Photo gallery: Highlights from the 2016 Bay Crits
It’s only the first week of January but already the Australian summer of racing is well underway. Starting on January 1 and running for four days, the 2016 Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic (commonly known as the “Bay Crits”) was the 27th edition of the season-opening race. As ever, many of Australia’s best riders were in attendance, as too were a number of international stars.
Beginning on Geelong’s Ritchie Boulevard on New Year’s Day, stage 1 saw Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) take a surprise victory in the elite women’s race while Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) surprised nobody when he powered to victory. You can read more about stage 1 here.
On stage 2 the riders moved a few hundred metres up the beach to Geelong’s Eastern Gardens where national criterium champion Kimberley Wells (High5 Dream Team) dashed to her first win of the year. In the elite men’s race, Ewan won again, putting himself on track to win a second consecutive Bay Crits title. Here’s our report from stage 2.
On stage 3 the Bay Crits moved down the Bellarine Peninsula to Portalington and the series’ most difficult course. Valentina Scandolara (Ale) overcame the tough climb and strong winds to win the women’s race while domestic veteran Pat Shaw (Avanti IsoWhey) took a long-awaited victory a little later that afternoon. You can read about the stage here.
And on the final day of racing in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Williamstown, Lizzie Williams (Orica-AIS) won solo while Gracie Elvin finished fifth, securing the overall title. Caleb Ewan won his third stage for the week, cementing his third Bay Crits title in four years. Read more about stage 4 here.
Here’s a selection of photos from the four days of racing. Enjoy!
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- The grassy embankment makes for a terrific viewing area near Geelong’s Ritchie Boulevard.
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- National criterium champ Kimberley Wells is easy to spot in her green and gold stripes.
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- Gracie Elvin (far right) takes a surprise win after trying to lead out Sarah Roy.
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- The Ritchie Boulevard hotdog circuit usually sees a few crashes.
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- Jack Haig rode a very impressive stage 1, keeping attacks at bay for Caleb Ewan.
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- Ewan rewarded Haig’s work with a comfortable stage win.
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- Stage 2 saw the riders take to Eastern Gardens in Geelong.
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- Valentina Scandolara goes on the attack on the course’s short but steep climb.
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- Wells wins in the sprint.
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- Getting away from the bunch was hard at Eastern Gardens.
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- Ewan would go on to take two wins from two days.
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- Kimberley Wells and Gracie Elvin are good friends off the bike but fiercely competitive once the racing begins. They are pictured here at the start of stage 3 in Portarlington.
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- The infamous Portarlington hill.
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- Sarah Roy, Vale Scandolara and Gracie Elvin forged the winning breakaway on stage 3.
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- A great victory for crowd-favourite Scandolara.
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- U23 road race and ITT champion Miles Scotson embarked on a strong break in Portarlington.
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- Previous winner in Portarlington, Luke Durbridge, broke clear in search of Scotson …
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- … and would eventually catch him.
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- But it all came back together for a sprint which was won by Pat Shaw.
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- Stage 4 winner Lizzie Williams said after her victory: “I could tell I was feeling good. I was looking at my watts on the rollers and you can just tell if you’re going to have a good day and I’m like ‘I’m going to go and I’m going to go full gas and see what happens’ and it worked.”
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- Julie Leth (left) and Lizzie Williams (right) created the day’s main breakaway.
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- Gracie Elvin’s fifth place netted her the overall victory with Scandolara second and Williams third.
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- Orica-GreenEdge sports director Matt Wilson watches on in Williamstown.
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- Brenton Jones of Drapac stayed glued to Caleb Ewan’s wheel throughout much of the four days of racing.
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- The final straight at Williamstown.
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- Sam Crome (Avanti IsoWhey) looks back after getting a small advantage on the peloton.
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- Three wins in four days for Caleb Ewan and his 10th career stage victory at the Bay Crits.
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- The 21-year-old won the title ahead of 2014 winner Brenton Jones (who was second on all three stages that Ewan won) and stage 3 winner Pat Shaw.
