Highlights from the 2014 Jayco Herald Sun Tour
It’s been an impressive start to the year for Orica-GreenEDGE. The Australian national road race championships and the Santos Tour Down Under both fell the way of Simon Gerrans and it was a different Simon – Simon Clarke – who continued Orica-GreenEDGE’s great summer, winning the 61st edition of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour on the weekend.
Prologue ITT: Melbourne Southbank
In its first year back as a UCI 2.1-ranked race, the Jayco Herald Sun Tour got underway with a twilight prologue in the centre of Melbourne on Wednesday. The technical 2.5km course featured a number of tight turns, potholes and drain covers to negotiate and for most of the riders it was a case of getting through the stage safely, without losing too much time.
Will Clarke (Drapac) was an early contender for the win, setting a time of 3:02 and sitting in the hot seat for much of the night. His time was later beaten by Tom Scully (New Zealand National Team) by a single second and with only two riders left it looked like the night belonged to Scully.
But as the penultimate rider to leave the start gate, Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) averaged 50km/h to post a time of three minutes flat, taking the win ahead of his compatriot Scully. It was an impressive start for Garmin-Sharp who not only took the win but placed four riders in the top seven overall.
Click here for results from the prologue.
Stage 1: Geelong to Ballarat
Jack Bauer started stage 1 in the leader’s yellow jersey and it was left to his Garmin-Sharp team to control proceedings. A three-rider group of Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23 National Team), Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) and Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris) escaped from the peloton on the outskirts of Geelong and held their lead over the tough Glenmore Road climb, with Hamilton taking maximum points.
The trio was caught by a chasing group of 15 riders on the other side of the KOM and much of the peloton would later join them over the category four climb of Mt. Egerton.
When it came to the uphill bunch sprint on Sturt Street in Ballarat, Nathan Haas made it two wins in two days for Garmin-Sharp, overpowering his bigger-name opponents, including Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Jonathan Cantwell (Drapac).
Click here for results from stage 1.
Stage 2: Ballarat to Bendigo
The first two days of the race belonged to Garmin-Sharp but on stage 2 it was Orica-GreenEDGE’s chance to get back on the winners’ list.
A group of 17 riders got away from the peloton just 20km into the stage, with Simon Clarke one of several riders flying the flag for Orica-GreenEDGE. The break managed to pull away from the peloton on what was a hot and hilly day and when the 17-rider group hit the day’s main climb, up Mt. Alexander, the group fractured.
Clarke attacked on the climb, dragging Jack Haig (Avanti) and Cam Wurf (Cannondale) with him and the trio managed to hold on for the remaining 48km to the line.
Clarke took a comfortable win ahead of Wurf and Haig, taking the overall lead from Nathan Haas and ensuring that the three breakaway riders would occupy all three steps on the overall podium. It would turn out to be the final podium as well.
Click here for results from stage 2.
Stage 3: Mitchelton Winery to Nagambie
It didn’t take long for the day’s breakaway to get established with Chris Jory (KordaMentha Australian National Team), Hugh Carth (Rapha Condor JTL), Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare), Nathan Elliot (African Wildlife Safaris), John Anderson (Drapac), Sam Spokes (Jayco U23 Australia), Thomas Hamilton (Jayco U23 Australia), Elchin Asadov (Synergy Baku) and Kristian Juel (Budget Forklifts) building a nearly-four-minute advantage over the main field.
They contested the day’s two climbs amongst themselves but by then the lead was well and truly starting to come down. Orica-GreenEDGE, Garmin-Sharp and Cannondale all contributed to the pacemaking at the front of the main field, ensuring the race would end with a bunch sprint.
A crash in sight of the second intermediate sprint point saw several riders hit the deck, including Pat Shaw (KordaMenthe National Team) who was taken from the race in an ambulance.
The final sprint arrived and what might have been a Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) win was spoiled by a dropped chain with 200m to go. Unofficial reports suggest that many of the riders were actually sprinting for a blue inflatable Subaru sign 200m from the finish which saw many sprinters mistime their run.
But in the end it was 19-year-old sprinter Robert-John McCarthy who took the biggest win of his young career, ahead of New Zealand’s Rico Rogers (OCBC Singapore) and Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT).
Back in the bunch Simon Clarke finished in 11th on the same time, ensuring he would hold on to his overall lead, ahead of Cameron Wurf and Jack Haig who both finished in the bunch as well.
Click here for results from stage 3.
Stage 4: Arthurs Seat
Stage 4 of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour was supposed to be the race’s queen stage; a stage that was scheduled to include three ascents of the short but steep Arthurs Seat climb. But with bushfires burning out of control in several parts of Victoria emergency service crews and vehicles were needed elsewhere.
