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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 Next Stage
Stage 7 - September 1: Ouyen-Patchewollock-Ouyen, 86.5 km
Two seconds in it with two days to go
By Rod Morris in Ouyen
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The Subaru Tour of the Murray River is bit like watching two heavyweight prizefighters slug it out day after day without being able to deliver the killer punch. Seven stages down and four to go and just two seconds separate Queensland's David Kemp and Canberra's Robert McLachlan and the excitement of today's racing was as good as you could get. McLachlan carried a six second lead into the Ouyen Criterium (Stage 6) but was leapfrogged by Kemp because of sprint bonuses and some untimely bad luck.
McLachlan, Kemp, Tasmanian Wesley Sulzberger and South Australian mountain bike champion, Chris Jongewaard, established a match winning break in the criterium, but Kemp was the star, picking up 21 seconds in sprint bonuses and then an extra 6-points for finishing third behind Sulzberger and Jongewaard.
Just as McLachlan was preparing for the final turn to the sprint line, he dropped his chain, relinquishing any hopes he may have held, instead coasting home for fourth place, but 2 seconds behind the leading trifecta.
The fourth day of the tour belonged to Sulzberger, as he backed up in the afternoon to win the Ouyen – Patchewollock – Ouyen stage as well. Sulzberger may not win the Tour of the Murray River, as he is still more than 1'50 behind, his dual wins elevated him to sixth place overall.
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In the general classification, McLachlan reduced the mid-morning deficit of 4 seconds by featuring in the intermediate sprints, meaning he and Kemp would be sprinting at the end of the stage to see who would wear the coveted yellow jersey. In the end, Kemp may have missed catching Sulzberger for the stage, but he did hold McLachlan out and will carry a 2-second lead into Saturday morning's eighth stage in Merbein.
After 19 separate races in the Tattersall's Cup, Sulzberger has tallied 156 points and leads McLachlan by 54. That lead may read comfortable, but considering that there are still 15 races to be completed, he is a long way from home.
How it unfolded
The Ouyen out and back road stage lived up to everything it had been billed as. The start itself was tough, taking its toll on many riders. The reduced field of 100 cyclists were broken up into four distinct groups within minutes of leaving Ouyen on their way to Patchewollock and return.
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Each group had its own problems. The lead bunch was battling the heat and the head wind, while in turn each chasing group were working overtime to reel in those in front of them.
"I not only missed the first group, but missed the second bunch as well," Tasmanian Wesley Sulzberger said. "I was almost knackered by the time we were able to get across and this day has really taken a lot out of me," he said. "I'm probably not going to make much of an impression on general classification, but I'll be chasing as many stage wins as I can get."
By the time the leading three groups had came together, there were casualties...one by one as the hard racing took its toll. "Even when we become one group, there was no time to relax as everyone in the group kept pacing very quickly," Sulzberger added.
By the time the breakaways had reached Patchewollock and started the return journey to Ouyen, the number had been reduced to 25 riders and when the 20 km to go sign emerged, the hammer went down further.
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One of the first to go – out the back – was gold medal Olympian from the 2000 Sydney Games, Brett Aitken, followed shortly after by Peter Milostic (NSW), Leigh Egan (Vic) and Mark O'Brien (Vic). Canberra's Robert McLachlan may not have originally been aware of Aitken and Egan being spat out the back, but if he had, he would breathed a huge sigh if relief.
Aitken and Egan – along with McLachlan – have dominated the sprinter's stages in the early part of the tour and their demise paved the way for another victory by the former Barcelona Olympian. But it was not to be.
Sulzberger, winner of the recent Tour of Gippsland and current leader in the Tattersall's Cup, showed that standing or the morning criterium victory in Ouyen were not flukes, by throwing down another sprint challenge to those around him and emerging successful.
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The sprint finish at Ouyen is about 600 m long and extremely picturesque, not that Sulzberger, Kemp, McLachlan and company had time to stop and enjoy the scenery. Sulzberger picked his line, put his head down and backside up and sprinted with everything he had, holding Kemp out by a metre and then a bike length to McLachlan in third.
