YATES TAKES A STAGE, BUT WELSFORD DEFENDS THE GC LEAD
Sam Welsford (ACA) succesfully defended his GC lead on the final two days at the Great South Coast, eventually winning the race by 7 seconds on Theodore Yates (Drapac) and 9 seconds on Pat Lane (InForm), who did very well to finish the race as the best non-sprinter. Yates took out the penultimate stage with Welsford finishing the last two stages as 4th, but he couldn't add another strong result in the final criterium through Portland, where Brad Evans (Mobius) was the best of the day.
A quite windy stage six - a road race around Cape Bridgewater - was dominated by Drapac, with Liam White setting up a perfect leadout for Yates, who easily beat Jordan Kerby (Brisbane) to take the stage and move up to 2nd in the GC. His leadout White with another strong display, cementing his 4th place in the GC by just a few seconds on Kerby. Despite some small splits late into the stage, no further gaps were rewarded and so no bigger changes in the GC again.
The final Portland criterium looked like an early breakaway group with Morgan Smith (St. George), Ryan Standish (AMR) and veteran Peter Milostic (Rauland) could survive the day ahead of the bunch. But a huge pace on the final lap made them being swallowed by the sprinters: Evans dominated the sprint from the beginning and managed to beat his teammate and GC's 6th Nicholas Kergozou (Mobius) with a comfortable advantage. Kerby with another huge performance as 3rd on the day, but he couldn't get past White in the GC. Still a good 5th overall. Quite a disappointing tour for the defending race champion: Scott Sunderland (Bennelong) never looked at his best, but still managed to finish 9th in the GC with no bonifications gained on seven days. The first rather weak performance for Bennelong in general.
Connor Brown (Skoda) desperately fighting to hold off the nearing bunch with 3.5km to go in the Cape Bridgwater Road Race..
..but he's caught by a strong White/Yates train, with Kerby right behind the day's strongest duo..
Yates takes the stage easily, Kerby sprints to a strong 2nd place!
Milostic, Smith and Standish with a promising gap with just 3km remaining in the final criterium through Portland..
..but it's all gone just a few moments later: Evans sprints away from the bunch..
..to take the final stage ahead of his teammate Kergozou!
After an already strong showing in the Tour of the Murray River, Sam Welsford wins his first GC here at the Great South Coast. He may become a serious contender for the NRS title this year!
Yeah. Hopeless stuff on flat roads with crosswinds (must admit, that I really suck at playing windy flat stages, plus Keagan's stats ain't really suited for profiles like this). Next stage race should suit our team better though
Two more races since our last rankings update and we got a new leade in the individual's competition: previous leader Joseph Cooper lost the lead to his teammate Chris Harper (Bennelong) thanks to his GC victory in the Battle Recharge. A huge race for himself and also his entire team, that came away with 370pts in this stage race. Ben Dyball (St. George) moving up inside the Top-10 with a strong performance at the Battle and comeback rider Keagan Girdlestone (Team Ultra) had a solid race as well, adding some more points to currently sit on a respectable 15th position in the rankings.
Sam Welford would then have a huge Tour of the Great South Coast: three stage-wins and the GC victory. The sprinter moves up to 2nd in the rankings, just 10pts short off Harper. Pat Lane (InForm) with a strong display in this mainly flat stage race, going up to 4th in the rankings. Kerby, Yates, Kergozou and White as other big performers at the Great South Coast. Opposing to Scott Sunderland (Bennelong), who had a real chance to claim the series lead. His 9th place (40pts) at the Great South Coast - with no single Top-5 in the stages - wasn't enough to put some pressure on his teammates Harper/Cooper. Also Raphael Freienstein (InForm) had a bad race once again.
The team's ranking is still dominated by Bennelong, but the Great South Coast showed, that they can be beaten once in a while: only 72pts towards the rankings here, while Drapac EF (275pts) and Australian Cycling Academy (255pts) made up some ground after Bennelong's huge result at the Battle Recharge. Still a big gap for Bennelong, obviously.
The opening ITT is obviously a key stage with the following three stages being partly hilly, but not too challenging overall. The 'Strade Nero' stage on day three should still lead to plenty of action in the pack and of course there's always a chance to attack the opponents on those climbs here.
In the inaugaral edition, we've seen a winning attack in the final stage, where Sam Horgan went to gap the peloton for a crucial stage-win for the overall victory. Last year though, Joseph Cooper won the GC from his victory in the timetrial:
@valv/sutty: Sprinters, TT specialists, punchy roleurs.. They all had success here in the past two editions. May depend on weather conditions as well.
