Published October 18, 2008 08:16AM
Stuart O’Grady locked up the overall title of Australia’s Herald Sun Tour on Saturday, fending off a mid-race challenge from his most serious competitor, Ben Day (Toyota United) missed a chance to score bonus seconds in an intermediate sprint in a 66-kilometer, 33-lap race through the streets of Melbourne.
Instead, eventual stage winner Daryl Impey (Barloworld), Chris Jongewaard (Panasonic) and David Kemp (Virgin Blue Australia) used the sprint to form a breakaway trio that took away remaining bonus seconds and set up the charge to the line in the sixth and final stage of Australia’s oldest stage race.
CSC’s Brad McGee, Matt Goss, Lasse Bochman and Lars Bak — second in the overall standings after five stages but who was never going to take the yellow jersey from his teammate — controlled the chase, ensuring O’Grady’s win, as long as he crossed the line with the peloton.
“It feels bloody fantastic,” said O’Grady. “I was expecting a little bit more attacking, but I think the guys have had a pretty tough, hard week and I think they might have conceded that the placings were done.
“Everybody in the team’s done an absolutely marvelous job, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
O’Grady added that CSC was obviously content to let the three attacking riders stay off the front
“It was perfect,” said his teammate Goss. “We sort of let them get the break because it makes the bunch a lot calmer.”
South African Impey, a strong performer all week and in his first year with Barloworld, was able to stay in front and finish a comfortable winner ahead of Jongewaard.
“The idea was for me to either get in the move or help Baden (Cooke) at the end and I saw two guys rolling off the front and decided, let me try,” he said.
An estimated 20,000 spectators lined the circuit around Carlton’s Lygon Street. Among them was Australian cycling legend Phil Anderson.
Anderson said the participation of one of the world’s leading road cyclists and Paris-Roubaix winner O’Grady, and his eventual win in the journey around regional Victoria, was invaluable for the event.
“It’s big for the organizers, they need it, they really need it to give the event credibility, really.
“To be able to come out after doing a full European season and to do what he’s achieved here is very notable,” Anderson said of 35-year-old O’Grady.
Race NoteMcGee was honored at the end of the stage, marking his retirement from professional racing. McGee is the only Australian to have worn the leader’s jersey in all three of road cycling’s grand tours and who has won more Olympic medals than any other Australian cyclist.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to end my career than right here in Australia,” he said.
Results – Stage 6
1. Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld, 66km in 1:31:23 (43.3kph)
2. Chris Jongeward (Aus) Panasonic, at 0:04
3. Matthew Goss (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 0:30
4. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United, at 0:30, at
5. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 0:30, at
6. Dominique Rollin (Can) Toyota-United, at 0:30, at
7. Emile Abraham (Tri) Team Type 1, at
8. Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly, at 0:30, at
9. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 0:30, at
10. Nic Sanderson (Aus) Jelly Belly, at 0:30, at
11. Will Walker (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 0:30, at
12. Richard England (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 0:30, at
13. Lars Bak (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 0:30, at
14. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan, at 0:30, at
15. Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld, at 0:30, at
16. Christopher Froome (GBr) Barloworld, at 0:30, at
17. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1, at 0:30, at
18. Daniel Braunsteins (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 0:34
19. Peter Herzig (Aus) Panasonic, at 0:34, at
20. Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 0:34, at
21. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly, at 0:34, at
22. Benjamin Day (Aus) Toyota-United, at 0:34, at
23. Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 0:34, at
24. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 0:34, at
25. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada, at 0:34, at
26. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan, at 0:34, at
27. Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld, at 0:34, at
28. Richie Porte (Aus) Praties, at 0:34, at
29. Jeremy Yates (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand, at 0:34, at
30. Shawn Milne (USA) Team Type 1, at 0:38
31. Will Routley (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada, at 0:38
32. Glen Chadwick (NZl) Team Type 1, at 0:39
33. Jason Rigg (Aus) Praties, at 0:39
34. Jonny Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United, at 0:45
35. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 0:53
36. Bradley McGee (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 1:00
37. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 1:00, at
38. Daniel Holt (USA) Team Type 1, at 1:41
39. David Kemp (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 3:41
40. Cameron Hughes (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 5:41
41. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 5:41, at
42. Chris Luxton (Aus) Savings & Loans, at 5:41, at
43. Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan, at 5:41, at
44. Will Dickeson (Aus) Savings & Loans, at 5:41, at
45. Jonathon Lovelock (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 5:41, at
46. Jack Bobridge (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 5:41, at
47. Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld, at 5:41, at
48. Nicholas Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly, at 5:41, at
49. Gordon McCauley (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand, at 7:41
50. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1, at 7:41, at
51. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan, at 7:41, at
52. Jack Anderson (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 7:41, at
53. Chris Jory (Aus) Panasonic, at 7:41, at
54. Daniel Furmston (Aus) Praties, at 7:41, at
55. Tim Guy (Aus) Panasonic, at 7:41, at
56. Ben Grieve-Johnson (Aus) Praties, at 7:41, at
57. Peter Ladd (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 9:41
58. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Panasonic, at 9:41
59. Craig McCartney (Aus) Savings & Loans, at 9:41, at
60. Ben Mather (Aus) Praties, at 9:41, at
61. Scott Lyttle (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand, at 11:41
Did Not Finish
Malcolm Rudolph (Aus) Budget Forklifts
Leigh Howard (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
Cameron Wurf (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
William Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
Adam Semple (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
Lasse Bochman (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank
David Pell (Aus) Savings & Loans
Joel Pearson (Aus) Savings & Loans
Tim Roe (Aus) Savings & Loans
Dylan Newell (Aus) Praties
Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porsche
Mark O’brien (Aus) Drapac Porsche
Michael England (Aus) Budget Forklifts
Heath Blackgrove (NZl) Toyota-United
Caleb Manion (Aus) Toyota-United
Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan
Jason Hegert (Aus) Panasonic
Dale Scarfe (Aus) Panasonic
Andrew Randell (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada
Rob Britton (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada
Bruno Langois (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada
Jason Allen (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand
