@Manx: The Tasmanian Devil is actually a quite cool nickname for Earle! We've two no (Ian's Early and your's devil). I might "steal"/use them for the news sections from now on
@Ian: He is!
@baia: Maybe not a machine, but he's delivering in Tasmania! Maybe he's the "mailman" Norris, yes. You did!
@sutty: Yap! Williams looked strong and aware of those first dangerous attacks!
Tour of Tasmania (Day 3, Crit + Mountain, 92km)
The third day kicks off with a criterium in Westbury and will conclude with the queen stage: a 92km race from Hagley to Great Lake, with the final 20km going uphill! A tough day in the mountains of Tasmania!
STAGE 3 - WESTBURY CRITERIUM/
The crit - featuring a slight uphill finishing stretch - was expected to suit the more "punchier" type of riders like..
..Robbie Hucker (Drapac)?! Well, it's his second criterium-victory this year, so as the pure sprinters struggled today, it may not be the biggest surprise. Cameron (Caterpillar) and Anderson (Budget) grab the remaining bonus seconds to complete the podium.
STAGE 4 - HAGLEY TO GREAT LAKE/
Time for the second mountain stage and we can expect the GC to change again today!
We're already entering the final 21km - it's going uphill from now on! Marshall (Satalyst) attacks the bunch, trying to catch up to an early breakaway group of 6 riders.
Marshall is definitely a good climber, but is more than three minutes behind in GC..
12km remaining and while Marshall caught up to the two last remaining escapees - Dever (Target) and Szollosi (ProTeamDU, last year's 4th here in Tasmania) - Hucker is the first top-favorite to launch his move:
so he obviously is in great shape today after taking out the crit a few hours ago! Being 9th in GC (+ 1.37) he's also a real threat.
And here goes Earle as well! He quickly tries to jump behind Hucker, with Carman (Downer EDI) and a few more riders also following..
Those attacks lead to the escaping group being swallowed by the favorites and with now 9km remaining, a group of 5 riders established a 38"-gap on the bunch (61 riders left):
Hucker, Earle, Carman, Spencer (Charter Mason) and race-leader Williams (Budget)!
The group has to fight hard to defend this gap, but with now less than 3kms remaining, they are still in the lead:
with Martin (2nd, + 0.35)
Smith (3rd, + 0.51)
Anderson (5th, + 1.11)
Norris (6th, + 1.14)
Clements (7th, + 1.31) at 0.32
E3 (5)/
with Cameron (8th, + 1.34) at 1.48
P (31)/
with Nelson (4th, + 0.58)
Taylor (10th, + 1.41) at 2.13
So some Top-10-riders like Nelson, Taylor (somehow expected) and Cameron may lose minutes today and especially Hucker and Earle may not only fight for the stage but also to hold the chasing group off to gain valuable seconds!
Less than a kilometre to go and it looks good for the leading five! Hucker in the leading position with Earle at his wheel..
Hucker completes a double! After taking out the crit, he also wins the road race today! Wow, what a day for Drapac's captain!
Earle with another great result as 2nd ahead of Carman and GC-leader Williams! This will be two more points towards the NRS rankings for Earle, by the way.
The bunch with several GC-contenders finishes 34" later and a second group with Cameron 1'55"! So there will be some notable changes in the GC.
First of all, the most important news for Budget's fans: race-leader Williams once again hang on with the strongest group of the day (and Earle), defending his comfortable lead in the GC!
Martin managed to defend his 2nd as well, while today's strongest Hucker jumps onto 3rd (+ 1.25)! Smith with the same time as 4th ahead of Earle! The Tasmanian already finds himself in the Top-5 (+ 1.42), so left some more opponents behind today!
Anderson, Norris not too far behind though.. Carman's effort made him earn a Top-10-spot by now, but a Budget-trio with Cupitt is close behind.
Following the TTT it was a case of damage limitation for Early, and so far that is going perfectly. Expect him to climb one or two more places even if the GC win is seemingly out of reach
@Manx: You may be right here. Williams looked to strong so far, defending his lead easily. But if Earle continues like that, yes, he may climb even further.
@baia: Williams is indeed impressive. Let's see if Earle will do some damage to Budget/Williams in the last couple of stages though
Tour of Tasmania (Day 4, Crit + Hilly, 77km)
The fourth and maybe "easiest" day in Tasmania: a flat crit is followed by a short hilly stage, where the most challenging climb seems to be too far from the finish to make for a selective race.
But of course you never know what happens and if we have strong crosswinds, things will become tricky.