@Tamijo: Keagan is definitely enjoying a strong comeback season so far. Let's not forget (okay, it's been a while since I posted it) that he already won a race this year! That's why he's 15th in the ranking.
Tour of the King Valley Stages 1-2
MAGENNIS WINS THE ITT, WELSFORD KEEPS ON GOING STRONG
Liam Magennis (Drapac EF) leads the GC at halftime - a rather unexpected victory in the opening timetrial and another solid effort in the criterium through Wangaratta makes him leading the GC by 3 seconds on Jordan Kerby (Brisbane) and 5 seconds on Michael Freiberg (Bennelong). Two more Bennelong professionals close behind, including former NRS leader Joseph Cooper as 4th. Title contender Sam Welsford (ACA) proved his awesome speed again, sprinting to line honours in the criterium and moving up to a strong 6th place in the GC. Will he climb even further with still bunch sprint opportunities to come?
The 12km timetrial obviously as the most important stage here: top favorite Cooper couldn't live up to his role and had to settle for a rather disappointing 8th place eventually. Just like Michael Vink (Brisbane) as 13th, he can't be happy with that. Opposing to Magennis as the big winner, who took the stage by one second ahead of Stuart Smith (InForm) and four seconds on Freiberg. A good effort from Keagan Girdlestone (Team Ultra) as 26th on the day, losing 27 seconds on the day's very best.
Notable crosswinds and a fast pace in the Wangaratta criterium would lead to a major split in the peloton, where just 66 riders were able to stay in the main group. A few of the best timetrial performers - like Stuart Smith, Sean Trainor (AMR) or Ben Dyball (St. George) - would lose two minutes eventually. Tough luck for former NRS leader Cyrus Monk (Drapac), who lost four minutes due to a late crash. The early break got caught right in time, with Luke Wight (SASI) as the last escapee being reeled in close to the bunch sprint decision. Australian Cycling Academy with another powerful train to dominate the sprint: Welsford took the stage ahead of teammate Cameron Scott and Scott Sunderland (Bennelong) completed the podium. Kerby a strong 4th, Girdlestone moving up to 12th in the GC thanks to a solid finish (15th) on the stage and the already mentioned split in the peloton.
An early best time from Stuart Smith lasted surprisingly long..
Michael Freiberg came close, but had to settle for a provisional 2nd place..
..and only one rider could eventually beat Smith: Liam Magennis!
Luke Wight with a late solo effort from the early break..
..empty-handed, as ACA's Scott leads the bunch sprint towards the finish..
..where his teammate and NRS title contender Sam Welsford sprints for line honours ahead of his teammate and a fast finishing Sunderland!
Welsford keeps to impress after his Great South Coast victory!
Thanks for the feedback, Tamijo! Indeed in striking distance, which doesn't happen too often when a time trial is decisive (I usually suck at TTs!)..
Tour of the King Valley Stages 3-4
KERBY WINS STRADE NERO STAGE AND THE FINAL GC
A narrow victory for Jordan Kerby (Brisbane) in the Tour of the King Valley, as he beats former race leader Liam Magennis (Drapac EF) by three seconds. Thanks to a powerful stage win in the 'Strade Nero Circuit' on third day, Kerby gained crucial bonifications to move past Magennis in the GC. Michael Freiberg (Bennelong) defended his podium result until the end, even though Sam Welsford (ACA) came close to finish as 4th in the final GC with only two seconds off the podium. Valuable and maybe unexpected points for Welsford, who might well take over the lead in the NRS rankings now.
A party hilly, partly flat 'Strade Nero' stage - with the famous dirt road sections - made the peloton go into pieces, with only about 40 riders left in the main group. No big attacks on the day though, but Kerby went clear from the bunch in the final couple of kilometres, eventually taking the stage in a dominant fashion. Sprinter Theodore Yates (Drapac EF) went to finish 2nd ahead of a strong Magennis, who still lost his GC lead to Kerby that way. A great day for Keagan Girdlestone (Team Ultra), who impressed as 4th on the stage - and with some riders being dropped from the main group, the young Kiwi would move up to 10th in the GC.
The final stage was again dominated by a strong Australian Cycling Academy's sprint setup: Cameron Scott took the stage ahead of Welsford and Yates. Welsford going up to 4th in the final GC and Kerby (5th on the day) easily secured his first GC-win in the NRS. Also Girdlestone did enough to finish safely in the main group, adding another notable GC result in his comeback campaign. Team Ultra Racing with a great race overall, with also Ian Talbot (14th) and Tristan Jones (15th) in the points scoring GC positions.
