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Day 5 – Stages 9 & 10

Scotland And England Reign Supreme

By Rod Morris - 8th October 2007 - Back to News

West Australian teenage sensation Cameron Meyer is now just 34 km away from winning his first major road race, the Jayco Tour of Tasmania.

The final leg of the 2007 Timbercorp Cup National Cycling series will be held in Launceston on Sunday with a grand finale criterium.

Meyer (19) holds a lead of 1.50 minutes on the General Classification honour board with his younger brother Travis in second place and Tasmanian Bernard Sulzberger in third position, 2.02 minutes behind.

Meyer had an interesting day in the saddle, particularly in Stage 9, a 49.9 km "dash" from Launceston to Grindelwald.

Forging his way into a tilt at winning the stage, Meyer shifted into a higher gear at the top of the final climb into the Swiss styled village when his derailler broke.

His southaustralian.com team Shaun Higgerson – winner of the 2005 Tour of Tasmania – was in the same bunch at the time of the incident and immediately swapped bikes so as to allow the tour leader to lose minimal time.

The accident occurred just 800 m from the finish and it cost Meyer 20 seconds in time and the chance to claim his third stage win of the tour.

Scotsman Evan Oliphant won the Grindelwald stage ahead of Tasmanian Josh Wilson, who hails from nearby Legana and was desperate to clinch a positive result in his "backyard."

Keeping it in the Meyer family, Travis (18) was third behind Oliphant and Wilson.

The afternoon’s 10^th stage was a slightly longer – 69 km- trek from Grindelwald to George Town with Jayco Victorian Institute of Sport rider Richard England winning his second race of the tour.

In a hectic sprint finish, England held out Queensland duo Miles Olman and Jonathon Cantwell.

The Timbercorp Cup will also reach its finale in Launceston and current leader Peter McDonald needs only to sit on Grant Irwin’s rear wheel to ensure overall victory.

McDonald has amassed 183 points from the Tour of Gippsland, Australian Cycling Grand Prix, Tour of the Murray River and Tour of Tasmania and is 9-points clear of Irwin, whilst Victorian Patrick Shaw is third on 143.

Englishman Tom Southam wrapped up the Central Coast King of the Mountain Championship yesterday afternoon, whilst he will carry a slender 2-point lead in the George Town Most Aggressive Rider award into the last house.

Another Englishman, defending Tour of Tasmania champion, Kristian House has a commanding 41-point lead in the Timbercorp Sprint Championship, whilst the Country Club Criterium Championship has Victorian Leigh Howard and NSW rider Joel Pearson locked together on 25 points. Howard leads courtesy of a countback, whilst South Australian Brett Aitken is just three points away and looming.

The inaugural Municipal Cup Challenge will go the Launceston team of Bernard Sulzberger, Suki Stone, Benjamin King, Ben Grenda and Sid Taberlay.

The quintet have easily outstripped the Devonport and Burnie teams.

How the day unfolded –

STAGE 9

A broken derailler 800 m from the finish line, cost Cameron Meyer the chance of stage victory and more importantly the opportunity to extend his overall tour lead.

Meyer was about to make his final gear change when his chain slipped and tore the derailler from the frame.

Thankfully, his southaustralia.com teammate Shaun Higgerson was at his side and was able to swap bikes almost immediately although Meyer still lost 20 seconds to the stage winner, Evan Oliphant.

Oliphant (25) is the current Scottish road race champion and is a four time British road race titleholder after growing up on grass racing, which is popular in his native homeland.

Oliphant attacked the field once they hit the top of the climb into Grindelwald and although the race distance was only a relatively short 49.9 km, they still managed to return an average speed of 41.18 kph.

Starting at the Country Club Resort in Launceston, the reduced field of 88 riders – from an original list of 101 – meandered along at a leisurely pace before the first attacking group made a move 18 km into the race.

Shortly after the group broke up and three riders, Gilbert Gutowski (Qld), Brad Edmunds (NSW) and Jason Hegert (NSW) edged further up the road, claiming the first intermediate sprint and the Category 4 hill climb.

As the tempo lifted 15 km from the finish, Gutowski, Edmunds and Hegert were soon reeled in.

