Pinktay3 wrote:
J. Cantwell from the Melbourne team... As in the Johhny Cantwell? Of Saxo Bank?

sammyt93 wrote:
Is Drapac's A Rusli the same one that I signed for Sauber?

tsmoha wrote:


Ups, yes. It seems so. It will be his only race for Drapac then

And thanks, miggi!

Mt Baw Baw Alpine Ressort Classic - Report

Best weather conditions and the toughest Australian climb - what else can you ask for?

The Baw Baw Classic is a perfect preparation for some of the National Road Series-teams and favorites: Nathan Earle and his team Huon Salmon-Genesys or other top-teams like Drapac (Darren Lapthorne) or Budget Forklifts (Karl Evans) will hope for some early season success in the opening event (of six) in the Victoria State Road Series.



5 riders broke clear from the 73-men-bunch early and succesfully built the break of the day:

Riley Maule (Data#3)
Jonathon Clarke (search2retain)
Clay Murfet (Park Tren Team)
Nicholas D'Ambrosio (Target Trek - not yet riding in their new shirt)
Nicholas Squillari (African Wildlife)



The five faced a hilly profile for the first 90km of racing. But would they manage to stay clear til the final climb up the Mt Baw Baw?



Strong teams like Drapac and Budget Forklifts did most of the work in the chase. A tough challenge for the escapees.



Huon Salmon-Genesys later joined Drapac and Budget. Their mission was "easy": help Nathan Earle taking out his 4th win at Baw Baw!



The finish-climb within sight, Genesys pulled the strings hard to pull back the early escapees.



A great scenario for the fans of tough climbs: just at the bottom of the Baw Baw (9km remaining), a group of 7 top-favorites attacked the bunch:

Nathan Earle (Genesys)
Karl Evans (Budget)
Darren Lapthorne (Drapac)
Rhys Gillett (African Wildlife)
Nathan Elliott (Target Trek)
Matthew Gassner (Veneziano)
Casey Munro (Park Trent)

This move was decisive, as the other favorites like Timothy Roe (Euride) failed to react and wouldn't stand a chance to catch up later.



A great fight up this brutal climb: Darren Lapthorne tried to attack the group of favorites with 5km to go.

This group easily dropped the early escapees once they were caught. Lapthorne, Earle and Evans appeared to be the strongest, dropping their attacking companions also.



Nathan Earle and Karl Evans were in total control, as Lapthorne's attack was empty-handed. The three faced slopes up to 20%.



And with the "flamme rouge" approaching, Earle got himself a small gap! Lapthorne suffered earlier, and also Evans couldn't follow the hard pacing Earle anymore!



Yes! Nathan Earle takes out the 2013 Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort Classic, his 4th win here! What a start to the season for Earle, who will try to win the National Road Series after finishing 7th last year.

Nathan Elliott and Casey Munro managed to drop "blogger" Rhys Gillett for 4th and 5th place, while the early escapees could finish ahead of a slowed down bunch, scoring some valuable points for the Victoria State Road Series rankings.

"Guys, what a day. Anything that had been said about the Baw Baw is true, but nothing's as real as to climb this beast against great climbers like Nathan Earle or Darren Lapthorne! Like I said prior to the classic, my goal was to fight for the win and I felt good. The decisive move happened early in the final climb and I joined a group of seven, who dropped the bunch and took the lead."



"But I can tell you: this slopes feel like hell once your legs start to suffer! Earle, Lapthorne and Karl Evans paced so hard, that 5km before finish, me and guys like Nathan Elliott or Casey Munro couldn't follow anymore. Unfortunately, I might have burned my legs too early, as I also got dropped by those two later and so I have to be pleased with my 6th place.

It's definitely a good start to the Victoria State Road Series anyway, as I don't expect guys like Nathan or Darren to race every event here.. so it ain't looking too bad. I'll now focus on the NRS's opening event in Tasmania, the Mersey Valley Tour, before the second Victoria-race in Warrnambool (Tour of the South West). See you there!"

Jakstar22 wrote:
Actually. Maxime is making a Mt Baw Baw stage for the TDU for my Hesjedal story, along with a TT and hill stages. Should be great

tsmoha wrote:


Of course this can be fun! I was only referring to the fact, that i don't expect the TDU to become mountainous in the ManGame, as well irl but for a story, why not?