Most of the riders rode from Geelong to Portarlington, raced, and then rode home. That’s about 3hrs plus the 2-3hr ride they did this morning. Not a bad day of training. Many of the riders see the Bay Crits as a good opportunity to sharpen up for the National Road Champs this weekend.
Anthony “AJ” Giacoppo was the man of the day. He broke away early and was joined by Luke Durbridge soon after. The Western Australian pair worked well together and held a ~30s gap. Mark O’Brien, Johnnie Walker, and Koen de Kort got away from the bunch but couldn’t bridge the gap. After Durbridge and Giacoppo got almost a 2min gap ahead of the main bunch the commissaire decided to pull the field. Durbridge attacked early on the final lap but couldn’t drop Giacoppo (who is a full time bike mechanic in Perth and has a great sprint on him). Durbridge barely even contested the sprint.
The GreenEDGE women’s team has been smashing it, but the men’s team must be getting “edgy” (so to speak) for a win to make a statement. The Williamstown stage has always been my favorite and takes place tomorrow afternoon. Be sure to come down to see the action.
12:00 pm - Support Individual presented by Total Rush
12.50 pm - Support Teams presented by Urban Hotels - John Cornish Memorial
1:40 pm - Elite Women presented by Bike Exchange
2:30 pm - Elite Men sponsored and presented by Jayco
Stage 3 Results
1 Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug
2 Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms
3 Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban Hotels
4 Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe
5 Mark O’Brien (Vic) Budget Forklifts
6 Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling
7 Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels
8 Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms
9 Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS
10 Steele Von Hoff (Tas) Bike Bug
General Classification After Stage 3
1 Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms 21 points
2 Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug 17
3 Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS 16
4 Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels 15
5 Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels 14
6 Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe 12
7 Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms 10
8 Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban Hotels 8
9 Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe 8
10 Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling 8
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- Caleb Ewan’s parents, Mark and Casey. Proud as punch!
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- Bert de Backer riding for Urban Hotels in the Bay Series and 1t4i (formerly Skil Shimano) this coming season.
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- Two Western Australia boys Anthony Giacoppo and Luke Durbridge duking it out.
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- Koen de Kort and Johnny Walker on the chase just behind the leading two while the rest of the field was pulled
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- Anthony Giacoppo takes the win
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- Koen takes 3rd, Walker 4th
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- To be a fly on the wall in that conversation between Durbridge and Whitey after the finish…
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- Gossy was penalised by the commissaire mid-race for trying to take a “mechanical” lap out. Apparently his seat slipped and he went to his mechanic to get it adjusted. The commissaire told him to chase back on instead of waiting for the bunch to come around again. Gossy knew that wasn’t gonna happen so he pulled out. (I’ve tried that one before too Gossy. No such luck for me either…)
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- Gerry Ryan, Matty White and Neil Stephens
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- Will Walker, GreenEDGE Development Manager | Matt White, GreenEDGE Sports Director
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- CJ Sutton (SKY) | Richard Lang (Rapha Condor Sharp)