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Tattersall's Cup Series Tour of Gippsland - NE
Australia, August 2-6, 2006
Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 8 - August 5: Traralgon - Hazelwood, 63.2kms
Sulzberger keeps up the challenge; Casey Munro wins in Hazelwood
By Rod Morris in Hazelwood
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Gutsy, tough-as-teak Tasmanian Wesley Sulzberger has thrown down the gauntlet to leader Dean Windsor in the Tattersall's Cup Tour of Gippsland cycling race with just one stage left to ride. Sulzberger (19) had an excellent day in the saddle, winning...no, dominating the Traralgon Criterium seventh stage, and then keeping himself safe in the bunch in the afternoon's road stage from Traralgon to Hazelwood, won by Casey Munro from a breakaway group.
Sulzberger hails from the sleepy northern Tasmanian township of Flowery Gully, but he's certainly putting himself and his roots on the international cycling map. He started the day in sixth place, 2'15 minutes behind Windsor, won the criterium – as well as winning all 11 intermediate sprints – and leapfrogged his way into second and narrowed the gap to just 54 seconds. That margin is certainly "gettable" in Sunday's final stage, which at 134.8 km is the longest of the tour.
The last stage will be held on an out and back loop course in Warragul, starting at 11 a.m. "I will be doing everything humanly possible to try and reel in Windsor, but he and his team are racing well and they do have the score already on the board, I've got to pick up almost a minute," Sulzberger said.
Windsor admitted he was extremely worried about Sulzberger, but was quietly confident he and his Drapac Porsche teammates would work everything in their power to stop the Tasmanian's charge towards the coveted yellow jersey.
How it unfolded
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The eighth and penultimate stage held Saturday afternoon saw a group of five riders break away just 10 km into the 63 km race. None of that quintet of Casey Munro, Will Dickeson, Tim Buchanan, Scott Peoples and Heath Keenan were dangers on the GC listing, so the peloton enjoyed an afternoon in the sun, with Windsor later admitting, "It was nice to just roll along for 60 km."
But that shouldn't detract from Munro's stage victory, his biggest in his short but growing career. Hailing from Pascoe Vale in suburban Melbourne, Munro races for the strong Brunswick Cycling Club. "I've had bike equipment problem over the last two stages and it irked me because I was feeling good," he said. To win this makes it all that much better."
Munro kicked away from his breakaway group with 2 km left to race and in the end had four seconds to spare as he had time to savour the victory. Making all that much sweeter was the fact Munro's parents were in the crowd and were cheering excitedly. Dickeson, although slightly disappointed with his second placing, won all four intermediate sprints and both King of the Mountain sprints.
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Peoples, who earlier had finished second to Sulzberger in Traralgon, couldn't quite another burst of energy to match Munro, Dickeson and Buchanan in the sprint home. His performance was one of all guts and plenty of glory, but only minor placings.
While the last 134 km stage is one of unknown, the Drapac Porsche team will be looking to protect Windsor's 54 second lead, while Sulzberger's SouthAustralia.com team will be trying to attack at every opportunity.
NSW rider Cody Stevenson and South Australia's Chris Jongewaard are others that are still in contention for GC honours. Stevenson is 1'07 behind Windsor and Jongewaard a further 25 seconds back. The final stage – outside of being the longest of the tour – will include nine intermediate sprints and six hill climbs, all of which carry valuable time bonuses.
The bottom line is: this tour is far from over.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- Tim Buchanan from the Australian Capital Territory on the startline for stage eight
- Scott Peoples put in a great ride on stage seven to win the Subaru Most Aggressive rider's jersey
- The peloton leaves a Traralgon bottle-shop for the start of stage eight…take-aways anyone?
- The peloton heads for the hills and Hazelwood for the finish of stage eight
- Four riders broke clear of the peloton; Here they approach an intermediate hill climb section on the stage
- How much can a koala bear?
- The leading quartet: (L-R), Casey Munro, Tim Buchanan, Will Dickeson and Scott Peoples
- Casey Munro from Victoria finally in a break on the Tour of Gippsland
- Scott Peoples is one of the youngest riders in the peloton but in-experience doesn’t impede his aggression
- Tim Buchanan performed well on the stage six criterium and made the break on stage eight
- Former tour leader Will Dickeson grabs a snack during stage eight
- Victorian Casey Munro was keen for a win on the 63.2km stage to Hazelwood
- The peloton strung-out on the back-roads of Traralgon
- Drapac Porsche have the yellow jersey of Dean Windsor covered during stage eight
- Riders at the back of the peloton had the odds stacked against them to catch the leaders
- The leaders powering their way towards the finish
- "Is this the way to the finish-line?" You bet it is Casey
- Casey Munro from Victoria gets the win he's been looking for - and in-front of his mum and dad too
- Scott Peoples put in another great ride on stage eight as part of the leading break
- The peloton crosses the finish-line in Hazelwood after 63.2kms
- The stage eight podium (L-R): Will Dickeson (2nd), Casey Munro (1st), and Tim Buchanan (3rd)
- A happy Casey Munro after claiming a stage of the Tour of Gippsland
- Wes Sulzberger, the Mid Valley Shopping Centre Morwell Sprint Points Championship leader gets ready to spray a photographer
- A nice way to take home the drinks…
- The Victorian Tourism King of the Mountains leader, Tony Mann of Queensland
- Tony Mann is no gentle-MANN when it comes to racing!
