Tour of Gippsland (Day 3, Crit and hilly 101km road race)

Third day in Australia's South and it's without any doubt the most important one: after a short and flat crit in Sale, the field faces the queen stage from Maffra to Dargo. A tough hilly profile over 100km, where the stage-racers and puncheurs will try to create some crucial gaps!

STAGE 5 - SALE CRITERIUM/


So let's keep the flat crit short: it came to a bunch sprint and Neil Van der Ploeg (search2) took out the stage ahead of Davison (Drapac) and yesterday's stage-winner Law (GPM)!

Race-leader Grenda finished 4th. Law moved onto GC's 2nd with 2" in arrears only, but just like Grenda, a sprinter like him was likely to struggle in the next stage..

STAGE 6 - MAFFRA TO DARGO ROAD RACE/


A breakaway with 6 riders went early, including the big teams: Williams (Budget), Walker (Drapac), Shaw (Huon) and Hatton (Satalyst) all lost minutes so far, so a tactical move!


But the escapees were pulled back 35km before finish! So no advantage for the favorites with their teammates being at the front.

On today's penultimate climb, a group of 4 riders attacks the bunch:

Nicolas Wood (ProTeam DU)
Rhys Gillett (African)
Brodie Talbot (Kangaroos)
Josh Taylor (GPM)

Again, all of them lost minutes so far in the race. Our blogger Gillett continues his attacking style!


And the attacking goes on: Jack Haig (Huon) and Mark O'Brien (Budget) try to break clear from the bunch with 22km to go!

Especially O'Brien was expected to do so, as he's 2'41" down in GC! They overtake Talbot, who - like Taylor - couldn't follow Wood/Gillett.


O'Brien looks strong, he dropped both Haig and Talbot easily!

Anyway, the duo Wood/Gillett is already 1'30" in the lead.. O'Brien with another attack, this time followed by Neil Van der Ploeg and also teammate Karl Evans tries to attack the pack!


It's a thrilling race now on this final climb, with several groups of top-favorites trying to jump behind O'Brien!

Haig could join group Van der Ploeg/Evans, while Earle and Cupitt (Budget) now try to hang on. Former NRS-leader Semple (Satalyst) is another 30" behind, so far failing to join those groups!


With now only 3km to go, it looks like the stage-win will go to either Wood or Gillett, as the duo leads by 32" on solo-chaser O'Brien:

E1 (2)/

Wood
Gillett

E2 (1)/ at 0.32

O'Brien

E3 (5)/ at 1.12

Clark (Charter Mason)
Hall (Satalyst)
Evans (Budget)
Haig (Huon)
Neil Van der Ploeg (search2)

E4 (7)/ at 1.52

Earle (Huon)
Cupitt (Budget)
Semple (Satalyst)
Lapthorne (Drapac)
Sheppard, Bayly (search2)
Rutherford (GPM)

So Earle couldn't catch up to the first group of favorites.. a bit disappointing, but at least Haig is in there!


The stage-win goes to our blogger Rhys Gillett! A great win in this tough stage. Wood couldn't compete in the sprint, but of course it's a great result for him, too.


Mark O'Brien fought hard and almost caught up to the leading duo, eventually finishing 3rd with only 17" behind! A nice effort, did he manage to gain back his lost minutes?

Yes and no. Teammate Evans came in 49" later, solo. And group Haig/Van der Ploeg/Hall is 1'01" down on Gillett. So while it's a nice gap for O'Brien, it may not be enough.

Group Earle/Cupitt/Semple came in 1'19" behind today's winner, while the rest of the field couldn't follow.


The new race-leader is... a Budget-rider at least.. it ain't O'Brien, but Karl Evans! So the team continues to deliver after finishing 1-2-3 in North West Tour!

2" behind is Bradley Hall and 6" Jack Haig, who continues to shine. Clark on 4th with 12" and also Earle is still in the mix as 5th with only 20" in arrears. It's still an open race with 11 riders within 30 seconds.

Gillett moved onto 12th, O'Brien also improved, but finds himself still 1'47" behind Evans. With only one rather easy hilly stage remaining, this is a tough gap.

Miguel98 wrote:
Go Gillett!!!

Tour of Gippsland (Day 4, Crit and hilly 70km road race)

Two of the final three stages will be held today: a flat crit in Bairnsdale is followed by a road race from Lakes Entrance to Metung. The latter stage may be the last chance for some GC-contenders to launch a serious attack, even though it ain't the toughest profile.

