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Dauphiné Libéré
Photo ©: Sirotti

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic - NE

Geelong, Australia, January 2-6, 2008

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Stage 2 - January 3: Portarlington - Elite men

Experienced Wilson nabs maiden win

By Malcolm Sawford in Portarlington

Wilson (DeTourMovie.com)
Photo ©: WomensCycling.net
(Click for larger image)

Matt Wilson (deTourMovie.com), the 2007 Herald Sun Tour winner and veteran of this event, claimed his maiden win with an empathic solo break. Hilton Clarke (Portfolio Partners) and Allan Davis (FRF Couriers NSWIS) finished second and third, respectively.

An exhausted Wilson avoided a number of crashes on the technical circuit and was equally delighted to have broken his duck. "It's fantastic – and on the hardest circuit as well! I think I've been doing this ten years now and I've run about seven second's and never won one before so it's great to get the win, and a great way to win as well."

Wilson launched his winning move on the finishing straight. "I saw my chance with about a minute and three laps left to go, and I jumped away and got a good gap straight away. The bunch sort of sat up for a second and it was just a matter of trying to hold onto it," he noted of his victory.

Race leader Baden Cooke (DeTourMovie.com)
Photo ©: WomensCycling.net
(Click for larger image)

Clarke led the field home ahead of Davis, Stuart Shaw (Drapac Porsche - Sofitel mansion Spa) and Cooke, leaving Clarke and Cooke tied for the series lead. Cooke retains the yellow jersey by virtue of his stage one win. "I'm like the little battler!" Clarke quipped. "I can't quite make the race, I'm just following but I've got a second and a third so far."

Wilson praised the efforts of his deTourMovie.com team-mates, who are clear leaders in the team's competition. "We had the leader with Baden Cooke, so we just tried to have a guy in every break so we weren't forced to chase. If it came down to a sprint we were going to try to help Baden. In these races it's so hard to have a set plan and stick to it. They're so fast and furious and it really comes down to race tactics on the fly and having a good feel for it. We'll just try and stay at the front and keep doing what we're doing."

How it unfolded

Will Walker (FRF Couriers)
Photo ©: WomensCycling.net
(Click for larger image)

If there was a prize for the most aggressive rider, David Tanner (Portfolio Partners) would have had a lock on it. He sparked the first of many attacks ten minutes in, joined by Darren Lapthorne (A&I Helicopters), Matt King (Jayco VIS/Sally's Paddock) and Travis Meyer (Swanston Hotel/Grand Mercure). The escape lasted two laps, but Tanner continued to be aggressive.

Fifteen minutes in, Will Walker (FRF Couriers- NSWIS) was the next to attack, and while initially it looked like he was hoping for reinforcements, when none came he buried his head and pushed on alone. He was well clear at the first sprint and closing in on the second when he pushed to hard in the off camber corner leading into the finish straight and lost his front wheel, crashing to the ground. "I just tried to go round there like Casey Stoner and it didn't work!" he said afterwards. "I was going around that fast every lap, so I'm not quite sure what went wrong. I had a good gap, and I wasn't getting any slower. I was pacing myself quite well."

With Walker forced to resume with the bunch after his lap out, Tanner was quickly on the attack again, joining Stuart O'Grady (Skilled) and Cameron Meyer (Swanston Hotel/Grand Mercure), but once again the bunch was quickly back in contact. Jeremy Hunt led Wilson out to win the second sprint, moving Wilson into the lead of that competition, before Tanner jumped away again with Zak Dempster (A&I Helicopters). Walker ignored his wounds to join the move, followed on the next lap by Mark O'Brien (John Trevorrow Cycle Store/Chifley Hotel). As the final intermediate sprint neared, the leaders held a seven second advantage, which Taiji Nishintani (Aisan - Sofitel Mansion Spa Werribbee) and Chris Luxton (Savings & Loans) were able to bridge.

Rory Sutherland (Geelong Mazda)
Photo ©: WomensCycling.net
(Click for larger image)

Hunt and Rory Sutherland (Geelong Mazda) were next to jump across, followed by Simon Gerrans (Portfolio Partners), Cooke and Allan Davis (FRF Couriers- NSWIS), but the bunch were hot on the heels of the chasers and the race came back together with a little over two minutes to race. Tanner tried one last counter attack with out success, before Lapthorne hit the deck hard in the final corner, causing a number of riders including Davis and Walker to run off the course.

Wilson started his winning move on the final straight a lap later. He was nine seconds clear at the bell, with team-mate Hunt doing his bit at the head of the bunch to delay any reaction. The gap came down to a scant three seconds at the top of the final climb, but Wilson flew down the hill to the final corner and rounded it well to sprint home to the win.

Clarke headed the field for second.

Support

Despite the much tougher circuit, the top three riders from day one were straight back in the thick of the action. Robert Lyte (NSWIS) opened a handy gap early in the race, before Joel Pearson (Savings and Loans), Daniel Braunsteins (Drapac Porsche) and Carlyle (ProMotion Bicycles) combined to chase across.

The quartet pulled further away each lap, eventually sprinting for the win over 50 seconds ahead of a small chase group, and almost a minute and a half clear of what little was left of the main bunch. Pearson once again proved too strong, and took the up hill sprint comfortably, with Braunsteins just holding off Lyte for second.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by WomensCycling.net

Images by Nick McGrath

Results

1 Matt Wilson (detour-themovie.com)                     12 pts
2 Hilton Clarke (Portfolio Partners)                    10
3 Allan Davis (FRF Couriers NSWIS)                       8
4 Stuart Shaw (Drapac Porsche)                           7
5 Baden Cooke (detour-themovie.com)                      6
6 Rory Sutherland (Geelong Mazda)                        5
7 Richard England (Jayco Bianchi)                        4
8 Chris Luxton (Savings and Loans)                       3
9 Jonathon Cantwell (Skilled)                            2
10 Koen de Kort (A&I Helicopters)                        1
 
Sprints
 
1 Matt Wilson (detour-themovie.com)                      8 pts
2 Will Walker (FRF Couriers NSWIS)                       6
3 Baden Cooke (detour-themovie.com)                      5
 
B Grade
 
1 Joel Pearson                                          12 pts
2 Daniel Braunsteins                                    10
3 Robert Lyte                                            8
4 Cameron Carlyle                                        7
5 Will Dickeson                                          6
6 Peter Braunsteins                                      5
7 Nicholas Mitchell                                      4
8 Shaun Gatter                                           3
9 Bradley Edmunds                                        2
10 Tim Hucker                                            1
 
General classification after stage 2
 
1 Baden Cooke (detour-themovie.com)                     18 pts
2 Hilton Clarke (Portfolio Partners)                    18
3 Allan Davis (FRF Couriers)                            15
4 Matt Wilson (detour-themovie.com)                     12
5 Rory Sutherland (Geelong Mazda)                       11
6 Mark Renshaw (Geelong Mazda)                          10
7 Stuart Shaw (Drapac Porsche)                           7
8 Richard England (Jayco Bianchi)                        6
9 Darren Lapthorne (A&I Helicopters)                     5
10 Stuart O’Grady (Skilled)                              4
 
B Men
 
1 Joel Pearson                                          24 pts
2 Daniel Braunsteins                                    20
3 Robert Lite                                           15
4 Cameron Carlyle                                       15
5 Peter Braunsteins                                      7
6 Nicholas Mitchell                                      7
7 Will Dickeson                                          6
8 Blair Windsor                                          6
9 Samuel Rix                                             5
10 Kyle Marwood                                          4

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