Kerby going clear late into the 'Strade Nero' stage..
..to take the stage in style and go up to 1st in the GC!
Yates beats Welsford for 2nd and Girdlestone impresses as 4th on the day!
ACA and Bennelong controlling the race in the tour concluding stage..
Cameron Scott leading the sprint, with Sunderland right behind him..
..despite a fast finish from Welsford, his teammate Scott holds on for line honours!
Jordan Kerby celebrating his first NRS race-win: some great four days for the Aussie here!
With 8 of 15 events done, we have yet another leader in the individual's ranking: Sam Welsford (ACA) has taken over the series lead from Chris Harper, who wasn't at the start in the Tour of the King Valley. Welsford had an awesome August: winning the Great South Coast Tour with three stage victories and adding another stage win in the most recently held Tour of the King Valley - adding an unexpectedly strong 4th place in the final GC. Probably a well needed result, since the sprinters only have two one day classics to left to fight for race victories. If everything goes as expected, of course.
The GC win in the King Valley made Jordan Kerby (Brisbane) move up from 7th to 2nd in the ranking, going past a Bennelong trio with Joseph Cooper, Chris Harper and Michael Freiberg. They are all still well within striking distance for the new series leader. Liam Magennis (Drapac EF) had a great tour as well, going up to 11th in the ranking as his team's second best scorer behind Cyrus Monk. The latter crashed out of any GC ambitiouns in the King Valley and will have to bounce back in the upcoming evens.
Bennelong SwissWellness already did bounce back from a rather disappointing Great South Coast: Australia's premium domestic cycling team might have missed out on the GC victory, but heavily scored through depth by finishing 3-5-6 in the final GC in the King Valley (280pts). Drapac EF (170pts) defended it's 2nd place against ACA (100pts). A nice points haul for Brisbane Continental Cycling (200pts) thanks to Kerby's GC victory. With Mobius - BridgeLane missing out on any points, that's the provisional 4th place for Brisbane now.
On Saturday 1 September 2018 the main street of Lorne will be closed for Amy’s Otway Tour Criterium, which commences at 3:00pm. Time bonuses awarded in the Criterium, which will carry forward to Amy’s Otway Tour, give the sprinters a chance to build a time buffer before tackling the climbs in the Otway Ranges on Sunday morning. Before the main field of Wiggle Amy’s Gran Fondo riders depart on Sunday 2 September 2018, Australia’s best male and female cyclists will take on the fully closed course for Amy’s Otway Tour.
Jordan Kerby (Brisbane) has to be considered on fire, as he just secured his second consecutive GC-victory by the small margin of just one second ahead of runner-up and teammate Ryan Thomas, with Sam Crome (Bennelong) completing the podium. Kerby sprinted to 3rd in the opening, quite selective criterium, and to 4th in the hilly loop alongside the Great Ocean Road. NRS leader Sam Welsford (ACA) though did everything to defend the series lead, as he added another stage win to his palmares in the opening crit, eventually finishing as still a respectable 10th in the final GC after surviving the challenging Lorne Road Race in the peloton.
Welsford, who entered the two-days tour with a 75pts advantage over Kerby in the NRS ranking, just can't stop winning stages: his victory in the Lorne Criterium was his fifth stage win in the previous month. The fast criterium was ridden hard, with crosswinds adding a further challenge. The peloton was blown into pieces in the bell lap, leaving just 25 riders in the first group. Bad news for some main GC contenders/puncheurs, as they would lose 41 seconds against the the leading group, where mainly sprinters and roleurs gained some valuable and unexpected time.
A few GC favorites did finish in the first group however: Freiberg, Crome, Harper (Bennelong) and Lane as maybe the biggest names - Keagan Girdlestone and Ian Talbot (Team Ultra Racing) did well to finish with the group, too.
The key stage one day later then: Cyrus Monk (who didn't finish in the first group on the previous day) initiated the big attacks from 10km outside the finish. The peloton once again going into pieces, but a few of the best sprinters (including GC leader Welsford) fought hard to hang on with the main group. Monk couldn't escape on first hand, but he was part of a 9-men-group, that went clear on the final climb, holding on to a half a minute advantage on the pack (50 riders) on the long descent down to Lorne. Half of the group did finish the opening criterium in the leading group and while Monk easily sprinted to a nice stage victory, it was Kerby, who did benefit from his two strong performances to take the overall victory ahead of his teammate Thomas, who crossed the line as 2nd in the final stage. Talbot/Girdlestone finished inside the Top-30 on the day, yet losing 52 seconds just like Welsford - dropping to 20th and 21st in the final GC.
