@sutty: Tough challenge with O'Brien on a new team, but good luck
North West Tour (Preview #2)
The startlist/
*For some reason the startlist is limited to 16 teams. Don't know why, it should have been 20/21.. anyone knows this problem?
Most notable riders skipping this race/
Earle (Huon), Anderson (Budget), Will Walker (Drapac), Semple (Satalyst), Gillett (African), Wurf (Subway)
The Top-favorites/
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_OBrien_zpsd0ff84f7.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Mark O'Brien (Euride Racing) Key stats/ MO 74, HI 72, TT 68
O'Brien has yet another chance to complete a "hattrick" after winning the first two editions of the NWT. He dominated the race in 2013 and looked strong recently!
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Clark_zps49aa474c.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Matthew Clark (Drapac) Key stats/ MO 73, HI 70, TT 68
He has proved his climbing skills more than once and should stand a good chance to repeat his Top-5 from last year. He's aiming for more though: the win!
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Cupitt_zpsc4e56da6.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Michael Cupitt (Budget Forklifts) Key stats/ MO 72, HI 71, TT 68
Last year's 2nd is likely to lead the Budget-team this year. With Karl Evans and VRS-leader Josh Prete, it's a quite decent climbing squad. A chance for another 1-2-3?
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Norris_zpsd23d82ed.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Lachlan Norris (Jayco - Honey Shotz) Key stats/ MO 72, HI 71, TT 67
Known as a good climber and top motivated after a great start for his team into the new season, Norris is expected to go for a podium at least. It's possible!
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Haig_zps8d12cd78.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Jack Haig (Huon Salmon - Genesys) Key stats/ MO 70, HI 73, TT 72
No Earle this time, but Haig (currently sitting on 3rd in the NRS) should be amongst the strongest anyway. Not a premium climber like O'Brien, but the TT suits him.
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Crawford_zpsb32504c2.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Jai Crawford (Huon Salmon - Genesys) Key stats/ MO 73, HI 68, TT 66
After Earle and Haig both crashed here last season, Crawford finally got the chance to lead Huon. He delivered as 4th and is definitely a premium climber in the NRS.
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_JSpencer_zps366b3227.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Jason Spencer (Charter Mason) Key stats/ MO 70, HI 68, TT 67
One of the most promising climbers in Australia could surprise here and he has a quite good support in Katsounis and also Preston Mountain Classic-winner Crome.
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Bayly_zps7babefc2.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Cameron Bayly (search2retain) Key stats/ MO 70, HI 70, TT 67
After a strong showing in Toowoomba, Bayly should be search2's leader here in the mountainous NWT. A decent climber and also strong in short TT's..
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Clements_zps063236f6.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Alex Clements (Pure Tasmania) Key stats/ MO 71, HI 68, TT 69
Hasn't shown much of his potential this season, but Clements is definitely worth a mention: he's a talented climber and should finish high on the queen stage.
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Marshall_zps47dfa78d.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Matthew Marshall (Satalyst) Key stats/ MO 70, HI 68, TT 61
Without Semple or Paul Van der Ploeg, he's expected to lead the squad here. If he limits his losses in the TT, Marshall can do something special when it shape!
Pre-race comments/
[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Hucker_zps910367a9.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]Robbie Hucker (Drapac) "We need to show something here, as this race suits our Matt Clark or also Darren Lapthorne quite well. If we want to attack both Huon and Budget, this is the perfect time to start! Maybe I'll have a chance, too. Who knows?"
@all: I wasn't at home today and instead of writing the first report for the North West Tour, I was more in the mood to play all the stages first So maybe no report today, sorry guys. Stay tuned anyway!
@sutty: Indeed just "a nice bit" of it though, as I also managed to write up the first report just a few minutes ago
North West Tour (Day 1, 8.5km ITT + Flat Criterium)
The North West Tour (NWT) kicks off with a prologue-style ITT and a flat criterium, both held on same day.. The timetrial ain't too long, but given that the 4th stage will be the crucial one, a climber with good TT-skills could gain valuable seconds today!
Narrabri ITT/
Sprinter Scott Law (GPM) set the first promising BT, beating the likes of Donnelly (Huon), Kerby (Budget), Van der Ploeg (search2) or even Carpenter (Euride)! That's definitely something:
new BT - 10'21"!
Kiwi Joe Cooper (Huon) is one of today's top-favorites and does better than the mentioned names:
new BT - 10'19"! A small gap, but the expected lead.
