Last day of the ManGame-debut for the Bay Classic Series in Australia. The series concludes with a flat criterium in Williamstown, from where you have a beautiful view on Downtown Melbourne.
Big favorite for today is Chris Sutton, who already won the first two races and seems to be in best shape of all participants. His compatriots Leigh Howard and Simon Clarke looked strong in both sprint-finishes, while others like Wes Sulzberger or Graeme Brown had constant outputs as well.
Howard, Brown, Simon Clarke and yesterday's surprising winner Lachlan Morton remain the only riders, who could overtake Sutton in GC, who would have to fail completely though (or finish 8th if Howard takes the win here).
Jonathon Tiernan-Locke and Shaun Higgerson (Orica) broke free from the pack early today and with one lap being raced, the two are accompanied by Damien Howson (Risa), Josh Atkins (NZL) and yesterday's 7th Meyin Wang (Champion System), who seems to be willing to attack the GC's Top-10 in this final criterium.
With 28km remaining, a handful of more riders attack the peloton, trying to catch up to the leading five: Nathan Earle (UniSA), Joseph Cooper (NZL) and Yukiya Arashiro (JAP), who doesn't seem to trust his sprint-abilities here in the Bay Classics. It's as chaotic as is had been in all of the flat crits here, which is great for the spectators..
..the ones to suffer are the early escapees (once again): halfway through the race, the first group has already been swallowed by the pack, while group Arashiro/Cooper still maintains a small lead on the bunch. William Clarke (UniSA), Cooper, Arashiro and Mark Jamieson (Genesys) force another attack to increase this gap.
They are eventually joined by some more aggressive riders like Adam Phelan (Oz), Adam Hansen (Drapac), yesterday's 2nd Tim Kennaugh (GBR) and Irishman Matthew Brammeier. With 18km to go, the peloton is 1'00" in arrears and the mid-race-escapees cross the line for another lap.
Only one lap later, we have a whole new situation, as race-leader Sutton's team Risa-Ergon took control of the pace (and the race). The breakaway was chanceless against this perfect-working team and so is Cameron Wurf (Budget), who made a desperate try to break free with now 10km remaining.
And so it's a perfect set-up for a mass-sprint and as the bunch comes down the stretch, we have a common constellation at the front of the pack: Risa even has two lead-out-men left for Sutton and his try for a "hattrick" here, while Leigh Howard (Drapac), Ricki Nelson (Budget), Cameron Meyer (Jayco) and Simon Clarke (Genesys) all seem to trust in this lead-out and stay behind Sutton.
And here goes the sprint! Howard was the first to leave Sutton's slipstream and make his own move, with Nelson catching his wheel and Meyer already accelerating on the left side. Sutton has still support in his reliable teammate Anthony Giacoppo, who's still in leading position.
It's gonna be another thrilling finish, this time between Howard, Meyer, Sutton and Nelson! Especially Meyer and Nelson, who both underperformed so far in this Series, are desperately seeking a win..
..but it's Chris Sutton, once again! Believe it or not, this guy claimed 3 out of 4 stage-wins here at the Bay Classics! But what a close finish it was: Nelson had an explosive kick in the end, passing Howard (3rd) and Meyer (4th), but Sutton eventually had this small advantage, completing his hattrick. Team Risa-Ergon seems to be well-prepared for this season and it's sprint-train, Giacoppo had a large share on this three victories.
Oz Cycling's Damion Drapac and Tom Scully sprinted for 5th and 6th, while Simon Clarke lost some ground and finished 9th, securing his 3rd in Overall Rankings.
Sutton is the dominating winner of the Bay Classic Series 2013, collecting 36 points (of 48 possible) and of course taking three wins. Howard and Clarke complete the final podium and Risa-Ergon finishes as best professional team (37) ahead of Milka-AVG and Oz Cycling. So, we hope you enjoyed this pre-season show-race and see you at the Crit-Series!
Results/
Name
Team
Time
Points
1
Christopher Sutton
Risa-Ergon Cycling
1h09'47
12
2
Ricki Nelson
Team Budget-Forklifts
s.t.
10
3
Leigh Howard
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
8
4
Cameron Meyer
Team Jayco - AIS
s.t.
7
5
Damion Drapac
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
6
6
Tom Scully
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
5
7
Wes Sulzberger
Team Budget-Forklifts
s.t.
4
8
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar
Terengganu Pro-Asia
s.t.
3
9
Simon Clarke
Genesys Wealth Advisers
s.t.
2
10
Graeme Brown
Team UniSA
s.t.
1
Spoiler
11
Anuar Manan
Terengganu Pro-Asia
s.t.
12
Anthony Giacoppo
Risa-Ergon Cycling
s.t.
13
Jonathan Clarke
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
14
Alexander Edmondson
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
15
Azizulhasni Awang
Terengganu Pro-Asia
s.t.
16
Adam Petrie-Armstrong
Irish National Team
s.t.
17
Rory Sutherland
Team Jayco - AIS
s.t.
18
Taiji Nishitani
Japan National Team
s.t.
19
Yukiya Arashiro
Japan National Team
s.t.
