G-Wizz - Gilmore and Goss take opening Jayco Bay Classic wins

 Impressive wins by two riders of whom different things are expected highlighted the opening stage of the 22^nd edition of the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic in Geelong today.

 

Commonwealth Games road race champion and defending Bay Classic title holder Rochelle Gilmore (Honda Dream Team) captured the women’s race in a hard fought affair with rival Belinda Goss(Vetta) in a result that many had predicted before the start of the relatively flat 2km circuit around Eastern Park in Geelong.

 

However the men’s race produced a less predictable result, if only due to the gilt-edged quality of the field and perhaps the underrated qualities of Tasmanian Matt Goss (E3/Pure Tasmania)

 

Goss was largely overlooked in pre-race prognostications, despite his credentials as a stage winner of last year’s Giro d’Italia.  However the man who has been largely referred to in cycling circles as a lead out man to the likes of HTC-Columbia teammates Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish is rapidly building a winning record of his own – opening his Bay Classic account with a fine win.

 

Today’s scalps included last year’s series win Chris Sutton (Team Sky), world championships bronze medallist Allan Davis (Bikebug.com), Olympic gold medallist Graeme Brown (Urban), Geelong’s rising young tyro Leigh Howard (Jayco VIS) and world under 23 champion Michael Matthews (Urban).  The top six all world class speedsters and all were shaded by Goss on the long finishing straight.

 

Gilmore opens title defence with a win

 

A forty minute delay following a nasty fall from Queensland road champion Brittany Lindores during the warm up lap resulted in the young Gold Coast rider being transferred to Geelong Hospital with concussion and a reduced women's race from 45 minutes to 30 minutes.

 

The opening women's stage was expected to be a battle between Honda's Rochelle Gilmore and Vetta's Belinda Goss and that is how it unfolded, despite the usual early, mid and late race attacks from the peloton.

 

Gilmore’s Honda teammate Peta Mullins took the first sprint before another of the talented Honda crew, this time 2008 series winner Megan Dunn joined Jayco AIS rider Amanda Spratt  and 2009 series winner Kirsty Broun (Virgin Blue) in a determined attempt to get away.

 

Alas the lead extended only to eight seconds before Goss’s Vetta team did much of the work to bring the field back together for the final sprint to the finish.

 

Goss, who had criss-crossed the globe in recent weeks from the track world cup in Columbia to the Christmas Carnivals in Tasmania only arrived in Geelong an hour before the race due to a re-scheduled flight from Launceston.  It may have cost her an open stage victory as Gilmore edged clear to win only by centimetres.  Caulfield Carnegie’s Nicole Whitburn finished third.

 

"It's fantastic to win the first race of 2011, 2010 worked out pretty well with the Commonwealth Games and everything and every year you think you can learn more and it can be better so to come out and win the first race of 2011 is a fantastic feeling,” Gilmore said

 

"We certainly don't expect to dominate because there where so many strong riders out there who were riding hard which makes it really hard to control the race, some of them we didn't even know which makes it hard to decide who to chase and who not to chase.

 

“It shows that there is a lot of new talent in Australia and when we come back to Australia to race we no longer know all the competitors.”

 

On tomorrow second stage at Portarlington Gilmore said she expected a totally different race.

 

“It's the hardest of the series; I doubt it will come down to a sprint finish.  It was a really hard and fast race today we tried to cover everything but we did miss a few breaks and that makes us nervous about the future.”

 

Goss defeats world class field in men’s race

 

Anyone who witnessed the Launceston Criterium last week would have safely had Matt Goss in their top few picks for today’s opening stage as winning form is good form.

 

With the sixty minute stage reduced to 45 minutes as a result in the earlier delay to the women’s event, it was not unexpected to see 2004 Olympic madison champion and 2009 series winner Graeme Brown animating the race early.  Brown has the Bay Crits flowing through his veins and he gave a trademark cheeky grin at Team Sky’s Matt Hayman as they crossed the start finish line for the first intermediate sprint.

 

Clearly Sky had not come for just a pre Tour Down Under tune up.  As soon as the Brown had again shaded Hayman in the second sprint their New Zealand ace, Greg Henderson took off, leading for the next six laps of the 2km circuit.

