CSC’s Tasmanian Goss wins stage 1 of Herald Sun Tour

• Results

For the second day in a row Matt Goss, of the CSC Saxo Bank team, relegated Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke to the minor placings by winning the opening stage.

And just like Sunday, Goss attributed a large portion of his win in the 130km trek from Traralgon to Inverloch to the work of his teammates, particularly Stuart O’Grady, who broke away from the peloton with 65km remaining only to be caught 15km from the finish.

“It was pretty windy all day but we always had someone in front and Stuey (O’Grady) made it easy because we didn’t have to do anything for the last 50 to 60km because everyone was just chasing him,” said a jubilant Goss.

“It was a hard day and it was good to finish off well. It’s nice to get a win here, even though yesterday was good, this is even better.”

With CSC Saxo Bank having only five riders in the race, the experienced O’Grady decided the best option for them was to go on the attack and force the others to chase.

The veteran O’Grady displayed all the determination and bravado that has made him one of Australia’s most celebrated riders to boldly sneak away from the peloton to lead by almost four minutes. At one stage it looked like the 35-year-old would pull off a stunning win, only to ride into the teeth of a ferocious head wind 20km from the finish that almost instantaneously halted his dash to the line.

“It was the head more than anything telling me to attack and it was a moment when everyone looked pretty hammered,” O’Grady said.

“In the end I probably bit off a bit more than I could chew. But you’ve got to give it a crack.

“The conditions were just too tough for me. It was just a massive head wind the whole way and it was just too much in the end.”

Once O’Grady was caught by the chase — led by the Toyota-United and Barloworld teams – there was still plenty of team support for the 21-year-old Tasmanian Goss in the hectic run to the line.

“There was a stack in the finish but I’m not really sure what happened because it was just behind me,” Goss said.

“I was just trying to keep near the front.”

“The Toyota boys hit out at around 600m to go and (teammate) Brad McGee followed those guys and I jumped on the wheel.”

“Then Leigh Howard (Virgin Blue Australian national team) hit out at about 300m to go and he hit out well but Cookie (Baden Cooke, Barloworld) chased and I just come over the top of them.”

The crash in the sprint finish involved three riders, with the worst affected South Australia.com-AIS rider Travis Meyer, who was taken to hospital for x-rays with a suspected broken shoulder. Virgin Blues’ David Kemp and Chris Jongewaard of the Panasonic team were also involved in the crash but managed to finish the stage.

The tough conditions also contributed to Henk Vogels (Toyota-United), Greg Henderson (Yes Optus Shpt New Zealnd), Carlo Scognamiglio (Barloworld) and Matt Rice (Jelly Belly) abandoning the race.

The third place finisher on the stage, Leigh Howard has moved into the lead of the Make it Happen in Provincial Victoria U23 category.

The Cyclismo Bendigo King of the Mountains jersey was taken by Bernard Van Ulden, an American on the Jelly Belly team who claimed the points on the first climb of the tour.

For Goss the stage win also delivered the overall race lead and the Budget Forklift sprint points classification.

Results

Stage 1 results: | ( GC standings after stage 1 )

1. Matthew GOSS Csc in 3:14:02
2. Baden COOKE Bar
3. Leigh HOWARD Aus
4. Mitchell DOCKER Dpc
5. Joel PEARSON Slv
6. Taiji NISHITANI Ais
7. Emile ABRAHAM Tt1
8. Brad HUFF Jbc
9. David PELL Slv
10. Masahiro SHINAGAWA Ais
11. Hilton CLARKE Tup
12. Nathan CLARKE Pra
13. Luke CRIDLAND Pan
14. Will WALKER Aus
15. Malcolm RUDOLPH Bfl
16. Benjamin DAY Tup
17. Matt WILSON Tt1
18. Nic SANDERSON Jbc
19. Lars BAK Csc
20. Gene BATES Dpc
21. Michael ENGLAND Bfl
22. Lasse BOCHMAN Csc
23. Will ROUTLEY Can
24. Craig McCARTNEY Slv
25. Ben MATHER Pra
26. Hugo SABIDO Bar
27. Daniel FURMSTON Pra
28. Stuart O’GRADY Csc
29. Jeremy YATES Nzl
30. Cameron WURF Aus
31. Richard ENGLAND Aus
32. Daryl IMPEY Bar
33. Marco CORTI Bar
34. Dominique ROLLIN Tup
35. Cameron JENNINGS Bfl
36. Patrick SHAW Aus
37. Bernard VAN ULDEN Jbc
38. Scott LYTTLE Nzl
39. Wesley SULZBERGER Sai
40. Jack ANDERSON Bfl
41. Glen CHADWICK Tt1
42. Richie PORTE Pra
43. Bradley McGEE Csc
44. Jason RIGG Pra
45. Andrew RANDELL Can
46. Peter McDONALD Dpc
47. Caleb MANION Tup
48. Simon CLARKE Sai
49. Cameron HUGHES Bfl
50. Dale SCARFE Pan
51. Stuart SHAW Dpc
52. Daniel BRAUNSTEINS Dpc
53. Ben KING Sai
54. Adam SEMPLE Sai
55. Eric WOHLBERG Can
56. Chris LUXTON Slv
57. Bruno LANGOIS Can
58. Shawn MILNE Tt1
59. Rob BRITTON Can
60. Gordon McCAULEY Nzl
61. Anthony CHAPMAN Nzl
62. Heath BLACKGROVE Tup
63. Daniel HOLT Tt1
64. Jonny CLARKE Tup
65. Christopher FROOME Bar
66. Kazuhiro MORI Ais
67. Bryson BOWERS Can
68. Takumi BEPPU Ais
69. Darren SHEA Nzl
70. Angus MORTON Dpc
71. Dylan NEWELL Pra
72. Jack BOBRIDGE Sai
73. Jason ALLEN Nzl
74. Mark O’BRIEN Dpc
75. Jonathon LOVELOCK Aus
76. Jason HEGERT Pan
77. Chris JONGEWARD Pan
78. David KEMP Aus
79. Nicholas REISTAD Jbc in 3:29:34
80. Tim ROE Slv in 3:29:34
81. Peter LADD Bfl in 3:29:34
82. Peter HERZIG Pan in 3:29:34
83. Will DICKESON Slv in 3:29:34
84. Ben GRIEVE-JOHNSON Pra in 3:29:34
85. Tim GUY Pan in 3:29:34
86. Fabio CALABRIA Tt1 in 3:29:34
87. Kenichi SUZUKI Ais in 3:29:34
88. William FORD Sai in 3:29:34
89. Chris JORY Pan in 3:29:34
90. Travis MEYER Sai
0. Eric BOILY Can in 3:37:03
0. Russell GILL Slv in 3:41:49
0. Peter MILOSTIC Bfl in 3:41:49
0. Scott TIETZEL Jbc in 3:44:22
0. Carlo SCOGNAMIGLIO Bar
0. Henk VOGELS Tup
0. Matthew RICE Jbc
0. Greg HENDERSON Nzl