- "Thanks guys… the drinks are on me"
- CycleSport Victoria President and former fiery Italian rider Joe Ciavola (L) offers some advice to seventeen year-old rider Will Zammit who is riding in his first open road race
Results
1 Casey Munro 1.36.29 (39.3 km/h) 2 Will Dickeson 0.04 3 Tim Buchanan 4 Scott Peoples 0.18 5 Jacob Sutherland 0.46 6 Cody Stevenson 7 Miles Olman 8 David Pell 9 Fabio Calabria 10 Michael Tolhurst 11 Kyle Marwood 12 Chris Jongewaard 13 Wesley Sulzberger 14 Patrick Shaw 15 Brad Edmunds 16 Will Wettenhall 17 Kym Howard 18 Cameron Peterson 19 Dean Windsor 20 Benjamin Juzwin 21 Damien Turner 22 Heath Keenan 23 David Hiley 24 Tom Middleton 25 Damon De Angelis 26 Robert Cater 27 Trent Stevenson 28 Nick Both 29 Samuel Rix 30 Peter Smith 31 Matthew Delahunty 32 Jack Alexander 33 Steven Pilson 34 Darren Lapthorne 35 Jason Hegert 36 Jarrod Harman 37 Mitchell Docker 38 Mark O'Brien 39 Steven Robb 40 William Zammit 41 Robert McLachlan 42 Malcolm Hart 43 Andrew Ward 44 James Henry 45 Brett Franklin 46 Richie Porte 47 Matthew Jensen 48 Allan Sieper 49 Chris Jory 50 Tim Hucker 51 Peter Ladd 52 Michael Gallagher 53 Stephen Isbel 54 Chris Steffanoni 55 Brendan Brooks 56 Daniel Furmston 57 Stephen Cunningham 58 Michael Ford 59 Phillip Stokes 60 Aaron Wheeler 61 Stephen Wooldridge 62 Peter Milostic 63 Glen Peterson 64 Tony Mann 65 Edwin Crossling 66 George Bunt 67 William Murray 68 Alistair Crossling 69 Jack Hudson 70 Andrew Hanigan 71 Stuart Shaw 72 Simon Pearson 73 Vaughan Bowman 74 Daniel McConnell 75 Mitchell Vervaart 76 Lachlan Norris 77 Christopher Fry 78 Timothy Walker 79 Grant Webster 1.07 80 Bradley Clarke 4.50 DNF Mitch Chapman DNF Stephen Price DNF Julian Dutton DNF Simon Van Der Aa Sprints Sprint 1 - Churchill Hotel Motel 1 Will Dickeson 3 pts 2 Scott Peoples 2 3 Heath Keenan 1 Sprint 2 - Yinnar Hotel 1 Will Dickeson 3 pts 2 Casey Munro 2 3 Scott Peoples 1 Sprint 3 - Latrobe City & Hazelwood Pondage Sign 1 Will Dickeson 3 pts 2 Casey Munro 2 3 Tim Buchanan 1 Sprint 4 - Pass Hazelwood Power Enterance 1 Will Dickeson 3 pts 2 Tim Buchanan 2 3 Casey Munro 1 Hill Climbs Pass Trews Rd - Cat. 4 1 Will Dickeson 3 pts 2 Scott Peoples 2 3 Casey Munro 1 Over Bridge - Cat. 4 1 Will Dickeson 3 pts 2 Tim Buchanan 2 3 Casey Munro 1 General classification after stage 8 1 Dean Windsor 12.05.45 2 Wesley Sulzberger 0.54 3 Cody Stevenson 1.07 4 Chris Jongewaard 1.32 5 Tony Mann 2.01 6 Miles Olman 2.09 7 Fabio Calabria 2.29 8 Darren Lapthorne 2.46 9 Tim Buchanan 3.47 10 Mitchell Docker 3.48 11 Patrick Shaw 4.25 12 David Pell 4.28 13 Robert McLachlan 4.29 14 Peter Milostic 4.38 15 Daniel McConnell 4.49 16 Robert Cater 5.00 17 Brendan Brooks 5.10 18 Mark O'Brien 5.17 19 Jacob Sutherland 5.18 20 Lachlan Norris 5.20 21 Stuart Shaw 5.28 22 Edwin Crossling 5.30 23 Michael Tolhurst 5.33 24 Tim Hucker 5.46 25 Scott Peoples 26 Casey Munro 6.00 27 Jason Hegert 7.22 28 Michael