 

Henderson was collared with six laps remaining, and this time it was reigning Australian road champion Travis Meyer (Garmin-Cervello) taking charge.  However this was short-lived and the field was in one group at the bell.

 

Goss timed his sprint best, holding off Sutton and the fast finishing Davis to take the opening win. Brown finished fourth, but collected the Blood Hyundai green sprinters jersey, courtesy of the eight points he tallied in the intermediate sprints.

 

Goss was full of praise for the all-Tasmanian E3/Pure Tasmania team.

 

“We have a really strong team here and Wes and Bernie Sulzberger are really going well and they covered every move in the first 40 minutes and after that I just tried to stay in the right position for the finish,” Goss said.

 

“There are not very many chances when we get to race together. It’s like a state team almost.  I’m sure it’s not the last you’ll see of the Tasmanians these four days.

 

“We came in to get a stage win and we’ve knocked that over pretty early so that’s a good start.”

 

Sutton has been battling illness since his NSW Grand Prix win in December so was happy to be on the podium.

 

“The whole team is going really strong .  We took control and the boys did and an awesome job leading me out in the sprint.  Despite the illness I felt really strong then.  I went from 300m out in the sprint, but I never died in the sprint and that’s something I’ve been working on over the summer. I came up second but still on the podium,” Sutton said.

 

The support race, featuring a big field of 152 riders, was taken out by Victorian Steele Van Hoff who back up his good recent form which includes a top ten finish at the Launceston Criterium.

 

The day began with the 6th Annual Amy's Ride challenge in Geelong.  The event honours the late Amy Gillett who was killed during a training ride in Germany in 2005.

 

The event continues tomorrow with Stage Two at Portarlington.

 

Results for Day One of 2011 Jayco Bay Classic

Eastern Park, Geelong (2km per lap) – Sunday 2 January 2011

 

ELITE MEN

Stage One Results and General Classification after Stage One

1.        Matthew Goss (E3/Pure Tasmania)                                              12

2.        Chris Sutton (Team Sky)                                                                    10

3.        Allan Davis (Bikebug.com)                                                                  8

4.        Graeme Brown (Urban)                                                                      7

5.        Leigh Howard (Jayco VIS)                                                                    6

6.        Michael Matthews (Urban)                                                               5

7.        Mark Renshaw (O2 Networks)                                                         4

8.        Joel Pearson (Genesys Wealth Advisers)                                    3

9.        Baden Cooke (Lowe Farms/Boomaroo Nurseries)                  2

10.      Jonathon Cantwell (Lowe Farms/Boomaroo Nurseries)         1

 

Blood Hyundai Sprint Ace – After Stage One

1.         Graeme Brown (Urban)                                                                     8

2.         Mathew Hayman (Team Sky)                                                           4

3.         Greg Henderson (Team Sky)                                                            3

 

Teams

1.            E3/Pure Tasmania                                                                            12

2.            Urban                                                                                                   12

3.            Team Sky                                                                                             10

4.            Bikebug.com                                                                                        8

 

 ELITE WOMEN

Stage One Results and General Classification after Stage One

1.        Rochelle Gilmore (Honda)                                                                                12

2.        Belinda Goss (Vetta Pasta)                                                               10

3.        Nicole Whitburn (Unattached/Vic)                                                 8

4.        Peta Mullens (Honda)                                                                          7

5.        Kirsty Broun (Virgin Blue)                                                                    6

6.        Judith Arndt (Unattached/GER)                                                       5

7.        Jessica Allen (Jayco VIS)                                                                      4

8.        Sophie Williamson (Bicycle Superstore)                                        3

9.        Emy Huntsman (Jayco VIS)                                                                 2

10.      Emma Mackie (Virgin Blue)                                                                1

 

Blood Hyundai Sprint Ace – After Stage One

1.        Peta Mullens (Honda)                                                                          3

2.        Megan Dunn (Honda)                                                                         3

3.       Jess Allen (Jayco VIS                                                                             2           

 

Teams

1.            Honda                                                                                                   19

2.            Vetta Pasta                                                                                         10

3.            Virgin Blue                                                                                            7

4.            Jayco VIS                                                                                               6

 

SUPPORT MEN

Stage One Results and General Classification after Stage One

1.         Steele Van Hoff                                                                                   12

2.         Angus Tobin                                                                                          10

3.         Ryan Standish                                                                                        8