Veteran Mark Jamieson (Target) already won a TT against Cooper this season and he's delivering once again.. but also for the win?
new 2nd! Only 2" on Cooper, who takes out the first stage!
Most of the most promising GC-contenders finished within similar times, about 10" behind Cooper.. surprisingly, Bayly (search2) and O'Brien (Euride) already gained two seconds on Haig (Huon), but of course it's only small gaps.
Narrabri Criterium/
The day continues with a crit - business as usual for the upcoming events in the NRS!
After a first breakaway group had been caught quite early into the race, it's Trent Carman (Downer EDI) with a solo-attempt 12km before finish!
And he makes it! Surprisingly, he's "allowed" to finish ahead of the bunch. Definitely the biggest win for the team in the past two years at least!
The bunch sprint is won by Kerrison (Budget), who took out this crit a year ago, ahead of Law (GPM). They finish 46" behind Carman though..
Carman will wear the leader-shirt for at least one day! He lost 44" in the opening TT, but managed to hold on to a gap that made him take the race-lead!
He's now 28" ahead of top-favorite O'Brien and ain't the worst climber (69), too. Still one rather easy hilly stage remaining before the queen stage will be held.
@sutty: Jessy may have another chance in the next stage, just check it out
North West Tour (Stage 3, Hill/Flat, 106km)
A hilly, but rather easy stage from Bingara to Narrabri, it's a rather tricky one though. Several short climbs and difficulties may lead to an unexpected outcome, even though the pure sprinters may well be at the front of the bunch when a sprint kicks off.
Same story as yesterday: a rather big breakaway group is caught already halfway through the race and again we have a solo-attempt after that.
Stuart Smith (search2retain) gives it a try and is allowed to go for a decent gap.
28km remaining and as the peloton enters today's last real difficulty, a group of 7 riders tries to jump behind Smith, who leads by 2'10" on the pack:
Marshall (Satalyst)
Spencer (Charter Mason) and
Melville (GPM)
are the most notable names here, quite decent climbers, who lost some seconds in the ITT: same goes for Smith, by the way.
Smith, who actually was one of the worst in the timetrial (GC's 93rd, + 1.10), fights for his chance to gain some seconds back:
with 13km to go, he still leads solo, 37" on the chasing group and 1'10" on the peloton!
And yes, it's another solo-victory here in the North West! Stuart Smith managed to hold off the bunch, an impressive race!
The chasing group couldn't stay clear, so it's almost the entire peloton finishing 34" behind Smith:
Law (GPM) and Davison (Drapac) complete today's podium, so clearly another missed opportunity for those sprinters to go for line honours..
Trent Carman remains in the GC-lead, even though Law narrowed the gap to 3" only - a stage-win for the latter would have brought the lead.
But so it's Carman, who enters the queen stage as the race-leader. Known as a decent climber, does he stand a chance against the big guns?
In other news, Smith jumped onto GC's 9th (+ 0.21) thanks to his effort today. He's actually the best-placed climber (MO 70) behind Carman, so a quite important change. Also, will search2retain now change the leadership or still go for Bayly (+ 0.28)? Just one of several interesting questions for tomorrow's tough mountain stage!
@admirschleck: Don't worry about O'Brien. He is actually quite well placed, as only a few good climbers are ahead in GC and the next mountain stage should lead to major changes there!
@Froome: Agree! Would be good for the rankings, if O'Brien stays within reach for Earle.
@sutty: Close sprint for second place, yes. But again a missed opportunity for the sprinters to grab the win.
@Ian: Thanks, mate. I have to say, that I'm pretty happy with the gameplay, too! The DB seems to fit into Cya-logic
Can already say that the next stage was really interesting, too! Maybe one of the most thrilling mountains i have followed so far!
The crucial stage of the North West Tour: a tough hilltop-finish at Siding Springs, which is more like a mountain, actually.. Defending NWT-champion Mark O'Brien is one of today's favorites, while Huon-Genesys may go for either Jack Haig or Jai Crawford, who finished as 4th here in 2013.
And of course the biggest question, wether race-leader Trent Carman will compete with those very best?
It's raining - like last year, where Jack Haig crashed on slicky roads - and the first half of the stage saw several bigger groups trying to build a succesfull breakaway.
We're already 40km before finish and two groups with several quite notable names merge for a 13-men-break, leading by 2'20" on the peloton:
Crawford (Huon, last year's 4th)
Evans (Budget, last year's 3rd)
Britten (search2) and
Elliott (Target)
are the most prominent names here, some very good climbers and therefore a dangerous attempt!