Ford 7.28 29 Nick Both 7.44 30 Chris Steffanoni 8.46 31 Stephen Isbel 12.48 32 Vaughan Bowman 14.42 33 Benjamin Juzwin 15.35 34 Bradley Clarke 16.39 35 Richie Porte 20.45 36 Cameron Peterson 20.49 37 Will Dickeson 21.26 38 Jack Alexander 21.39 39 Tom Middleton 22.05 40 Matthew Delahunty 22.08 41 Allan Sieper 23.22 42 Andrew Ward 23.45 43 Chris Jory 44 Aaron Wheeler 45 George Bunt 24.34 46 Peter Smith 24.44 47 Brad Edmunds 24.49 48 Timothy Walker 25.52 49 Daniel Furmston 26.29 50 Peter Ladd 27.16 51 Jarrod Harman 27.32 52 Alistair Crossling 28.01 53 Trent Stevenson 28.25 54 Stephen Cunningham 29.13 55 Stephen Wooldridge 30.05 56 Brett Franklin 30.07 57 Kym Howard 32.22 58 Christopher Fry 33.37 59 Simon Pearson 33.54 60 Matthew Jensen 33.58 61 Damien Turner 34.51 62 Grant Webster 35.04 63 David Hiley 35.27 64 Steven Robb 35.50 65 Jack Hudson 40.10 66 Andrew Hanigan 42.08 67 Phillip Stokes 47.38 68 Glen Peterson 48.21 69 William Zammit 48.30 70 Heath Keenan 49.17 71 Steven Pilson 55.35 72 Samuel Rix 1.01.51 73 Michael Gallagher 1.01.53 74 Will Wettenhall 1.05.25 75 Damon De Angelis 1.16.29 76 Malcolm Hart 1.16.33 77 Kyle Marwood 1.17.35 78 William Murray 1.22.44 79 Mitchell Vervaart 1.27.52 80 James Henry 1.33.05 Mountains classification 1 Tony Mann 36 pts 2 Darren Lapthorne 33 3 Brendan Brooks 25 4 Will Dickeson 20 5 David Pell 13 6 Wesley Sulzberger 12 7 Scott Peoples 8 8 Richie Porte 7 9 Simon Pearson 6 10 Michael Tolhurst 5 11 Miles Olman 5 12 Bradley Clarke 2 13 Jason Hegert 2 14 Peter Ladd 2 15 Casey Munro 2 16 Daniel McConnell 2 17 Chris Jongewaard 2 18 Tim Buchanan 2 19 Stuart Shaw 1 Sprints classification 1 Wesley Sulzberger 84 pts 2 Dean Windsor 48 3 Patrick Shaw 27 4 Mitchell Docker 25 5 Chris Jongewaard 20 6 Scott Peoples 20 7 Will Dickeson 19 8 Robert McLachlan 11 9 Michael Tolhurst 8 10 Mark O'Brien 8 11 David Pell 8 12 Tony Mann 8 13 Cody Stevenson 7 14 Darren Lapthorne 6 15 Tim Buchanan 6 16 Robert Cater 6 17 Casey Munro 5 18 Vaughan Bowman 4 19 Brendan Brooks 4 20 Peter Ladd 4 21 Cameron Peterson 3 22 Nick Both 2 23 Richie Porte 2 24 Steven Robb 2 25 Simon Pearson 1 26 Michael Ford 1 27 Jason Hegert 1 28 Heath Keenan 1 29 Stuart Shaw 1 30 Miles Olman 1 31 Trent Stevenson 1 Criterium Championship 1 Wesley Sulzberger 35 pts 2 Dean Windsor 27 3 Cody Stevenson 20 4 Scott Peoples 13 5 Darren Lapthorne 13 6 Patrick Shaw 10 7 Mitchell Docker 10 8 Robert McLachlan 10 9 Miles Olman 9 10 Mark O'Brien 7 11 Chris Jongewaard 7 12 Tim Buchanan 7 13 Peter Milostic 6 14 Brendan Brooks 6 15 David Pell 5 16 Cameron Peterson 5 17 Richie Porte 5 18 Will Dickeson 4 19 Stuart Shaw 3 20 Tom Middleton 3 21 Robert Cater 2 22 Michael Ford 1 23 Jason Hegert 1 24 Stephen Wooldridge 1 Most aggressive rider classification 1 Wesley Sulzberger 6 pts 2 Sean Finning 2 3 Tony Mann 2 4 Mitchell Docker 2 5 Scott Peoples 2 6 Will Dickeson 2 7 Mark O'Brien 2 8 Darren Lapthorne 2