The bunch sprint in the opening criterium through Lorne..
NRS leader Sam Welsford adds yet another victory to his palmares: on fire!
Bennelong and Drapac trying to pull the peloton into pieces..
..until a leading group with 9 riders went clear on the final climbs..
Monk goes clear from the group, as he enters the finish in Lorne..
..and he takes another stage-win this season, Thomas comes 2nd!
GC leader Welsford finishes in the next group, losing 52 seconds..
Jordan Kerby's 4th place on the day is enough to take a narrow GC victory ahead of his teammate Thomas! His second consecutive GC win after already winning the King Valley Tour last week.
@Tamijo: Unfortunately, yes. Otway didn't exactly go bad, but that loss in the second stage hurts. Keagan simply couldn't follow that strong group..
@sutty: Brisbane, yes. Indeed some great results recently.
National Capital Tour Preview
The National Capital Tour is in its sixth year and the tour is building on a successful format with the re-introduction of old courses, still including a very tough time trial and a Criterium on a purpose built Criterium circuit at the world class Stromlo Forest Park. A brand new stage three features a loop through Canberra before the riders face the Black Mountain and Mount Ainslie ascents - and on the second day, the key stage up Corin Forest is back on the schedule after not being raced last season.
Former NRS winner Patrick Bevin is the record winner of the race, obviously not amongst the starters this season. Three straight victories for New Zealand riders, as rising star Robert Stannard won the GC last year.
MAWDITT WINS ON CORIN FOREST, BUT EVANS LEADS THE GC
Will Mobius - BridgeLane repeat last year's GC victory, when Robert Stannard proved his huge talent for a thrilling win at the Capital Tour? Alexander Evans (Mobius) at least is on a good way, but the GC battle is still very close with stage-two winner Lionel Mawditt (InForm) just 9 seconds off as 2nd. Sam Crome (Bennelong) had two good days, finishing a strong runner-up in the opening timetrial, currently completing the podium with 19 seconds behind Evans. Joseph Cooper (Bennelong) unsurprisingly took out the hilly timetrial in Googong, losing time up the Corin Forest summit finish on the second day though.
NRS leader Jordan Kerby (Brisbane) was a non-factor so far and so Cooper's timetrial victory was well needed to keep himself in the title contention. Crome a strong 2nd with just 3 seconds lost, Ben Dyball (St. George) put himself in a great GC position as 3rd in the timetrial. A great day for Team Ultra Racing, which had three riders in the Top-15: Tristan Jones the strongest as 10th, Ian Talbot 12th and Keagan Girdlestone did well to finish as 15th on the day (losing 19 seconds on Cooper).
The crucial mountain stage up Corin Forest as the queen stage then: up and coming Evans as the first favorite to attack with still 10km to go. The young gun openend up a 30 seconds gap quickly and with 6.5km to go, a first chasing group with 9 riders was built: Crome, Dyball, Cooper, Mawditt in this group, where also Chris Harper (Bennelong), Cyrus Monk/James Whelan (Drapac), Freddy Ovett (ACA) and Angus Lyons (Mobius) made a crucial break from the more and more reduced peloton. Talbot as Team Ultra's best, riding a few seconds behind this first chasing group, but well ahead of the next groups.
Evans kept going strong, but Mawditt managed to bridge across the solo leader about 4km before the finish. At this point, the group of favorites had gone into pieces: Cooper, Harper, Ovett and (surprisingly) Dyball struggling to follow group Crome, Whelan/Monk, Lyons! Mawditt though joined Evans and took a narrow victory from the two-men sprint to the line. Whelan and Crome would finish next, 30 seconds down on the leading duo. Dyball lost 1'38 eventually, Harper/Cooper couldn't really benefit from a good timetrial, losing 2'24 on this day. Talbot a strong 8th on the stage, while Girdlestone had to settle for 25th with almost five minutes lost.
Ben Dyball rode a strong timetrial, finishing 3rd behind a Bennelong duo..
..of which Joseph Cooper had the better end against Sam Crome: stage win!
Alex Evans going clear from the bunch with still 10km to go up Corin Forest..
Cooper suffers on the climb and gets dropped from the first chasing group..
..his compatriot Ian Talbot the best of the rest, climbing steadily to a good 8th place at the end of the day!
Mawditt joined solo leader Evans 4km before finish, they kick off the sprint..
Mawditt takes the queen stage, but Evans leads the GC by 9 seconds!
Only 1 second and Talbot could move into the Top 10. Evans lead isn't safe with one more hilly stage to go either, although Talbot may be out of reach.