STAGE 5 - ULVERSTONE CRITERIUM/
The sprinter-teams took control of the race in the day's opening crit and so the breakaway had no chance:
Jordan Kerby (Budget) with a nice win thanks to an extraordinary fast finish! Donnelly (Huon) and Grenda (Tasmania) complete the podium with other top-sprinters like Giacoppo (16th) or Davison (19th) totally failing to score valuable points towards the NRS rankings!
STAGE 6 - ULVERSTONE TO PENGUIN/
5 riders broke clear early in the road race and established a 4'30" with now 37km remaining. Some well known names try their luck in this stage, that was won by an escaping group last season:
Crawford (Huon, as GC's best - 39th, + 5.47)
Will Clarke (Caterpillar)
Rendall (African Wildlife)
Cooke (Satalyst) and
Kaesler (Euride)
So especially last year's 2nd Crawford will hope for at least a stage-success, same goes for Clarke, who's searching for a spot on a NRS-team for 2015!
But it's Rendall, who attacks this breakaway - for the second time - now with 6km to go! Does he stand a chance?
The peloton did just enough to narrow the gap to about 3 minutes, so there's no real danger for race-leader Williams..
Rendall is caught by his breakaway companions, who now kick off the sprint here in Penguin!
Craig Cooke takes it! A close finish and a great victory for Cooke ahead of Clarke and Kaesler. The bunch crosses the line 2'41" later, so Budget looked in total control of that gap.
So except of Crawford jumping onto 14th place in GC (+ 2.59) there were no notable changes in the GC today.
Williams still leads by a minute on local hero Martin and other top-favorites like Hucker or Earle are likely to wait for the final hilly crit in Devonport.
Hucker with two stage wins, pretty great. Unfortunate that he couldn't keep the lead though, but being 3rd overall is pretty great too for him. Edited by Shonak on 05-01-2014 14:05
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
@Ian: Well, "hours".. 20 seconds actually But I agree, he looks extraordinary strong so far!
@FreitasPCM: You may be right! And nice to see you stopping by here
@Mig: New favorite rider?
@baia/sutty: A nice race to follow four our Budget-boys
@Shonak: Hucker did very very well, yet again! Gotta love his aggressive and succesful racing in the last couple of weeks!
Tour of Tasmania (Day 5, flat and hilly crits)
Final day in Tasmania and we've two stages remaining: a flat crit in Burnie is followed by a Kermesse in Devonport - the last chance to attack race-leader Williams!
STAGE 7 - BURNIE CRITERIUM/
A group of 8 escapees (no real threat for the GC) was allowed to stay clear in the criterium, finishing 1'10" ahead of the bunch, so the pure sprinters once again failed to score points here.
Hardy Michel (Charter Mason) took the line honours ahead of Aitkin (Jayco) and Kent-Spark (search2) thanks to a late solo-effort!
STAGE 8 - DEVONPORT KERMESSE/
The hilly crit race in Devonport promises a more interesting race - will anyone be able to attack race-leader Williams?
Two riders went clear early (Cooper, Chapman) and now (14km remaining) GC's 6th Jack Anderson attacks the bunch! Is he going to aim for taking the race-lead from teammate Williams? Or putting pressure on the GC's Top-5?
GC's 5th Earle tries to answer immediately! He attacked on the same climb (two remaining), accompanied by Taylor (GPM)! The race is going to be interesting now!
Of course more riders have to react now: Norris (GC's 7th) went as next and is now followed by GC-leader Williams!
Earle and Anderson catch up to the early escapees, which could be a slight advantage for Earle with his mate Cooper at his side now:
E1 (4)/ Earle, Anderson, Cooper, Chapman
E2 (2)/ Williams, Norris at 0.47
E3 (1)/ Wood at 0.59
P (108)/ with Hucker, Smith, Martin, Cupitt at 1.20
So the pressure is one race-leader Williams to defend his gap on Earle/Anderson, and also the GC's Top-4 (Martin, Smith, Hucker) should fear the duo now!
Only 4km remaining and the leading group still holds on to a decent gap. So time to check the GC-standings of the rider's involved:
E1/
Earle (GC's 5th, + 1.42)
Anderson (6th, + 1.45)
Cooper/Chapman
E2/
Williams (race-leader)
Norris (GC's 7th, + 1.48) at 0.47
P/
Martin (GC's 2nd, + 1.09)
Smith (4th, + 1.25)
Hucker (3rd, + 1.25) at 1.04
So first of all, it's going to be a close decision between Anderson and Earle (bonus seconds may become crucial).. Williams still in a rather comfortable position as he's defending his jersey right now.. Hucker, Martin and Smith in trouble losing their Top-4-positions though!
Back to the front, where Anderson goes all-in and attacks the leading group! The early escapees can't follow and also Earle is a few bike lengths behind..
