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Tattersall's Cup Tour of the Murray River - NE
Australia, August 29-September 3, 2006
Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Stage
Stage 11 - September 3: Mildura kermesse, 66 km
McLachlan brings it home
Ford takes out final stage
By Rod Morris in Mildura
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Canberra's Robert McLachlan is the undisputed king of the Murray after an emphatic victory in the 11 stage Subaru Tour of the Murray River, which was finalized in Mildura today. The 35 year-old former Olympian, increased his overnight lead to 19 seconds when he crossed the finish line after six days and 653.2 km of hard racing.
With stages in Echuca, Kerang, Cohuna, Euston, Ouyen, Merbein, Wentworth, Cardross and Mildura, the field of 120 riders put on one of the all-time great tours. McLachlan and Queensland's David Kemp were involved in an Indian arm wrestle all week for the leader's yellow jersey with continuous swapping of the prized material.
McLachlan started the final day's two stages carrying a five second lead, but after some solid attacking in the morning's Cardross Criterium, stretched his advantage to 11 seconds and then blew it out to 19 by the tour's end.
Kemp (22) is a rising star on the Australian cycling horizon and was far from disgraced in running second to McLachlan.
Today's two kermesse stages were won by southaustralia.com Under 23 riders, Wesley Sulzberger (Tasmania) and Michael Ford (Victoria), but the major interest was on whether Kemp could reel in McLachlan.
How it unfolded
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The SouthAustralia.com team of Australian Under 23 riders enjoyed more success in the afternoon's final tour stage when Michael Ford flashed home ahead of a couple of surprise podium placegetters. Earlier in the race, Wesley Sulzberger and another national team member, Sean Finning, established a sizeable break after several thwarted escapes had been reeled in by the peloton.
Sulzberger and Finning were away for about 10 laps of the 2.2 km circuit in Mildura, but the heat and pace eventually got to both of them. Finning had provided a perfect lead out for the young Tasmanian before he retired back to the bunch leaving Sulzberger to fight out the last five laps on his own.
A brave solo attempt was eventually curtailed at two laps to go when Ford, veteran Peter Barnett (45), another young Tasmanian, Richie Port and Victorian Chris Steffanoni decided they would hit the field again.
At the bell lap, the four man group had a margin of 11 seconds, but the peloton was coming fast. The quartet were able to hold on, with Ford winning his first race of the tour and this year's Tattersall's Cup series. Ford led them home, averaging 43.70 km an hour.
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"I'm rapt to finally cracked it for a win," Ford said. "Wes (Sulzberger) and Sean (Finning) set an unbelievable pace in the latter part of the race and for a while there, it was just a matter of hanging on."
The fast finishing peloton was led home by McLachlan, while his "shadow" for the week, Kemp managed to cross the line in 10th place. A tiring Sulzberger held on in the bunch, finishing 15th.
"It's been a tough tour, particularly early in the week when I missed the break and was chasing time," Sulzberger. "But I'm pleased to have won three stages, they are some good results for me."
In the end, McLachlan had a 19 second advantage over Kemp. "This has been a really well contested tour and I congratulate David for making every day a challenge," McLachlan said.
Kemp was gracious in defeat, but issued a warning to McLachlan and others. "I'm still learning and still growing as a bike rider," he said. "It's all about experience and I've learnt a hell of a lot this week and will be better off for it."