"The first few days of this tour have been relatively easy and with no wind, we can't say the same about these two stages," Sulzberger said. "This has been a tough day in the saddle, but to get two wins from two makes it all seem pretty sweet after all." The tour continues over the weekend with a criterium at Merbein and a Merbein to Wentworth road stage on Saturday and on Sunday, kermesses at Cardross and Mildura.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- It was 'Vanilla Ice' day in Ouyen and tour leader David Kemp got the urge before stage seven began
- The peloton quickly splintered in the windy conditions after the start to stage seven in Ouyen
- The lead group form an echelon in the cross winds near Ouyen
- Tour leader David Kemp wasn't taking any chances and got himself into the lead group
- Robert McLachlan (L) and Sean Finning in the leading group
- Groups had split but were still in sight of each other on the narrow roads out the back of Ouyen
- Most of the top ten riders on GC were in the leading group on the road
- The second group on the road could see the leaders for most of the stage but the windy conditions made it difficult to bridge the gap
- A rider from Portfolio Partners drives the second group on the road
- David Kemp in yellow has dangerman Robert McLachlan over his left shoulder and watching every move
- It's time to phone a friend and tell them all about the 2006 Subaru Tour of the Murray River
- The leading group of nine soon tripled on the return to Ouyen from Patchewollock
- Joshua Marden (centre) drives the leading bunch towards the finish in Ouyen on the 86.5km out-and-back stage to Patchewollock
- Telstra Country-Wide criterium leader Robert McLachlan lost his chain on the home turn to the finish on stage six and was looking for revenge on stage seven
- Stage seven in Ouyen, North-West Victoria and the tour is only 380kms from Adelaide
- (L-R): Stuart Shaw, Joshua Marden and Brad Edmunds sneak up the road from the lead group
- Brad Edmunds from Victoria checks on the whereabouts of the rest of his leading group
- David Kemp, in yellow, keeps and eye on the challengers and in particular Robert McLachlan
- Closing in on the finish in Ouyen and riders are becoming restless
- Wes Sulzberger makes it a double in Ouyen and takes the stage with David Kemp (L) and Robert McLachlan close by
- The stage seven podium (L-R): David Kemp (2nd), Wes Sulzberger (1st), and Robert McLachlan (3rd)
- Casey Munro will take the Victorian Tourism King of the Mountains jersey home to Melbourne
- But will Queenslander David Kemp hold on to the yellow jersey? Kemp is just two seconds ahead of Robert McLachlan with four stages remaining
Results
