2012 Bothwell to New Norfolk Classic

NUMEROUS riders breathed a sigh of relief when news broke that the Launceston to New Norfolk Classic wouldn’t feature the Poatina climb, but Darren Lapthorne certainly wasn’t one of them.

The climbing powerhouse was salivating at the chance to attack the brutal mountain, so when it was excluded from today’s course due to dangerous conditions, he was disheartened.

Despite his odds lengthening, the Drapac Professional Cycling member still managed to conquer the shorter Bothwell to New Norfolk course, much to his delight.

“Every race is important and I think this race will become quite a big race in the future,” he said. “It really is an honour to be on the honour roll and you never complain when you have a win.”

The decision to alter the course was made last night after roads from the Poatina Village to the Great Lake area were closed because they were covered in snow.

Rather than the 208km trek, riders completed a 65km journey from Bothwell to New Norfolk. “I was disappointed because the longer the race, the better for me,” Lapthorne said.

“I thought it was going to be a day for the sprinters but there were still a few good climbs in there, so the terrain made the race hard enough.”

A leading group of about 15 riders – packed with Genesys Wealth Advisers and Team Budget Forklifts members – made a move early, stretching the gap to more than two minutes approaching the halfway mark of the race.

“We only had three guys in there – myself, Rhys (Pollock) and Floris (Goesinnen),” Lapthorne said. “We thought that the only way to win was to get away.
“I attacked with about five kilometres to go with Nathan Earle.
“With about three kilometres to go, I went and had a good run to the finish.”

Lapthorne’s triumph meant he firmed as favourite for the 2012 Caterpillar Underground Tour of Tasmania, which starts in Hobart on Tuesday with a team time trial to the top of Mount Wellington.

“I felt pretty good today and I think it was important for our team and me to have a good day,” the 2007 national road champion said.

“(The Tour of Tasmania) is the race to win this year.

“It was good for the confidence to get this win.”

Rounding out the podium was Genesys duo Earle and Jai Crawford, with the former winning the Caterpillar Underground Mining King of the Mountains while the Sewell Sweepers sprint champion was Peter Loft (Team Budget Forklifts).

B grade champion was Tasmanian Ben Grenda (Team Polygon), Data#3 Cisco’s Joshua Prete clinched C grade while the top rider who entered in the under 23 category was John West Cycling’s Trent Derecourt.

The six-day Tour of Tasmania will showcase seven municipalities – Hobart City, Derwent Valley, Meander Valley, Central Highlands, Central Coast, Burnie City and Devonport City.

It is the final chapter of the 2012 SCODY Cup, which started with the Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland (August 1-5), followed by the Budget Forklifts Tour of the Great South Coast (August 15-19) and the Jayco Tour of the Murray River (September 2-9).

The SCODY Cup races, backed by Tourism Victoria and Events Tasmania, are part of Cycling Australia’s

Subaru National Road Series (NRS), along with the classic.

Budget Forklifts’ Luke Davison, who did not enter the classic or Tour of Tasmania, retained the Subaru NRS leader’s jersey after today’s action.

Video highlights from the classic will be added to the Subaru NRS website. To see the action, visit

http://nationalroadseries.subaru.com.au/

Race Results