STAGE 7 - BAIRNSDALE CRITERIUM/


The criterium was always expected to be one for the sprinters and indeed we've a bunch sprint, even though the escaping group is caught only a few metres before finish!

While previous race-leader Ben Grenda (Oz) ain't at the front, the so far most consistent sprinters Scott Law (GPM, accompanied by teammate Caleb Jones) and Luke "seeking for a stage-win" Davison (Drapac, as well as teammte Tom Palmer) lead the sprint to the line!


Scott Law continues to shine, taking out his second stage-win! A dominant win ahead of Davison and Palmer. And another missed chance for Davison..

STAGE 6 - LAKES ENTRANCE TO METUNG ROAD RACE/


4 riders went clear right from the start of the road race, establishing a comfortable lead very quickly:

Vaughan Bowman (Target, 3rd in KoM-rankints with 6 pts, 4 behind Gillett)
Darcy Ellerm-Norton (ProTeam DU)
Thimothy Roe (Euride, as GC's best-placed with + 4.55)
Jeremy Cameron (African Wildlife)


It looks like the bunch will allow the escapees (Cameron was dropped) go for the stage.

With 12km remaining, Budget takes control of the pace, but the gap is still at 3'45".. enough to secure Evans' race-lead it seems, but too less effort to catch the break.


Yes, it is: 6km to go and the three remaining escapees Bowman (who claimed the KoM-lead today), Ellerm-Norton and Roe still hold on to a 3'15"-lead!


And in a close sprint, ProTeam Down Under's Ellerm-Norton takes out the stage ahead of Roe! The first win for the team this year, so a special one.


2'41" later, the peloton crosses the line, with Neil Van der Ploeg (search2) and race-leader Karl Evans (Budget) completing today's Top-5!

We've seen no attacks and no serious tries to go for some gaps today. So either Team Budget was too strong or the GC-contenders too tired (or lazy). Anyway, with only one flat criterium left, it will be tough to attack Evans, who maintains his only small lead.

Tour of Gippsland (Day 5, final criterium)

Final day, final stage of Tour of Gippsland! A flat criterium concludes this first of three stage-races held in Victoria and it should be a day for the sprinters.

Anyway, race-leader Karl Evans (Budget) leads by only 2" on Bradley Hall (Satalyst) and 6" on Jack Haig (Huon).. so some unexpected bonus seconds or - of course - a crash, split or puncture can happen any time..


A breakaway group with 5 riders - with Pat Shaw (Huon) and Thomas Hamilton (Jayco) as the most notable - desperately tries to hold on a small lead with only 6km to go! We're in the final lap already!


No chance for the escapees, the sprinter-teams were too strong:

just like in yesterday's crit, GPM Data#3 (Law, Jones) and Drapac (Davison, Palmer, McCauley) dominate the bunch sprint, already establishing a small gap on the other contenders!


Will this final stage the long expected win for Luke Davison, who came close to a stage-win several times?

At least he's powering away when entering the final km, with only teammate Palmer and GPM's duo in contention!


Wow, a very close one! Davison struggled on final metres, but holds on to his lead. So he finally takes out a stage here in Gippsland, beating Law in a foto-finish.

Palmer, Jones and Neil Van der Ploeg complete today's Top-5.. GC's 2nd Hall (+ 0.02) finished 6th, but had no chance for bonus seconds, as the leading four were simply too dominating.


Luke Davison (Drapac) can celebrate a stage-win, even though Scott Law (2 wins) was stronger this time.


A great GC-win for Karl Evans (Budget)! Teammate and NRS-leader O'Brien (13th) missed a split on first day, losing two minutes, so it's Evans who continues the team's winning streak.

Bradley Hall finishes 2nd, ahead of Huon's young gun Jack Haig! Some valuable points for the latter, especially as O'Brien didn't score too many points.

Clark 4th, Earle with some more nice points for Huon as 5th, ahead of former NRS-leader Semple, Bayly, another Budget-rider with Cupitt and Drapac's Lapthorne. GPM's veteran Rutherford rounds up the Top-10.


Timothy Roe (Euride) takes out the points-jersey, thanks to his breakaway in yesterday's road race.


Same goes for Vaughan Bowman (Target) and his KoM-win. A nice achievement for the team!