In the Tattersall's Cup, Sulzberger remains the overall leader with 193 points, but his margin has been slashed to just 39 from McLachlan, with Kemp jumping into third on 143 points. The Tattersall's Cup series continues in October with the Tour of Tasmania.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- Tour leader Robert McLachlan sets his computer whilst Chief Commissaire Bill McMahon addresses the riders prior to the final stage
- Nicholas Walker from Victoria on the startline in Mildura and heading for a top-twenty finish
- Fabio Calabria from the A.C.T awaits the start to the final stage of the tour in Mildura
- The GC top three (L-R): Robert McLachlan (Tour leader), David Kemp (2nd and Sprint Points winner), and Casey Munro (3rd and King of the Mountains winner)
- The peloton on a small rise in Mildura during the 66km final stage
- Spectators grabbed every available vantage point for the final stage of the tour
- Riders make their way beneath giant palm trees in fine conditions for the last stage in Mildura
- Carpet covered train lines to protect rider's wheels on the back of the course in Mildura
- The peloton head under the banner and past the Grand Hotel in Mildura
- Robert McLachlan prepares to celebrate after winning the Telstra Country-Wide Criterium Championship
- David Kemp was edged out of the tour victory but claimed the Mildura Road-Safe Sprint Points Championship
- The final stage podium (L-R): Peter Barnett (3rd), Michael Ford (1st), and Ritchie Porte (2nd)
- Wes Sulzberger from Tasmania won the Subaru Most Aggressive rider's jersey on the final stage
- Aw you’re a chicken, what about a one lap race, just because you won the 2006 Subaru Tour of the Murray River
- The final Subaru Tour of the Murray River GC podium (L-R): David Kemp (2nd), Robert McLachlan (1st), and Casey Munro (3rd)
- Tour winner Robert McLachlan with some of Mildura's finest oranges; McLachlan rates his win as one of his greatest
Results
1 Michael Ford 1.30.37 (43.7 km/h) 2 Peter Barnett 3 Richie Porte 4 Chris Steffanoni 5 Robert McLachlan 6 Leigh Egan 7 Chris Jongewaard 8 Joshua Marden 9 Kyle Marwood 10 David Kemp 11 Timothy Decker 12 Jacob Sutherland 13 Ricky Peoples 14 David Hiley 15 Wesley Sulzberger 16 Craig McCartney 17 Gary Mueller 18 Jeremy Betts 19 Damien Turner 20 Tim Hucker 21 Casey Munro 22 Peter Smith 23 Gilbert Gutowski 24 Matthew Wood 25 Brad Edmunds 26 Robert Cater 27 Matthew Sherwin 28 Craig Mackie 29 Zakkari Dempster 30 Kym Howard 31 Jason Hegert 32 Fabio Calabria 33 Peter Milostic 34 Nicholas Walker 35 Johnnie Walker 36 Brendan Hill 0.10 37 Adrian Hanson 38 Jack Anderson 39 Brendan Rowbotham 0.12 40 Peter McDonald 41 David Tozer 42 Joshua Gundry 43 Joe McDonnell 44 Stuart Shaw 45 Andrew Ward 46 Nick Culvenor 47 Jarrod Harman 0.17 48 Brendan Brooks 0.18 49 Nicholas Sanderson 0.23 50 Scott Peoples 0.29 51 Mark O'Brien 1.31 52 Sean Finning 3.02 53 Jai Crawford 54 Glen Peterson 4.33 55 Matthew Davis 56 Nigel Sullivan 57 Tom Middleton 6.04 58 Cameron Peterson 59 Daniel Newnham 60 Simon Pearson 61 Peter Herzig 62 Darren Harry 63 Patrick Shaw 64 Matthew Kennett 65 Bradley Clark 66 Hamish Mackirdy 67 Grant Webster 68 Thomas Baxter 69 Cameron Irwin 70 Christopher Wilding 71 Steven Pilson 72 William Murray 73 Benjamin Juzwin 74 Brett Franklin 75 Will Wettenhall 76 Damon De Angelis 77 Phillip Stokes 9.06 78 Peter Ladd 79 Matthew Jensen 80 Simon Van Der Aa 15.10 Sprints Sprint 1 - End of Lap 2 1 Joshua Marden 3 pts 2 Robert McLachlan 2 3 David Kemp 1 Sprint 2 - End of Lap 4 1 Joshua Marden 3 pts 2 Patrick Shaw 2 3 Craig Mackie 1 Sprint 3 - End of Lap 6 1 Robert McLachlan 3 pts 2 David Kemp 2 3 Joshua Marden 1 Sprint 4 - End of Lap 8 1 Robert McLachlan 3 pts 2 David Kemp 2 3 Joshua Marden 1 Sprint 5 - End of Lap 10 1 Peter McDonald 3 pts 2 Sean Finning 2 3 Craig McCartney 1 Sprint 6 - End of Lap 12 1 Joshua Marden 3 pts 2 Robert McLachlan 2 3 David Kemp 1 Sprint 7 - End of Lap 14 1 Wesley Sulzberger 3 pts 2 Zakkari Dempster 2 3 Mark O'Brien 1 Sprint 8 - End of Lap 16 1 Wesley Sulzberger 3 pts 2 Zakkari Dempster 2 3 Stuart Shaw 1 Sprint 9 - End of Lap 18 1 Wesley Sulzberger 3 pts 2 Zakkari Dempster 2 3 Joshua Marden 1 Sprint 10 - End