1 Wesley Sulzberger 1.57.03 (44.34 km/h) 2 David Kemp 3 Robert McLachlan 4 Johnnie Walker 5 Chris Jongewaard 6 Jason Hegert 0.05 7 Casey Munro 8 Zakkari Dempster 0.11 9 Brad Edmunds 0.14 10 Kyle Marwood 0.36 11 Joshua Marden 12 Robert Cater 13 Peter McDonald 14 Ricky Peoples 15 Stuart Shaw 16 Nicholas Walker 17 Nicholas Sanderson 18 Daniel Burtt 0.45 19 Joe McDonnell 20 Sean Finning 0.58 21 James Hannam 1.03 22 Peter Barnett 2.32 23 Peter Ladd 24 Gilbert Gutowski 25 Jacob Sutherland 26 Brendan Hill 27 Craig McCartney 28 Patrick Shaw 29 Daniel Newnham 30 Jai Crawford 31 Leigh Egan 32 Mark O'Brien 33 Craig Mackie 34 Stephen Cunningham 35 Darren Harry 36 Brendan Brooks 37 Timothy Decker 38 Will Wettenhall 39 Brendan Rowbotham 40 Scott Peoples 41 Tim Hucker 3.32 42 Jack Anderson 4.23 43 Christopher Wilding 4.28 44 David Hiley 45 Cameron Irwin 46 Tom Middleton 47 Fabio Calabria 48 Kym Howard 49 Andrew Ward 50 Adrian Hanson 51 Joshua Gundry 52 Richie Porte 53 Gary Mueller 54 Chris Steffanoni 55 Phillip Stokes 56 Jamie Kelly 57 Luke Pledger 58 Thomas Baxter 59 Hamish Mackirdy 60 Nick Culvenor 61 Marcus Wettenhall 62 Michael Ford 63 Peter Milostic 4.56 64 Jeremy Betts 6.14 65 Brett Aitken 6.58 66 Brett Franklin 7.21 67 Matthew Jensen 7.40 68 Matthew Davis 8.55 69 Peter Herzig 9.13 70 Bradley Clark 71 David Tozer 72 Glen Peterson 13.09 73 Daniel Furmston 15.59 74 Will Dickeson 16.11 75 Matthew Kennett 76 Jarrod Harman 77 Simon Pearson 78 Cameron Peterson 18.45 79 Peter Smith 80 Steven Pilson 81 James Kelly 82 Adam Murchie 83 Nigel Sullivan 84 William Murray 85 Benjamin Juzwin 20.19 86 Matthew Sherwin 21.26 87 Damon De Angelis 88 Tremain Permewan 21.54 89 Simon Van Der Aa 90 Grant Webster 91 James Robinson 34.33 92 James Fitzgerald 93 Damien Turner 94 Matthew Delahunty 95 Matthew Wood Sprints Sprint 1 - Racetrack (Patche) 1 Joshua Marden 3 pts 2 Robert Cater 2 3 Sean Finning 1 Sprint 2 - Cross Barnes Street & Patche Pub 1 Casey Munro 3 pts 2 Stuart Shaw 2 3 Joshua Marden 1 Mountains Left into Patchewollock Road - Cat.4 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Robert McLachlan 2 3 Casey Munro 1 Steele Road - Cat.4 1 Robert McLachlan 3 pts 2 David Kemp 2 3 Casey Munro 1 Pass Old Ouyen Road - Cat.4 1 Casey Munro 3 pts 2 Chris Jongewaard 2 3 Robert McLachlan 1 Mildura Rural City Sign - Cat.4 1 Joshua Marden 3 pts 2 Chris Jongewaard 2 3 Stuart Shaw 1 Pass Old Ouyen Rd - Cat.4 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Casey Munro 2 3 Wesley Sulzberger 1 Road Fork - Cat.4 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Casey Munro 2 3 Zakkari Dempster 1 Arbuckle Road - Cat.4 1 Chris Jongewaard 3 pts 2 Casey Munro 2 3 Brad Edmunds 1 General classification after stage 7 1 David Kemp 9.26.01 2 Robert McLachlan 0.02 3 Casey Munro 0.49 4 Joshua Marden 1.19 5 Brad Edmunds 1.21 6 Wesley Sulzberger 1.51 7 Chris Jongewaard 1.59 8 Sean Finning 2.24 9 Johnnie Walker 2.52 10 Zakkari Dempster 3.00 11 Jason Hegert 3.05 12 Peter McDonald 3.27 13 Nicholas Sanderson 3.37 14 Stuart Shaw 3.38 15 Ricky Peoples 3.39 16 Joe McDonnell 3.40 17 Robert Cater 18 Nicholas Walker 3.42 19 Kyle Marwood 3.53 20 Stephen Cunningham 4.02 21 Brendan Brooks 4.03 22 Daniel