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Geelong Tour - 2.9.2
Australia, February 22-25, 2004
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Stage 3 - February 24: Barwon Heads Road Circuit, 80km
Rossner takes stage as Wood edges into lead
By Mikkeli Godfree in Barwon Heads
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Oenone Wood (AIS) will carry a seven second lead into the final stage of the Geelong Women's Tour after a fantastic stage at Barwon Heads which was won by German super-champ Petra Rossner. The 37 year old Team Nurnberger rider attributed the race win to her team who "looked after me so well... I felt like a queen! I had to win for them because they did such a good job protecting me from the wind."
However, while the German took the victory spoils, all eyes were on the sprint behind where Wood finished third, ending a fantastic day of sprinting which put her in the race lead. The stage today highlighted the need for a strong team as the AIS perfectly delivered Oenone Wood to the sprints, enabling her to gain a total of 12 seconds in bonuses. Conversely, the race leader coming into the day, Katie Mactier (Jayco), wasn't able to hold her position in the sprints, only managing to gain one second bonus (thanks to a third place in the second sprint).
Like the AIS team, Nurnberger showed its strength by wrapping the team's sprinter, Petra Rossner, in cotton wool until the last 100m where she blasted out of the group to win over a mechanically cursed Rochelle Gilmore (who pulled her foot yet again in the sprint) and the new race leader Oenone Wood.
Wood is far from home and hosed though as Mactier and Kate Bates (NSWIS) are only seven and ten seconds behind her, respectively, despite neither featuring in the final sprint.
How it unfolded
Keeping all the riders happy, particularly the Euros, the weather was again fine for the third day of racing, but a strong southerly wind whipping off Bass Straight was expected to present the women with some tough gutter action during the 77.5km race. However, with the AIS and NSWIS keen to contest the sprints, they were very reluctant to let anyone get up the road.
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With sprints at the end of every 15.5km lap except the fourth, the riders seemed to cruise for most of the lap only to fire up in the last few kilometres before the sprint. In the first, Wood delivered a psychological blow to Mactier, taking the maximum amount of bonus seconds over Kate Bates, while New Zealand's Sarah Ulmer took third and one the second. This put Wood a mere one second behind Mactier in the GC with three bonus sprints (including the finish) remaining.
It was not surprising then that when the riders bore down on the second sprint, Mactier was sitting second wheel in the AIS train. It wasn't enough though, as Wood again took the maximum time bonus over Ulmer, with Mactier picking up a single second for third. At this point, Wood hit the lead and was the race leader on the road by a single second over Mactier.
In one of the only significant moves of the day, T-Mobile's Amber Neben attacked half way through the third lap. She built up a maximum lead of 36 seconds and although she held on to take the third sprint, she was reeled in soon after it. Wood took second (and two seconds) over Kate Bates. This meant that Wood's lead had grown to three seconds, whilst Bates had closed to within three seconds of Mactier in second place.
As the race finish loomed, Sarah Carrigan (QAS) launched an attack and was quickly followed by Alison Wright (Nobili-Fanini). With ten, six and four second win bonuses for the stage win and Carrigan and Wright only 25 and 38 seconds behind the virtual race leader Wood, respectively, they were never allowed to venture far. Wright said that "with 2km to go I thought we might do it but then Nurnberger got on the front... Whenever I looked around, all I could see was blue. With 1km to go, Judith Arndt sucked us up!"
Indeed, the Nurnberger train delivered Rossner, a 24-time German champion and Olympic pursuit gold medallist, to the finish line where she won by a clean set of wheels. Rossner commented that her team was the deciding factor in her win.
"This time of the year it is usually hard for me to win a sprint (...this is the second race I have done since the first of September, 2003)," she explained, "but the main thing was that my team kept me out of the wind, the other sprinters probably were in the wind too long and that is why I won."
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Rossner, whose absence from the 2003 World Championships was caused by a crash in September, felt the pressure of such good teamwork coming into the finale. "I didn't know how fast I would be and I was a bit nervous because they did such a good job!... I am happy that I could win as a 'thank you' to them."
The stage winner was also sure to point out how fun it is racing in Australia in February, citing the "great training conditions, great countryside, great beaches...the great Australian attitude, pubs and beer...and the stage win" as reason for her team's high spirits.
