 Andrew Ward 58 Brendan Washington 59 Glenn Myler 60 Andrew Hanigan 61 Simon Van Der Aa 62 Corey Roberts 63 Michael Hardy 64 Andrew Cochrane 65 David McKenzie Sprints Lap 6 1 Simon Clarke 3 pts 2 Stuart Shaw 2 3 Gordon McCauley 1 Lap 8 1 Peter Dawson 3 pts 2 Patrick Shaw 2 3 Joshua Collingwood 1 Lap 10 1 Peter Dawson 3 pts 2 Patrick Shaw 2 3 Mathew Rex 1 Lap 12 1 Peter Dawson 3 pts 2 Chris Jongewaard 2 3 Johhny Walker 1 Lap 14 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Darren Lapthorne 1 Lap 16 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Peter McDonald 1 Lap 18 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Patrick Shaw 1 Lap 20 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Stuart Shaw 1 Lap 22 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Patrick Shaw 1 Lap 24 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Matthew Goss 1 Lap 26 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Simon Clarke 1 Lap 28 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Matthew Goss 1 Lap 30 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Joshua Collingwood 1 Lap 32 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Gordon McCauley 1 Lap 34 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Stuart Shaw 1 Lap 36 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Peter Dawson 2 3 Matt Haydock 1 Final General Classification 1 Shaun Higgerson 10.18.27 2 Simon Clarke 0.21 3 Gordon McCauley 0.50 4 Richard Moffatt 1.26 5 Matthew Goss 1.51 6 Robert McLachlan 2.11 7 Stuart Shaw 2.33 8 Peter McDonald 2.35 9 Chris Jongewaard 4.15 10 Patrick Shaw 4.36 11 Matthew Rice 4.56 12 Wesley Sulzberger 4.57 13 Bernard Sulzberger 5.05 14 Darren Lapthorne 5.37 15 Joshua Collingwood 5.39 16 Johhny Walker 6.00 17 Peter Milostic 18 Andrew Naylor 8.04 19 Jason Hegert 9.02 20 Mathew Rex 9.34 21 Jarrod Harman 9.57 22 Joshua Marden 11.28 23 Peter Dawson 11.46 24 Casey Munro 12.34 25 Peter Herzig 12.54 26 Michael Ford 13.03 27 David McKenzie 28 David Kemp 13.49 29 Nash Kent 15.36 30 Matthew Gilbert 17.08 31 James Maebus 17.41 32 David Hiley 18.09 33 Sean Finning 18.33 34 Aaron Salisbury 19.56 35 Luke Bettany 20.16 36 Caleb Manion 21.08 37 Joshua Wall 21.27 38 Matt Haydock 23.41 39 Daniel Burtt 24.35 40 Robert Hodgson 28.34 41 Luke Dale 31.00 42 Cameron Wise 31.14 43 Trent Stevenson 31.44 44 Steven Pilson 33.19 45 Sid Taberlay 35.50 46 Russell Gill 36.15 47 Andrew Hanigan 37.47 48 William Robinson 37.51 49 Heath Keenan 38.01 50 Robert Cater 39.59 51 Samuel Rix 46.13 52 Matthew Sydes 49.14 53 Steven Robb 50.13 54 Corey Roberts 50.19 55 Andrew Ward 53.40 56 John Rayner 55.42 57 Simon Van Der Aa 57.21 58 David Oliver 1.01.19 59 William Murray 1.02.19 60 Michael Hardy 1.08.50 61 Brendan Washington 1.09.08 62 Scott Peoples 1.21.23 63 Jason Johnson 1.23.25 64 Glenn Myler 1.36.57 65 Andrew Cochrane 1.51.03 Most Aggressive Rider 1 Peter McDonald 3 pts 2 Gordon McCauley 2 3 Peter Dawson 2 4 David McKenzie 2 5 Joshua Collingwood 2 6 Peter Herzig 2 7 Chris Jongewaard 2 8 Sid Taberlay 2 9 Johhny Walker 2 Sprint Classification 1 Chris Jongewaard 61 pts 2 Peter McDonald 53 3 Peter Dawson 35 4 Robert McLachlan 24 5 Mathew Rex 22 6 Johhny Walker 21 7 Wesley Sulzberger 17 8 Peter Herzig 16 9 Patrick Shaw 14 10 David Kemp 10 11 Simon Clarke 10 12 Gordon McCauley 9 13 Joshua Collingwood 8 14 Darren Lapthorne 8 15 David McKenzie 7 16 Peter Milostic 4 17 Caleb Manion 4 18 Stuart Shaw 4 19 Heath Keenan 3 20 James Maebus 3 21 Richard Moffatt 3 22 Matthew Goss 3 23 Sid Taberlay 3 24 Shaun Higgerson 3 25 Bernard Sulzberger 2 26 Scott Peoples 2 27 Andrew Naylor 2 28 Joshua Marden 2 29 Robert Cater 2 30 Matthew Rice 1 31 Trent Stevenson 1 32 Michael Ford 1 33 Samuel Rix 1 34 Jarrod Harman 1 35 Jason Hegert 1 36 Matt Haydock 1 Mountains Classification 1 Sid Taberlay 25 pts 2 Peter McDonald 21 3 Robert McLachlan 20 4 Gordon McCauley 14 5 Shaun Higgerson 8 6 Matthew Goss 8 7 Peter Herzig 7 8 Caleb Manion 5 9 David Kemp 4 10 Stuart Shaw 3 11 Darren Lapthorne 3 12 Luke Dale 2 13 Joshua Collingwood 2 14 Scott Peoples 2 15 Bernard Sulzberger 1 16 Richard Moffatt 1 Criterium Championship 1 Chris Jongewaard 36 pts 2 Robert McLachlan 23 3 Wesley Sulzberger 15 4 Johhny Walker 14 5 Simon Clarke 13 6 Mathew Rex 12 7 Peter Dawson 10 8 Peter McDonald 10 9 Bernard Sulzberger 10 10 Darren Lapthorne 9 11 Matthew Gilbert 9 12 Peter Herzig 8 13 Gordon McCauley 8 14 Patrick Shaw 7 15 Matthew Rice 6 16 Matthew Goss 6 17 Nash Kent 5 18 David McKenzie 4 19 Joshua Collingwood 4 20 Stuart Shaw 4 21 Joshua Marden 3 22 Cameron Wise 3 23 Scott Peoples 1 Tattersall's Cup series standings after Tour of Tasmania 1 Robert McLachlan (ACT) 135 pts 2 Gordon McCauley (NZ) 111 3 Bernard Sulzberger (Tas) 97 4 Stuart Shaw (ACT) 90 5 Peter McDonald (NSW) 81 6 Wesley Sulzberger (Tas) 68