20
Westley Gough
New Zealand National Team
s.t.
21
Simon Gerrans
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
22
Alex Meenhorst
Orica Australasian
s.t.
23
Matthew Brammeier
Irish National Team
s.t.
24
Chen Shikai
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
25
Mohammed Zamri Salleh
Terengganu Pro-Asia
s.t.
26
Erdenebayar Daspuntsag
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
27
Joseph Cooper
New Zealand National Team
s.t.
28
Adrian Hanson
Orica Australasian
s.t.
29
Bradley Wiggins
Great Britain National Team
s.t.
30
Mohamed Harrif Salleh
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
31
Nathan Haas
Risa-Ergon Cycling
s.t.
32
William Walker
Orica Australasian
s.t.
33
Steven Cummings
Great Britain National Team
s.t.
34
Philip Deignan
Irish National Team
s.t.
35
Adam Hansen
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
36
Cameron Wurf
Team Budget-Forklifts
s.t.
37
Junya Sano
Japan National Team
s.t.
38
Mark Jamieson
Genesys Wealth Advisers
s.t.
39
Tomohiro Kinoshita
Japan National Team
s.t.
40
Will Clarke
Team UniSA
s.t.
41
Calvin Watson
Risa-Ergon Cycling
s.t.
42
Tim Kennaugh
Great Britain National Team
s.t.
43
George Bennett
New Zealand National Team
s.t.
44
Hayden Roulston
New Zealand National Team
s.t.
45
Patrick Lane
Genesys Wealth Advisers
s.t.
46
Nathan Earle
Team UniSA
s.t.
47
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Great Britain National Team
s.t.
48
Rohan Dennis
Team Budget-Forklifts
s.t.
49
Meyin Wang
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
50
Logan Hutchings
Orica Australasian
s.t.
51
Behnam Khalilikhosroshani
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
52
Baden Cooke
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
53
Shaun Higgerson
Orica Australasian
s.t.
54
Shinagawa Masahiro
Japan National Team
s.t.
55
Lachlan Morton
Genesys Wealth Advisers
s.t.
56
Sam Bennett
Irish National Team
s.t.
57
Joshua Atkins
New Zealand National Team
s.t.
58
Damien Howson
Risa-Ergon Cycling
s.t.
59
Erick Rowsell
Great Britain National Team
s.t.
60
Caleb Jones
Team UniSA
s.t.
61
Peter Hatton
Team Jayco - AIS
s.t.
62
Adam Phelan
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
63
Philip Lavery
Irish National Team
s.t.
64
James Meadley
Team Budget-Forklifts
s.t.
65
Daniel McConnell
Genesys Wealth Advisers
s.t.
66
Adam Semple
Team UniSA
s.t.
67
Johny Walker
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
68
Michael Hepburn
Team Jayco - AIS
s.t.
69
Christopher D'Amelio
Cycling Australia Selection
s.t.
70
Cameron Jennings
Cycling Australia Selection
s.t.
71
Jai Crawford
Team Jayco - AIS
s.t.
72
Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan
Terengganu Pro-Asia
s.t.
73
Blair Windsor
Cycling Australia Selection
+ 2'33
74
Bradley Norton
Cycling Australia Selection
s.t.
75
Chris Jongewaard
Cycling Australia Selection
s.t.
General Classification/
Name
Team
Points
1
Christopher Sutton
Risa-Ergon Cycling
36
2
Leigh Howard
Drapac Professional Cycling
24
3
Simon Clarke
Genesys Wealth Advisers
17
4
Graeme Brown
Team UniSA
15
Wes Sulzberger
Team Budget-Forklifts
15
6
Ricki Nelson
Team Budget-Forklifts
13
7
Lachlan Morton
Genesys Wealth Advisers
12
8
Damion Drapac
Oz Cycling Project
11
9
Tim Kennaugh
Great Britain National Team
10
Adam Hansen
Drapac Professional Cycling
10
Spoiler
11
Tomohiro Kinoshita
Japan National Team
8
12
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar
Terengganu Pro-Asia
7
Cameron Meyer
Team Jayco - AIS
7
Simon Gerrans
Oz Cycling Project
7
15
Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan
Terengganu Pro-Asia
6
16
Joseph Cooper
New Zealand National Team
5
Tom Scully
Oz Cycling Project
5
William Walker
Orica Australasian
5
19
Meyin Wang
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
4
20
Junya Sano
Japan National Team
3
Yukiya Arashiro
Japan National Team
3
Adrian Hanson
Orica Australasian
3
23
Alex Meenhorst
Orica Australasian
2
Nathan Earle
Team UniSA
2
25
Nathan Haas
Risa-Ergon Cycling
1
Azizulhasni Awang
Terengganu Pro-Asia
1
Team-Ranking (sorted by the rider's original ManGame-teams)/
Chris Sutton, who already won the first two races and seems to be in best shape of all participants. His compatriots Leigh Howard and Simon Clarke looked strong in both sprint-finishes, while others like Wes Sulzberger or Graeme Brown had constant outputs as well.
Tom Scully
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar
Tim Kennaugh