Second place in the stage went to Rochelle Gilmore, who again suffered from mechanical failure in the sprint. Gilmore explained her situation. "Last night, we confirmed that I had the correct cleats fitted and that they were done up as tight as they could be," she said. "I had to start today knowing that I might pull a foot again. So, when I kicked to get onto Rossner, I was very conscious to keep my leg straight but when I tried to kick again my foot came out." As opposed to the previous day, where Gilmore said she was "devastated," she was more philosophical after today's stage, saying "I'm really amazed with my speed because I know I haven't tapped into it all. When I start to do a lot of speed work it will be very interesting to see how I go."
The third place getter and picking up another four seconds at the finish, Oenone Wood was very happy with her new race leader's jersey and was not at all disappointed to come third. "Sprinting for the time-bonuses during the race probably took the edge of my final sprint but hey, I was sprinting against Petra Rossner! What can I say? She has got a huge background in sprinting. I am not unhappy to come third to her at all."
Wood's AIS team showed itself to be one of the strongest teams in the race today, achieving the goal of taking the race lead with one stage to go. Despite this, Wood noted that, "anything can happen tomorrow, it is a very different course so it will be a really tough race."
With only 10 seconds separating Wood, Mactier and Kate Bates, the open and undulating final stage will surely allow the strongest team, and rider, to shine as the AIS, Jayco and NSWIS pitch themselves against each other. While the AIS was able to control the race today, Mactier still has Yaxley in fourth place on GC, only 17 seconds down, which could work to Jayco's advantage. All eyes will be on the Mt Wallace climb at 57km which will most likely be a launch pad for the decisive move in the race, as it was last year when Mactier took the stage and Gollan sealed her tour win.
Mikkeli Godfree is powered by Big Blue Internet
Photography
Images by John Veage
- Petra Rossner wins the stage in front of Aussies Rochelle Gilmore (l) and Oenone Wood (r).
- Oenone Wood (R) picks up valuable sprint points to take the lead in the Geelong Tour
- The peloton makes its way along 13th beach during the 1st road stage of the Geelong Tour
- Beach front roads means dunes and lots of up-and-down racing
- The jerseys podium after stage 3 - l/r U23 Alexis Rhodes, race leader Oenone Woods & sprint Kate Bates
- Riders battle cross winds on 13th beach road.
- Katie Mactier in the bunch on the first road stage of the Geelong tour
- Riders get underway
Results
1 Petra Rossner (Ger) Nürnberger 2.03.57 2 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) S.A.T.S. 3 Oenone Wood (Aus) AIS 4 Tanja Hennes (Ger) World 5 Nicole Freedman (Isr) World 6 Frances Newstead (GBr) Great Britain 7 Bridgett Evans (Aus) Freedom Machine 8 Sara Symington (GBr) S.A.T.S. 9 Katie Mactier (Aus) Jayco 10 Miho Oki (Jpn) Japan 11 Iryna Simonova (Ukr) Ukraine 12 Emma Davies (GBr) Great Britain 13 Narrelle Peterson (Aus) Body Torque 14 Amber Neben (USA) T-Mobile 15 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) World 16 Deirdre Barry (USA) T-Mobile 17 Lorian Graham (Aus) AIS 18 Belinda Goss (Aus) Jayco 19 Joanne Kiesanowski (NZl) New Zealand 20 Christine Riakos (Aus) FRF Couriers 21 Jenny Macpherson (Aus) Body Torque 22 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 23 Rosalind Reekie (NZl) New Zealand 24 Stacey Peters (USA) T-Mobile 25 Tetyana Stiajkina (Ukr) Ukraine 26 Kimberly Bruckner (USA) T-Mobile 27 Katherine Bates (Aus) NSWIS 28 Tina Mayola (USA) Jayco 29 Manon Jutras (Can) S.A.T.S. 30 Sara Carrigan (Aus) QAS 31 Cathy Marsal (Fra) Nobili-Fanini 32 Desiree Schuler (Ger) World 33 Iryna Chuzhynova (Ukr) Ukraine 34 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) New Zealand 35 Alison Wright (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 36 Oxana Kashchyshyna (Ukr) Ukraine 37 Margaret Hemsley (Aus) Nürnberger 38 Charlotte Goldsmith (GBr) Great Britain 39 Julie Pekarkova (Cze) World 40 Valentyna Karpenko (Ukr) Ukraine 41 Michelle Hyland (NZl) Avanti 42 Emma Rickards (Aus) Freedom Machine 43 Kateryna Krasova (Ukr) Ukraine 44 Jessica Ridder (Aus) FRF Couriers 45 Kristin Armstrong (USA) T-Mobile 46 Rachel Heal (GBr) Great Britain 47 Susie Wood (NZl) Avanti 48 Ayumu Otsuka (Jpn) Japan 49 Kym Shirley (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 50 Melissa Holt (NZl) New Zealand 51 Meredith Miller (USA) S.A.T.S. 52 Emma James (Aus) S.A.T.S. 53 Olivia Gollan (Aus) AIS 54 Judith Arndt (Ger) Nürnberger 55 Hiroko Shimada (Jpn) Japan 56 Amy Safe (Aus) AIS 57 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Nürnberger 58 Michelle Kiesanowski (NZl) Avanti 59 Akemi Morimoto (Jpn) Japan 60 Toni Bradshaw (NZl) Avanti 61 Helen Kelly (Aus) Jayco 62 Alexis Rhodes (Aus) NSWIS 63 Johanna Buick (NZl) New Zealand 64 Cristine Foster (Aus) Body Torque 65 Kathy Watt (Aus) Freedom Machine 66 Louise Yaxley (Aus) Jayco 67 Natalie Bates (Aus) AIS 68 Miyoko Karami (Jpn) Japan 69 Jessica Phillips (USA) Nürnberger 70 Kirsty Robb (NZl) Avanti 0.20 71 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Nürnberger 1.48 72 Naomi Williams (Aus) AIS 73 Karen Hopkinson (Aus) Body Torque 1.49 74 Katie Brown (Aus) NSWIS 75 Laura Bortolozzi (Aus) FRF Couriers 76 Nadene Boyle (NZl) Avanti 2.35 77 Leonie Aisbett (Aus) NSWIS 78 Nina Davies (GBr) Great Britain 79 Zoe Southwell (Aus) FRF Couriers 4.15 80 Kate Nichols (Aus) FRF Couriers 7.00 81 Jennifer Findlay (Aus) QAS 12.05 82 Kerryn Charman (Aus) Body Torque 83 Caroline James (GBr) Great Britain 84 Emi Onoyama (Jpn) World 85 Karina Sorensen (Den) S.A.T.S. 86 Hannah Banks (Aus) QAS 87 Jessie Maclean (Aus) NSWIS 88 Natasha Harrigan (Aus) FRF Couriers 89 Kirsty Bortilin (Aus) Freedom Machine 15.14 90 Linda Capello (Aus) Body Torque 91 Louisa Judd (Aus) Freedom Machine 92 Anna Perrin (Aus) QAS DNF Lynn Gaggioli (USA) T-Mobile Sprints Sprint No 1 (15.5km) 1 Oenone Wood (Aus) AIS 3 pts 2 Katherine Bates (Aus) NSWIS 2 3 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) New Zealand 1 Sprint No 2 (31km) 1 Oenone Wood (Aus) AIS 3 pts 2 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) New Zealand 2 3 Katie Mactier (Aus) Jayco 1 Sprint No 3 (46.5km) 1 Amber Neben (USA) T-Mobile 3 pts 2 Oenone Wood (Aus) AIS 2 3 Katherine Bates (Aus) NSWIS 1 General classification after stage 3 1 Oenone Wood (Aus) AIS 3.09.24 2 Katie Mactier (Aus) Jayco 0.07 3 Katherine Bates (Aus) NSWIS 0.10 4 Louise Yaxley (Aus) Jayco 0.17 5 Sara Carrigan (Aus) QAS 0.29 6 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) New Zealand 0.30 7 Kathy Watt (Aus) Freedom Machine 8 Margaret Hemsley (Aus) Nürnberger 0.34 9 Deirdre Barry (USA) T-Mobile 10 Kristin Armstrong (USA) T-Mobile 0.35 11 Amy Safe (Aus) AIS 0.37 12 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) World 0.39 13 Manon Jutras (Can) S.A.T.S. 0.39 14 Amber Neben (USA) T-Mobile 0.39 15 Judith