And so, in consultation with Victoria Police, the race organisers cancelled the stage. It was a disappointing outcome for the many fans that had made the journey to the Mornington Peninsula to watch the race and, no doubt, for the riders who were looking forward to an exciting final day’s racing.
But “safety first” was the order of the day and the cancelled stage saw Simon Clarke crowned the winner of the 61st edition of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. Cameron Wurf finished second overall, eight seconds behind Clarke while Jack Haig was third, 11 seconds behind Clarke.
Click here for the final results.
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- Race director John Trevorrow, a three-time winner of the race himself, addresses the crowd at Federation Square ahead of the team presentations.
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- Matty Lloyd (far left), a last-minute call-up to the KordaMenthe Australian National Team, made a point of standing apart from his teammates during the team presentation.
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- Orica-GreenEDGE is presented to the Federation Square crowd ahead of the prologue ITT.
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- Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australia U23 National Team) turns on to Southbank during the ITT prologue. The 20-year-old would later go on to win the KOM classification.
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- Left: Matt Goss and Mitch Docker (Orica-GreenEDGE) check out the prologue ITT course. Right: Kristian Juel (Budget Forklifts) speeds along Southbank.
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- Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) is offered a gift during the ITT but has other things on his mind.
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- Guillaume Boivin (Cannondale) enters the final 100m of the prologue ITT.
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- Elchin Asadov (Synergy Baku) gets the prize for the best angry face in the prologue.
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- Mitch Docker buried himself on his way to 27th in the prologue, eight seconds behind Jack Bauer.
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- Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) was the second last rider to leave the start gate but he proved fastest overall, finishing the 2.5km course in a time of 3:00.
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- With Jack Bauer in the leader’s yellow jersey on stage 1 it was left up to Garmin-Sharp to control the race.
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- The peloton snakes its way through the Victorian countryside.
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- Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris) was part of a three-rider breakaway on stage 1 that hit the Glenmore Road KOM with a lead over the main field.
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- Eventual winner Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEDGE) battles up the steep Glenmore Road KOM on stage 1.
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- The Glenmore Road climb is well known by club cyclists in Melbourne for being part of the Hell of the West race. The climb itself is 1km long at an average gradient of 14% with several ramps of 20%+.
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- Nathan Haas sprints to the win on stage 1 in Ballarat. He was leading out Steele Von Hoff but a mechanical mishap left Haas with no choice but to go for the win himself.
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- The stage win was Nathan Haas’s first victory in Garmin-Sharp colours. Fitting that he should take it at the Sun Tour, a race that he won in 2011, propelling him into the WorldTour.
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- Simon Clarke makes his race-winning move on Mt. Alexander on stage 2. Thomas Hamilton, in the polka dot jersey of the KOM classification leader, was the first to respond. Jack Haig was not far behind.
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- Simon Clarke cools himself off as his race-winning break of three — featuring Jack Haig (Avanti) and Cam Wurf (Cannondale) — nears the finish to stage 2 in Bendigo.
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- Garmin-Sharp and Drapac did their best to chase down the leading trio but the heat and the parcours took their toll and the leaders were able to stay away.
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- Simon Clarke crosses the line in Bendigo, winning ahead of Cam Wurf and Jack Haig.
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- Nathan Haas recovers after losing the yellow jersey on stage 2 to Simon Clarke.
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- The peloton rolls out of Mitchelton Winery on stage 3.
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- Lachlan Morton, Cameron Meyer and Simon Gerrans lead Simon Clarke on stage 3.
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- The main field, led by Garmin and Orica-GreenEDGE, head towards Nagambie on stage 3.
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- Damian Howson (Orica-GreenEDGE) does a turn of pace at the front on stage 3.
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- Robert-Jon McCarthy (Jayco U23 National Team) takes the win on stage 3. Word on the street is that most of the sprinters thought the blue Subaru banner seen in the background was the finish.
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- Nineteen-year-old Robert-Jon McCarthy comes into the podium area after taking the biggest win of his career.
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- Race director John Trevorrow and the race’s chief commissaire discuss the possibility of stage 4 being cancelled.
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- Matt Wilson, Orica-GreenEDGE director sportif, makes a call as the news emerges that stage 4 has been cancelled. Emergency services personnel and vehicles were needed to attend to bushfires elsewhere in the state, leaving the race unable to go ahead.
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- Simon Clarke, winner of the 2014 Jayco Herald Sun Tour. The stage 2 breakaway of Clarke, Wurf and Haig determined the overall standings after stage 4 was cancelled.