of Lap 20 1 Stuart Shaw 3 pts 2 Joshua Marden 2 3 Brad Edmunds 1 Sprint 11 - End of Lap 22 1 Wesley Sulzberger 3 pts 2 Sean Finning 2 3 Joshua Marden 1 Sprint 12 - End of Lap 24 1 Wesley Sulzberger 3 pts 2 Sean Finning 2 3 Joe McDonnell 1 Sprint 13 - End of Lap 26 1 Wesley Sulzberger 3 pts 2 Robert McLachlan 2 3 Nicholas Sanderson 1 Sprint 14 - End of Lap 28 1 Peter Barnett 3 pts 2 Michael Ford 2 3 Richie Porte 1 Final general classification 1 Robert McLachlan 14.51.36 2 David Kemp 0.19 3 Casey Munro 1.36 4 Joshua Marden 1.53 5 Brad Edmunds 2.05 6 Wesley Sulzberger 2.09 7 Chris Jongewaard 2.43 8 Jason Hegert 3.42 9 Johnnie Walker 3.44 10 Zakkari Dempster 3.48 11 Peter McDonald 4.19 12 Joe McDonnell 4.33 13 Nicholas Walker 4.36 14 Stuart Shaw 4.39 15 Ricky Peoples 4.50 16 Brendan Hill 6.42 17 Craig McCartney 6.54 18 Robert Cater 7.05 19 Scott Peoples 7.30 20 Nicholas Sanderson 7.45 21 Leigh Egan 8.34 22 Peter Barnett 9.10 23 Craig Mackie 9.16 24 Brendan Rowbotham 9.22 25 Gilbert Gutowski 9.23 26 Sean Finning 9.26 27 Jacob Sutherland 9.31 28 Kym Howard 9.53 29 Brendan Brooks 10.13 30 Richie Porte 10.54 31 Michael Ford 11.03 32 Mark O'Brien 11.08 33 Jack Anderson 11.27 34 Jeremy Betts 12.36 35 Adrian Hanson 12.47 36 Fabio Calabria 13.23 37 Kyle Marwood 14.07 38 Daniel Newnham 14.52 39 Patrick Shaw 15.13 40 Chris Steffanoni 16.14 41 David Tozer 16.37 42 Jai Crawford 17.37 43 Gary Mueller 17.43 44 Darren Harry 18.34 45 Timothy Decker 18.41 46 Peter Ladd 19.14 47 David Hiley 20.39 48 Joshua Gundry 20.42 49 Andrew Ward 20.58 50 Tim Hucker 22.16 51 Nick Culvenor 24.11 52 Peter Milostic 25.33 53 Tom Middleton 30.34 54 Jarrod Harman 32.31 55 Matthew Davis 32.32 56 Christopher Wilding 32.47 57 Cameron Peterson 32.52 58 Steven Pilson 33.10 59 Thomas Baxter 33.48 60 Bradley Clark 34.11 61 Brett Franklin 34.15 62 Peter Smith 34.54 63 Will Wettenhall 35.29 64 Simon Pearson 35.55 65 Matthew Jensen 36.51 66 Cameron Irwin 37.55 67 Hamish Mackirdy 38.44 68 Phillip Stokes 39.16 69 Matthew Wood 39.37 70 Nigel Sullivan 39.53 71 Glen Peterson 39.56 72 Matthew Sherwin 41.20 73 Peter Herzig 47.51 74 Damien Turner 48.45 75 Matthew Kennett 50.42 76 Grant Webster 55.31 77 Benjamin Juzwin 1.03.09 78 Damon De Angelis 1.04.45 79 William Murray 1.32.37 80 Simon Van Der Aa 1.36.44 Sprints classification 1 David Kemp 71 pts 2 Wesley Sulzberger 58 3 Joshua Marden 57 4 Robert McLachlan 54 5 Brad Edmunds 40 6 Chris Jongewaard 36 7 Casey Munro 34 8 Peter McDonald 30 9 Patrick Shaw 29 10 Joe McDonnell 23 11 Zakkari Dempster 23 12 Stuart Shaw 15 13 Peter Barnett 14 14 Scott Peoples 13 15 Sean Finning 13 16 Craig Mackie 11 17 Jason Hegert 7 18 Brendan Hill 7 19 Johnnie Walker 6 20 Jeremy Betts 5 21 Craig McCartney 5 22 Gary Mueller 5 23 Michael Ford 4 24 Ricky Peoples 3 25 Peter Milostic 3 26 Robert Cater 3 27 Kyle Marwood 3 28 Nicholas Sanderson 2 29 Adrian Hanson 2 30 Brendan Rowbotham 2 31 Brendan Brooks 1 32 Peter Herzig 1 33 David Hiley 1 34 Mark O'Brien 1 35 Joshua Gundry 1 36 Tom Middleton 1 37 Chris Steffanoni 1 38 Nicholas Walker 1 39 Richie Porte 1 Mountains classification 1 Casey Munro 17 pts 2 Chris Jongewaard 16 3 Robert McLachlan 6 4 Brad Edmunds 5 5 Joshua Marden 3 6 David Kemp 2 7 Matthew Wood 1 8 Stuart Shaw 1 9 Brendan Brooks 1 10 Zakkari Dempster 1 11 Wesley Sulzberger 1 Criterium championship 1 Robert McLachlan 48 pts 2 Leigh Egan 40 3 Wesley Sulzberger 26 4 David Kemp 26 5 Joshua Marden 22 6 Gary Mueller 20 7 Jeremy Betts 15 8 Chris Jongewaard 13 9 Michael Ford 10 10 Robert Cater 9 11 Peter Barnett 9 12 Jason Hegert 9 13 Peter Milostic 8 14 Richie Porte 8 15 Brendan Rowbotham 8 16 Jack Anderson 7 17 Chris Steffanoni 7 18 Johnnie Walker 6 19 Nicholas Sanderson 4 20 Sean Finning 4 21 Darren Harry 4 22 Casey Munro 3 23 Kyle Marwood 2 24 Brad Edmunds 1 25 Jacob Sutherland 1 26 Ricky Peoples 1 27 Craig McCartney 1 Most aggressive rider 1 Wesley Sulzberger 8 pts 2 David Kemp 3 3 Peter McDonald 2 4 Chris Jongewaard 2 5 Zakkari Dempster 2 6 Brad Edmunds 2 7 Peter Barnett 2 8 Robert McLachlan 1