Meyer and his teammates jockeyed for positions at the head of the peloton and looked set to claim another stage win before disaster struck.

STAGE 10

The performances of the Jayco VIS team was added to even further with a gutsy road win coming from Richard England in the ninth stage, Grindelwald to George Town.

England won the Ulverstone Criterium (Stage 3) earlier this week and has been in great form on the eve of the Herald Sun Tour.

"I have been using this tour in preparation for that event and I wasn’t really expecting to win much, so I have been pleasantly surprised," England said.

"My legs feel good and I would like to think the team might be able to win that as well."

The Jayco VIS team have won all three criteriums in this tour – Leigh Howard was successful at both Devonport and Westbury – and all week have been challenging for General Classification honours.

In a short sprint finish at George Town, England made a desperate lunge at the line, stretching every muscle in his body.

He edged out tall Queenslander Miles Olman, with another "banana bender" Jonathon Cantwell scoring his second minor placing of the tour.

Riders were greeted to relatively fine conditions for the tenth stage, with a slight cross breeze only a mild hindrance.

A group of 13 riders formed an escape party, but none of the GC challengers were interested in too much hard work.

Southaustralia.com teammates Mark Jamieson and Miles Olman threw down the gauntlet to the lead bunch but were under threat from Tom Middleton (SA), Peter Herzig (NSW), Jonathon Cantwell (Qld), Patrick Shaw (Vic), Miles Watson (NZ) and Craig McCartney (Vic) amongst others.

At their best, the breakaway group opened a lead of 1.50 minutes before the peloton decided they better get serious before they got left behind.

The lead group worked hard but were eventually gobbled up by the bunch.

In a tight and technical twist to the finish it was England who held all the aces.

The tour reaches its climax on Sunday with a 34 km criterium around the Brickfields reserve in Launceston.

Brief results –

STAGE 9

LAUNCESTON to GRINDELWALD, 49.9 km

1. Evan Oliphant (Scotland), 1 hour, 12.42 minutes
2. Joshua Wilson (Tas), +7 seconds
3. Travis Meyer (WA), , +8 seconds
4. Bernard Sulzberger (Tas), same time
5. David Pell (Vic), +10 seconds
6. Peter McDonald (NSW), same time
7. Adam Semple (WA), same time
8. Tom Southam (England), +13 seconds
9. Cameron Meyer (WA), +20 seconds
10. Ben Mather (Tas), +30 seconds

STAGE 10

GRINDELWALD to GEORGE TOWN, 69.1 km

1. Richard England (Vic), 1 hour 38.19 minutes
2. Miles Olman (Qld), same time
3. Jonathon Cantwell (Qld), same time
4. Craig McCarthy (Vic), same time
5. Ben Mather (Tas), same time
6. Brendan Brooks (NSW), +2 seconds
7. Tony Mann (Qld), same time
8. Jack Anderson (Qld), same time
9. Peter Herzig (NSW), same time
10. Tom Middleton (SA), same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (after Stage 10)

1. Cameron Meyer (WA), 13 hours 27.12 minutes
2. Travis Meyer (WA), +1.50 minutes
3. Bernard Sulzberger (Tas), +2.02 minutes
4. Tom Southam (England), +2.41 minutes
5. Leigh Howard (Vic), +2.50 minutes
6. Steven Robb (Vic), +4.01 minutes
7. Benjamin King (WA), +5.00 minutes
8. Shaun Higgerson (NSW), +5.17 minutes
9. Tim Roe (SA), +5.32 minutes
10. Kristian House (England), +5.35 minutes

Championship categories -

Timbercorp Sprint Championship: Kristian House (England)

Central Coast King of the Mountain Championship: Tom Southam (England)

Country Club Criterium Championship: Leigh Howard (Vic)

George Town Most Aggressive Rider: Tom Southam (England)

Gunns Ltd Leading Tasmanian: Bernard Sulzberger

Municipal Cup Challenge: Launceston, 74 points; Devonport, 41 points; Burnie, 20.

Timbercorp Cup National Series: Peter McDonald (NSW), 183 pts; Grant Irwin (Qld), 174; Patrick Shaw (Vic), 143.

To come –

Sunday: Stage 11: Launceston Criterium, 34 km, 11.30 a.m. till 12.20 p.m.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com