..and so he is at the finish, as Jack Anderson takes another stage-win for Budget! Earle with a good 2nd though: more points towards the NRS rankings and also a huge chance to step onto the podium in GC!
The bunch with race-leader Williams and GC's 2nd Martin and 3rd Hucker finishes 1'09" later, so he will see some major changes in the GC for sure.
Marc Williams defends his lead! He looked in trouble today, but fought hard to take the overall win of the Tour of Tasmania 2014!
Anderson makes it a 1-2 for Budget in the final GC! And Earle climbs onto 3rd today. Great news for both. Earle proved that he will be a deserved NRS champion (if he claims the title), fighting his way back to the top after a horrible opening stage here!
Martin with a great 4th ahead of Hucker, who once again did well. Smith, Norris, another local hero in Clements, Carman and Budget's Cupitt complete the Top-10!
Hmm...
I feel Earle should've won this, but still it's a podium.
Budget was stronger as a team after all. Though Earle was almost a one-man army himself
That was the ride of a Champion from Earle. No-one was near him after the TTT. He is a true fighter.
Now just got to hope the classics can deliver him those final points to wrap it all up.
Great showing from Budget though, really going to help them in the teams competition
@Ian: Earle might have deserved more, but also Williams (or Anderson) did a very good job here afterall. So it's a well deserved podium for all three
@Manx: Earle definitely showed why he would be a true champion, yes! With only one hilly classic remaining, this looks good now. Will post the updated rankings later today!
@sutty: 1-2 for Budget, indeed that looks fine for you
@all: As always, some more screens from the latest event in Tasmania..
African Wildlife Safaris in the opening TTT..
Euride Racing climbing the Mt Wellington, losing minutes..
Charter Mason in the TTT.. a tough climb it is!
The peloton chasing in the first road race..
A small leading group prepares for the sprint..
Attacking group in the queen stage..
And a 5-men-group fights to stay in the lead..
Craig Cooke (Satalyst) celebrates his stage-win in Penguin..
Is this it? Earle (15 points) was the big winner of the recently held Tour of Tasmania and now leads by 9 points on O'Brien. With three more or less flat and only only hilly one day classics remaining (7 points will be rewarded for a win), it ain't looking good for O'Brien, who needs to score unexpected points in those three flat classics.
Hucker (12 pts), Anderson (14) and Williams (12) were the other big scorers in Tasmania and so Hucker jumps onto the podium for now! So this battle for the podium (also O'Brien ain't safe as 2nd) might (!) be most thrilling for the remaining races.. we shouldn't count off Davison though, as he could score those 10 points he needs to take a podium-spot, too.
In the team's competition, Budget (22 pts) saw a massive points haul, re-taking the 2nd spot behind future team-champions Huon (17).. will Drapac (12) be able to fight back? A tough challenge, as Budget is known as a real force on those one day races!
One good race from Earle and it's a done deal for the title. O'Brien is gonna have to do something truly special to win now.
Hucker vs Haig should nice to watch as well. But you can't rule out Anderson or Davison from 4th or 5th. Then there is VdP, and we all know what he can do! Even Giacoppo in 8th isn't out of the podium fight with three flat classics to go!
So thats a 6 man fight for the NRS podium! Goddamn it's gonna be an exciting end.
I'd say Budget have edged the team ranking now. 2nd place looks very likely from then, with some only a super impressive Drapac couple of races in their way.
Manx, as always, i'm really enjoying your analysis and predictions for the last races and possible battles in the rankings! Pretty much what i would say, too, this time
Earle seems to have sealed it, yes. Even though, anything is possible, i don't expect special things from O'Brien in the flat classics (he will ride all of them, btw). Tasmania has proven to be owned by the Tasmanian Devil Early!
As for the teams, Budget definitely delivered in time. Those 10 more points than Drapac were huge and given that the classics reward less points, Drapac now would have to
crush the competition.. Last year, though, Budget dominated those races
Great race, 1-2 and 10th in GC.. J.Anderson.. don´t forget that name, he will be the star on those last flat classics... Budget will win Teams Rankings.
Some really nice pics mate.
@baia: Thanks for the words on the screens, mate And congrats to this great result for your boys. Anderson should be able to do somethings in the flat classics, yes. But that said, he will only ride one of them (Shipwreck)! But Budget has several strong riders there, like Wohler, who won this Shipwreck classic last year! Not sure about the win of the team rankings though
@all: I will go for a rather high pace now for the remaining NRS races! So expect the next event being kicked off (and reported) tomorrow!
Norris, yes. You did!
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
.. Earle is good for the show but bad for Budget.. 