Anthony Chapman (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand
Final overall standings
1. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 14:20:49
2. Lars Bak (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 0:17
3. Benjamin Day (Aus) Toyota-United, at 0:23
4. Christopher Froome (GBr) Barloworld, at 0:52
5. Richie Porte (Aus) Praties, at 0:58
6. Glen Chadwick (NZl) Team Type 1, at 1:04
7. Jeremy Yates (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand, at 1:04
8. Dominique Rollin (Can) Toyota-United, at 1:18
9. Will Routley (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada, at 1:27
10. Will Walker (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 1:34
11. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1, at 1:38
12. Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 1:53
13. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 2:22
14. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly, at 2:50
15. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 2:57
16. Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld, at 3:35
17. Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 5:04
18. Daniel Braunsteins (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 5:21
19. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada, at 6:33
20. Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld, at 9:15
21. Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld, at 10:41
22. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan, at 11:21
23. Chris Luxton (Aus) Savings & Loans, at 11:29
24. Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan, at 12:07
25. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 12:37
26. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 12:41
27. Matthew Goss (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 13:36
28. Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld, at 13:45
29. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 16:35
30. Chris Jongeward (Aus) Panasonic, at 17:57
31. Richard England (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 20:06
32. Cameron Hughes (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 20:15
33. Shawn Milne (USA) Team Type 1, at 23:11
34. Jack Bobridge (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 24:28
35. Ben Grieve-Johnson (Aus) Praties, at 27:38
36. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan, at 28:42
37. Craig McCartney (Aus) Savings & Loans, at 28:48
38. Daniel Holt (USA) Team Type 1, at 28:53
39. Nic Sanderson (Aus) Jelly Belly, at 28:53
40. Ben Mather (Aus) Praties, at 30:38
41. Jonny Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United, at 30:48
42. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Panasonic, at 31:07
43. Jason Rigg (Aus) Praties, at 31:29
44. Gordon McCauley (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 33:26
45. Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly, at 34:02
46. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan, at 34:21
47. Peter Herzig (Aus) Panasonic, at 34:37
48. David Kemp (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 34:52
49. Emile Abraham (Tri) Team Type 1, at 35:12
50. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United, at 35:43
51. Jonathon Lovelock (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia, at 36:05
52. Chris Jory (Aus) Panasonic, at 36:16
53. Daniel Furmston (Aus) Praties, at 37:27
54. Scott Lyttle (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand, at 39:19
55. Bradley McGee (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank, at 45:15
56. Jack Anderson (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 48:47
57. Will Dickeson (Aus) Savings & Loans, at 54:12
58. Tim Guy (Aus) Panasonic, at 56:56
59. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1, at 58:21
60. Peter Ladd (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 58:49
61. Nicholas Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly, at 1:08:00
overall points
1. Matthew Goss (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank 28 pts
2. Dominique Rollin (Can) Toyota-United22
3. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank 20
4. Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld 18
5. Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld 18
6. Chris Jongeward (Aus) Panasonic16
7. Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly 12
8. Leigh Howard (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 12
9. Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 10
10. Gordon McCauley (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 10
11. Daniel Furmston (Aus) Praties 10
12. David Kemp (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 10
13. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan 8
14. Will Routley (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 6
15. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS6
16. Jeremy Yates (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 4
17. Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 4
18. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porsche4
19. Jack Bobridge (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 4
20. Jonny Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United 4
21. Will Walker (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 2
22. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche2
23. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Budget Forklifts 2
24. Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porsche 2
25. Joel Pearson (Aus) Savings & Loans 2
26. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United -1
27. Lasse Bochman (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank -5
28. Jason Allen (NZl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand -5
Final overall KOM
1. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1 40 pts
2. Chris Jongeward (Aus) Panasonic 30
3. Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 24
4. Christopher Froome (GBr) Barloworld 24
5. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly 22
6. Lars Bak (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank 18
7. Will Walker (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 16
8. Glen Chadwick (NZl) Team Type 1 8
9. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche 4
10. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 4
11. David Pell (Aus) Savings & Loans 2
Final overall Best young rider
1. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 14:23:11
2. Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld, at 1:13
3. Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 2:42
4. Daniel Braunsteins (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 2:58
5. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porsche, at 10:15
6. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 10:18
7. Jack Bobridge (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS, at 22:06
8. Ben Grieve-Johnson (Aus) Praties, at 25:15
9. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Panasonic, at 28:45
10. Chris Jory (Aus) Panasonic, at 33:54
11. Jack Anderson (Aus) Budget Forklifts, at 46:25
12. Tim Guy (Aus) Panasonic, at 54:34
13. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1, at 55:59
Final overall team standings
1. Barloworld, at 43:07:29
2. Drapac Porsche Development Program, at 3:07
3. Southaustralia.com-AIS, at 6:58
4. Team CSC – Saxo Bank, at 7:29
5. Team Type 1, at 20:40
6. Virgin Blue Australian National (Australia), at 22:51
7. Toyota – United Pro Cycling Team, at 27:22
8. Praties, at 27:28
9. Aisan Racing Team, at 30:45
10. Savings & Loans Cycling Team, at 30:55
11. Panasonic (Australia), at 35:54
12. Budget Forklifts (Australia), at 55:45
13. Jelly Belly Cycling Team, at 1:00:10
14. Yes Optus Shop New Zealand (New Zealand), at 1:05:07