Arndt (Ger) Nürnberger 0.42 16 Melissa Holt (NZl) New Zealand 0.43 17 Alison Wright (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 0.43 18 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 0.47 19 Emma Davies (GBr) Great Britain 20 Stacey Peters (USA) T-Mobile 0.48 21 Olivia Gollan (Aus) AIS 0.48 22 Natalie Bates (Aus) AIS 0.51 23 Alexis Rhodes (Aus) NSWIS 0.52 24 Lorian Graham (Aus) AIS 0.53 25 Tina Mayola (USA) Jayco 0.53 26 Sara Symington (GBr) S.A.T.S. 0.53 27 Tetyana Stiajkina (Ukr) Ukraine 0.54 28 Emma James (Aus) S.A.T.S. 0.55 29 Kimberly Bruckner (USA) T-Mobile 0.56 30 Jenny Macpherson (Aus) Body Torque 0.58 31 Miyoko Karami (Jpn) Japan 0.59 32 Rachel Heal (GBr) Great Britain 1.00 33 Johanna Buick (NZl) New Zealand 1.05 34 Frances Newstead (GBr) Great Britain 1.06 35 Miho Oki (Jpn) Japan 1.07 36 Cathy Marsal (Fra) Nobili-Fanini 1.08 37 Joanne Kiesanowski (NZl) New Zealand 1.08 38 Jessica Ridder (Aus) FRF Couriers 1.10 39 Rosalind Reekie (NZl) New Zealand 1.11 40 Michelle Hyland (NZl) Avanti 1.12 41 Meredith Miller (USA) S.A.T.S. 1.12 42 Nicole Freedman (Isr) World 1.12 43 Jessica Phillips (USA) Nürnberger 1.13 44 Helen Kelly (Aus) Jayco 1.13 45 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Nürnberger 1.14 46 Susie Wood (NZl) Avanti 1.16 47 Emma Rickards (Aus) Freedom Machine 1.20 48 Kym Shirley (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 1.20 49 Belinda Goss (Aus) Jayco 1.21 50 Christine Riakos (Aus) FRF Couriers 1.24 51 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) S.A.T.S. 1.25 52 Narrelle Peterson (Aus) Body Torque 1.25 53 Akemi Morimoto (Jpn) Japan 1.25 54 Bridgett Evans (Aus) Freedom Machine 1.29 55 Iryna Chuzhynova (Ukr) Ukraine 1.33 56 Kirsty Robb (NZl) Avanti 1.33 57 Toni Bradshaw (NZl) Avanti 1.34 58 Tanja Hennes (Ger) World 1.37 59 Julie Pekarkova (Cze) World 60 Iryna Simonova (Ukr) Ukraine 1.40 61 Petra Rossner (Ger) Nürnberger 1.45 62 Oxana Kashchyshyna (Ukr) Ukraine 1.52 63 Charlotte Goldsmith (GBr) Great Britain 1.58 64 Michelle Kiesanowski (NZl) Avanti 65 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Nürnberger 3.05 66 Katie Brown (Aus) NSWIS 3.05 67 Leonie Aisbett (Aus) NSWIS 4.14 68 Cristine Foster (Aus) Body Torque 4.49 69 Kateryna Krasova (Ukr) Ukraine 4.49 70 Hiroko Shimada (Jpn) Japan 4.55 71 Valentyna Karpenko (Ukr) Ukraine 5.08 72 Zoe Southwell (Aus) FRF Couriers 6.19 73 Karen Hopkinson (Aus) Body Torque 7.40 74 Nadene Boyle (NZl) Avanti 7.54 75 Nina Davies (GBr) Great Britain 8.09 76 Naomi Williams (Aus) AIS 8.40 77 Kate Nichols (Aus) FRF Couriers 9.08 78 Desiree Schuler (Ger) World 9.58 79 Laura Bortolozzi (Aus) FRF Couriers 11.03 80 Caroline James (GBr) Great Britain 13.20 81 Ayumu Otsuka (Jpn) Japan 13.36 82 Karina Sorensen (Den) S.A.T.S. 14.45 83 Linda Capello (Aus) Body Torque 16.35 84 Kirsty Bortilin (Aus) Freedom Machine 17.11 85 Hannah Banks (Aus) QAS 17.29 86 Jennifer Findlay (Aus) QAS 17.40 87 Jessie Maclean (Aus) NSWIS 21.00 88 Kerryn Charman (Aus) Body Torque 21.54 89 Anna Perrin (Aus) QAS 22.34 90 Natasha Harrigan (Aus) FRF Couriers 22.59 91 Emi Onoyama (Jpn) World 26.07 92 Louisa Judd (Aus) Freedom Machine 29.54 Sprint classification 1 Oenone Wood (Aus) AIS 8 pts 2 Katherine Bates (Aus) NSWIS 5 3 Katie Mactier (Aus) Jayco 4 4 Amber Neben (USA) T-Mobile 3 4 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) Nobili-Fanini 3 6 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) New Zealand 3 7 Sara Carrigan (Aus) QAS 2 8 Petra Rossner (Ger) Nürnberger 1 8 Deirdre Barry (USA) T-Mobile 1