GC standings | ( Stage results )

1. Matthew GOSS CSC in 3:14:02
2. Baden COOKE Bar
3. Leigh HOWARD Aus
4. Mitchell DOCKER Dpc
5. Joel PEARSON Slv
6. Taiji NISHITANI Ais
7. Emile ABRAHAM Tt1
8. Brad HUFF Jbc
9. David PELL Slv
10. Masahiro SHINAGAWA Ais
11. Hilton CLARKE Tup
12. Nathan CLARKE Pra
13. Luke CRIDLAND Pan
14. Will WALKER Aus
15. Malcolm RUDOLPH Bfl
16. Benjamin DAY Tup
17. Matt WILSON Tt1
18. Nic SANDERSON Jbc
19. Lars BAK Csc
20. Gene BATES Dpc
21. Michael ENGLAND Bfl
22. Lasse BOCHMAN Csc
23. Will ROUTLEY Can
24. Craig McCARTNEY Slv
25. Ben MATHER Pra
26. Hugo SABIDO Bar
27. Daniel FURMSTON Pra
28. Stuart O’GRADY Csc
29. Jeremy YATES Nzl
30. Cameron WURF Aus
31. Richard ENGLAND Aus
32. Daryl IMPEY Bar
33. Marco CORTI Bar
34. Dominique ROLLIN Tup
35. Cameron JENNINGS Bfl
36. Patrick SHAW Aus
37. Bernard VAN ULDEN Jbc
38. Scott LYTTLE Nzl
39. Wesley SULZBERGER Sai
40. Jack ANDERSON Bfl
41. Glen CHADWICK Tt1
42. Richie PORTE Pra
43. Bradley McGEE Csc
44. Jason RIGG Pra
45. Andrew RANDELL Can
46. Peter McDONALD Dpc
47. Caleb MANION Tup
48. Simon CLARKE Sai
49. Cameron HUGHES Bfl
50. Dale SCARFE Pan
51. Stuart SHAW Dpc
52. Daniel BRAUNSTEINS Dpc
53. Ben KING Sai
54. Adam SEMPLE Sai
55. Eric WOHLBERG Can
56. Chris LUXTON Slv
57. Bruno LANGOIS Can
58. Shawn MILNE Tt1
59. Rob BRITTON Can
60. Gordon McCAULEY Nzl
61. Anthony CHAPMAN Nzl
62. Heath BLACKGROVE Tup
63. Daniel HOLT Tt1
64. Jonny CLARKE Tup
65. Christopher FROOME Bar
66. Kazuhiro MORI Ais
67. Bryson BOWERS Can
68. Takumi BEPPU Ais
69. Darren SHEA Nzl
70. Angus MORTON Dpc
71. Dylan NEWELL Pra
72. Jack BOBRIDGE Sai
73. Jason ALLEN Nzl
74. Mark O’BRIEN Dpc
75. Jonathon LOVELOCK Aus
76. Jason HEGERT Pan
77. Chris JONGEWARD Pan
78. David KEMP Aus
79. Nicholas REISTAD Jbc in 3:29:34
80. Tim ROE Slv in 3:29:34
81. Peter LADD Bfl in 3:29:34
82. Peter HERZIG Pan in 3:29:34
83. Will DICKESON Slv in 3:29:34
84. Ben GRIEVE-JOHNSON Pra in 3:29:34
85. Tim GUY Pan in 3:29:34
86. Fabio CALABRIA Tt1 in 3:29:34
87. Kenichi SUZUKI Ais in 3:29:34
88. William FORD Sai in 3:29:34
89. Chris JORY Pan in 3:29:34
90. Travis MEYER Sai
0. Eric BOILY Can in 3:37:03
0. Russell GILL Slv in 3:41:49
0. Peter MILOSTIC Bfl in 3:41:49
0. Scott TIETZEL Jbc in 3:44:22
0. Carlo SCOGNAMIGLIO Bar
0. Henk VOGELS Tup
0. Matthew RICE Jbc
0. Greg HENDERSON Nzl