Everyone seemed convinced that GreenEDGE had a massive advantage with sixteen riders in the race, but it was a similar scenario to the Dutch National championships with Rabobank managing to make a mess of it on most occasions. Often racing can be a pure numbers game, but a course like Buninyong is always a race of attrition. There were no guarantees at any point that GreenEDGE would take the jersey. In fact, it was one of the most exciting and unpredictable races I’ve ever seen in Australia. Nearly every single lap it looked as if the race would produce a different result.
If you ask me the ride of the day goes to Matty Lloyd. Without any help he covered countless GreenEDGE moves and his second place finish puts him back on the map after a horrible 2011 season. It’s a personal victory for him and it’s not often you see Lloydy so visibly excited and satisfied with a result. The bad patch is over and Lloydie is back!
The action isn’t over yet folks. There’s still the National TT titles coming up this week and then the Grand Finale the week after – the Tour Down Under! If you’re heading over to Adelaide and are looking for some bunches to join and ride to various vantage points, stay tuned – I’ll be arranging a few things throughout the week.
The two final riders selected to complete the UniSA Tour Down Under squad is Will Clarke and Bernard Sulzberger. Will rode a tremendous race yesterday after smashing himself to finish fifth and nearly every pro I speak with says the Bernie is the most underrated rider in the peloton. The rest of the team will be comprised of Rohan Dennis (U23 National Champ), Steele Van Hoff, Jay McCarthy, Lachlan Norris and Tom Palmer.
Thank you to everyone for coming up to Buninyong and enjoying the race with us. The people, the music, the food, the drinks all created an atmosphere bigger and better than we’ve ever seen here before. Without the atmosphere on the side of the road, bike racing might be rather…dull.
Results
1. Simon GERRANS (VIC) 4h07:38
2. Matthew LLOYD (VIC) +2
3. Richie PORTE (TAS) +2
4. Adam HANSEN (QLD) +1:05
5. William CLARKE (TAS) +1:09
6. Steele VON HOFF (VIC) +1:11
7. Christopher SUTTON (NSW) +1:11
8. Baden COOKE (VIC) +1:11
9. Anthony GIACOPPO (WA) +1:11
10. Bernard SULZBERGER (TAS) +1:11
In case you missed it, here are the highlights:
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- Riders coming through the start/finish line and entering the climb in Bunninyong. Photo courtesy of Jarrod Partridge (lucky dog got a helicopter ride!)
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- I have to admit I had my fingers crossed for Darren Lapthorne to win the jersey. He’s one of the most promising riders to come out of Australia and I’m happy to see him resuming his racing career.
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- Pat Shaw and Will Clark joining Stuey in the opening laps. Photo courtesy Adrian Vlok
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- photo courtesy of Adrian Vlok
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- FYXO has done some epic rides in his time, but the ride to Bunninyong turned out to be a bit of a disaster with a block headwind, rain, and multiple punctures. Good to see he made it!
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- The decisive move by Gerro and Lloyd in the final lap
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- Bernie and CJ gritting their teeth on the final climb to finish 7th and 10th respectively
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- As usual, SBS provided excellent coverage and it was fantastic to be able to watch the live coverage while being there on the hill.
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- Gerro’s wife Rahna the happiest of all the fans!
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- Lloydie told media “You’ll never see me sprint fast in my life” “It was just us two into a headwind and we’re not like Schwarzenegger. We were going at 6km/h, just laughing.”
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- As Gerro always says, “Winners are grinners!”
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- Lloydie’s back! “Back in the ‘hood,” as he put it.