And the action is on, way earlier than we could expect! 33km to go and we see more top-favorites trying to attack:
O'Brien (Euride) gave it go as first, followed by
Clark (Drapac)
Dyball (Huon)
Cupitt (Budget) and also race-leader
Carman (Downer EDI) jump behind quickly!
This may become one of the most thrilling races this year, if the action continues like that!
The few top-teams not being involved so far (Charter Mason, Satalyst) pulled this serious attempt back, but we see more attacks with now 25km to go:
Clark (Drapac) went as first now, followed by
Crawford (Huon)
O'Brien (Euride) and again
Carman (Downer EDI)!
The breakaway group was swallowed by the bunch (with is down to 50 riders already) in the meantime, so it's a perfect setup for the favorites to make for a great race!
Again no luck for those attacks and with now 11km to go, the race settles for the first time in 20km..
..anyway, the attacking won't stop, as Sam Welsord (Satalyst) launched his move at the bottom of today's tough finishing climb!
He's 30" ahead of a group with 9 riders, including several favorites, with the bunch being another 20" behind.
Of course this wouldn't be the last attack - so let's fire away with more action:
Dyball
O'Brien and
Carman try to escape from the chasing bunch (which caught the 9-men-group in the meantime)!
9km remaining and solo-leader Welsord leads by 32" on Dyball/O'Brien and a brave fighting Carman.
It's a hell of climb, featuring slopes up to 12% now with 7.5km to go..
Welsord at the front, Dyball/O'Brien 21" behind.. race-leader Carman couldn't follow those two, he's 56" in arrears by now. And in between, yesterday's solo-winner Stuart Smith (search2)!
6km remaining and no more attacks - wow! Solo-escapee Welsord is joined by the three riders behind, so let's have a look at the race-situation now:
E1 (4)/
Smith (search2)
Dyball (Huon)
O'Brien (Euride)
Welsord (Satalyst)
Back in the bunch (3 minutes behind) are more favorites like Evans, Crawford or Norris, who won't stand a chance today!
And a few moments later, race-leader Carman suffers from his efforts! He's dropped by the chasing group and won't defend the jersey. Still, he did well and fought hard.
Back to the front. 3km to go and it's still a thrilling race:
Smith attacks the leading group, where Welsord couldn't follow anymore!
In the meantime, Drapac's Hucker managed to bridge the gap and joined Dyball/O'Brien.. the first bigger chasing group with Cupitt and Clark is one minute behind.
And what an attack by Smith here: yesterday's stage-winner and 9th in GC seems to be in awesome shape!
Neither O'Brien nor Dyball couldn't counter his attack and Smith already leads by 47" with now only 2km to go!
The next group is 1'31" behind, so no within reach anymore.. will Smith manage to hold off top-favorite O'Brien?
He will, he did! Stuart Smith wins the second stage in a row and this win today is definitely the biggest in his career. He crushes the competition thanks to a well-timed and absolutely outstanding attack 3km before finish.
Wow, just wow. This is definitely a surprising, but well deserved winner!
48" later, Hucker managed to sprint for 2nd, ahead of Dyball and defending North West-winner O'Brien, who couldn't answer this strong move by Smith.
Cupitt, Clark and Spencer come in 1'37" behind Smith, while Haig loses more than 3 minutes as 12th..
With only one (flat) stage left, Stuart Smith took the race-lead from Carman. He leads by 1'03" on O'Brien and Dyball! Ain't looking bad for an unexpected GC-win!
Hucker (4th) and Clark (6th) may score some good points for Drapac, even though Clark was expected to finish with the very best today. Cupitt 5th, so Budget most probably won't score a back-to-back win here.
Points dropped by O'Brien frankly... Now Dyball is not that bad on the flat and could jump O'Brien, which would be big news for Huon and Earle...
And Huon are always in the mix! Seriously how do they do it!
Great result for Smith and search2, really going to help them in the team competition
@Ian: You may be right about all eyes on O'Brien, but i guess another reason was the action-packed race with the favorites attacking already 30km before finish. Which was great to watch btw
@Manx: If Dyball steals those points from O'Brien, well, that would be huge indeed! Actually, he already helped Earle by finishing ahead of O'Brien in that last stage. Minor points, but maybe crucial?-
And as for Huon being everywhere... Yes, they do have a great team and somehow manage to be in the mix for the win quite often, even without Earle or Haig, who struggled here.
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