Burtt 4.08 23 James Hannam 4.09 24 Peter Ladd 25 Leigh Egan 5.11 26 Patrick Shaw 5.22 27 Scott Peoples 5.27 28 Peter Barnett 5.33 29 Craig McCartney 5.35 30 Brendan Rowbotham 5.39 31 Brendan Hill 32 Gilbert Gutowski 33 Timothy Decker 34 Jacob Sutherland 35 Mark O'Brien 36 Craig Mackie 5.45 37 Kym Howard 6.05 38 Tim Hucker 6.39 39 Darren Harry 6.45 40 Daniel Newnham 7.02 41 Gary Mueller 7.16 42 Marcus Wettenhall 7.30 43 Jack Anderson 44 Fabio Calabria 7.31 45 Michael Ford 7.33 46 David Hiley 7.34 47 Chris Steffanoni 48 Joshua Gundry 49 Andrew Ward 7.35 50 Nick Culvenor 51 Richie Porte 52 Peter Milostic 8.01 53 Luke Pledger 8.45 54 Thomas Baxter 55 Adrian Hanson 8.56 56 Christopher Wilding 8.58 57 Jeremy Betts 9.07 58 Will Wettenhall 9.22 59 Brett Aitken 9.28 60 Jai Crawford 11.03 61 Cameron Irwin 11.18 62 Tom Middleton 11.28 63 Brett Franklin 11.38 64 Matthew Davis 12.02 65 Matthew Jensen 12.10 66 David Tozer 12.20 67 Bradley Clark 12.36 68 Hamish Mackirdy 13.03 69 Phillip Stokes 13.26 70 Jamie Kelly 13.50 71 Glen Peterson 17.26 72 Daniel Furmston 19.05 73 Will Dickeson 19.15 74 Jarrod Harman 19.18 75 Adam Murchie 20.28 76 Steven Pilson 21.52 77 Nigel Sullivan 78 Peter Smith 79 Cameron Peterson 23.15 80 Matthew Kennett 23.39 81 Simon Pearson 82 Matthew Sherwin 24.33 83 Grant Webster 28.28 84 Tremain Permewan 29.09 85 Peter Herzig 31.47 86 Benjamin Juzwin 34.27 87 Damon De Angelis 35.10 88 Matthew Wood 36.11 89 Matthew Delahunty 37.40 90 Damien Turner 40.34 91 James Fitzgerald 42.33 92 William Murray 57.54 93 Simon Van Der Aa 58.56 94 James Kelly 1.01.36 95 James Robinson 1.04.51 Sprints classification 1 David Kemp 48 pts 2 Joshua Marden 39 3 Wesley Sulzberger 35 4 Brad Edmunds 30 5 Casey Munro 27 6 Chris Jongewaard 26 7 Robert McLachlan 18 8 Zakkari Dempster 17 9 Peter McDonald 16 10 Patrick Shaw 13 11 Joe McDonnell 12 12 Scott Peoples 12 13 Craig Mackie 10 14 Sean Finning 7 15 Johnnie Walker 6 16 Peter Barnett 6 17 Jeremy Betts 5 18 Marcus Wettenhall 5 19 Gary Mueller 5 20 Craig McCartney 4 21 Stuart Shaw 4 22 Will Dickeson 3 23 Kyle Marwood 3 24 Robert Cater 3 25 Jason Hegert 2 26 Peter Milostic 2 27 Adrian Hanson 2 28 Michael Ford 2 29 Nicholas Walker 1 30 Chris Steffanoni 1 31 Adam Murchie 1 32 Tom Middleton 1 33 Nicholas Sanderson 1 34 James Hannam 1 35 Brendan Brooks 1 36 David Hiley 1 37 Brett Aitken 1 38 Peter Herzig 1 39 Joshua Gundry 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 34 pts 2 Brett Aitken 29 3 Leigh Egan 26 4 David Kemp 23 5 Wesley Sulzberger 22 6 Gary Mueller 20 7 Joshua Marden 13 8 Chris Jongewaard 9 9 Jeremy Betts 8 10 Brendan Rowbotham 5 11 Johnnie Walker 5 12 Daniel Furmston 5 13 Robert Cater 4 14 Sean Finning 4 15 Darren Harry 4 16 Nicholas Sanderson 4 17 Casey Munro 3 18 Brad Edmunds 1 19 Jacob Sutherland 1 20 Ricky Peoples 1 Most aggressive rider 1 Wesley Sulzberger 4 pts 2 David Kemp 3 3 Zakkari Dempster 2 4 Brad Edmunds 2 5 Peter Barnett 2 6 Robert McLachlan 1
