Cycling Australia

Adelaide Hills alive with the sound of team time trials

The Adelaide Hills were alive with the sound of cycling on Friday with a team time trial kick-starting the inaugural Jarvis Subaru Adelaide Tour, the first Subaru National Road Series (NRS) event to be staged in South Australia.

Local knowledge aided South Australian based Euride Racing to a comprehensive victory in the men's event from Cuddlee Creek to Newton, while Tasmania's Team Polygon Australia scorched the course to take the honours in the women's category.

In the men's event, Euride Racing blitzed their way across the 20 kilometre course, with the home team stopping the clock in 24mins 19secs to propel Harry Carpenter into the yellow leader’s jersey.

“I’m pretty ecstatic really,” Carpenter exclaimed. “We’ve been targeting this race for a long time because it’s our home town tour - we were definitely hoping to come out and prove something today and it’s great to be able to do that. We are all over the moon.”

In a steep downhill course through the Adelaide Hills, Euride Racing upstaged Budget Forklifts by sixteen seconds (24:35) as well as previously unbeaten team time trial specialists Huon Genesys (25:00) by 41 seconds.

“We know this road back to front,” Carpenter described. “The course is very technical; knowing what corners we could take a bit quicker was definitely the difference today.”

Carpenter believes the result has placed his team, which includes George Tansley, Tom Kaesler, Russell Gill, Joshua Harrison, Andrew Roe, Fraser Northey and Scott Mcphee, in a great position heading into the weekend.

The men's second stage will be held on Saturday and will feature a 158 kilometre road race including three loops around Hahndorf, before Sunday's kermesse concludes the Tour.

“We now have four riders up there on GC so we have lots of options, and as a team we are very confident that we’ve got enough now to take out the whole tour, which of course is always our goal,” Carpenter added.

In the women’s event, Team Polygon Australia stamped their authority on the Tour with a resounding victory.

The strong Tasmanian outfit of London Olympian Amy Cure, 2011 NRS champion Grace Sulzberger, junior track world champion Georgia Baker, plus Macey Stewart and Lauren Perry, recorded a blistering time of 28mins 3.1secs.

“It is great to be able come out and show everyone what you've got when its just you and your team against the clock,” said Cure, 20. “We came here thinking we had every opportunity and chance as everyone else, but we also knew it would be very tough, so it is awesome to have pulled the win off.”

“We started off pretty hard and our two juniors girls in Macey and Lauren rode fantastically, they were pulling really strong turns and really contributed to the win.”

After crossing the line first, Cure will wear the leader’s yellow jersey into Saturday’s 105.6 kilometre road race.

“It is going to be a hard hundred kilometres and with the hill climbs and gravel sections in there, it is going to mix it up,” Cure noted. "It certainly is a road race that suits everyone which means it is going to be really close.”

Considered favourites amongst many, the Jayco/Apollo VIS Women's Road Team was unable to eclipse the Tasmanian time, posting 28mins 38.8secs to secure second place.  Current team standings leader Pensar SPM Racing finished a further four seconds off the pace in third with 28mins 42.3secs.

The inaugural Jarvis Subaru Adelaide Tour is the fourth round for the men and third for women in Subaru 2013 NRS. The Tour's second stage, for both men and women will be held on Saturday,  starts and finishes at the Bird-in-Hand Winery, Woodside.

The 2013 Subaru NRS features 17 individual events across Australia, including six combined men’s and women’s events, and a total of 77 days of racing.

Expression of Interest:Cycling Australia Ethics and Integrity Panel

Cycling Australia (CA) is seeking expressions of interest from people interested in appointment to an Ethics and Integrity Panel (“Panel”).

The formation of such a Panel was one of the key recommendations of the Wood Review into CA conducted at the end of 2012 to strengthen the governance processes of Australian cycling.

The Panel is a volunteer sub-committee of CA appointed by the Board of CA. The principal roles of the Panel will be to deal with matters of ethics and integrity referred to it by the CA Board and provide recommendations back to the Board on such matters
and related cases.

A set of summary guidelines setting out the proposed operations of the Panel can bne found by clicking the link below.

Expressions of interest (EOI) from suitably qualified or experienced candidates, including a brief CV of relevant details, are welcomed no later than Monday 3 June 2013.

EOI will be considered by a Nominations Committee and recommendations for appointment to the Panel will be submitted to the Board for endorsement. It is proposed to have the Panel in operation before the end of June 2013. 

Rowney takes stage three of Tour Languedoc Roussillon

Australia's Loren Rowney (Specialized-Lululemon) claimed the honours in stage three of the Tour Languedoc Roussillon in France.

Queensland's Rowney established an early break on the hilly 123 kilometre stage from Maury to Camurac, staying with the group as the GC riders bridged the gap.

A rider broke clear inside the final kilometre, however Rowney's teammate Lisa Brennauer reeled in the break in time for Rowney to contest the sprint.

"Really happy to take the win today at Tour du #Languedoc :), definitely had to bring the climbing legs! Awesome team work by @velociosports," Rowney said on her Twitter account.

"It's challenging racing here," said Specialized-Lululemon Sport Director Ronny Lauke. "Yesterday's stage one one of the hardest I've seen in women's cycling. I'm proud of the way the girls are racing and it was fantastic for Loren to stay with that front group and be able to win a hilly stage like this."

The 2013 Tour Languedoc Roussillon features over 100 riders across 18 teams covering 640 kilometres across six stages through the stunning landscapes of the French region.

The Tour continues on Tuesday with a 27.9km time trial before the final stage a 114km loop around Beziers.

McGee and Stephens to head up Cycling Australia Elite Men's Road Group

Cycling Australia CEO Graham Fredericks today announced Bradley McGee (OAM) as Directeur Sportif for the Elite Men's Road program. Joining him will be Brian Stephens in the role of European Co-ordinator.

• Ongoing liaison with athletes and their teams to monitor the progress and performances by Australians in UCI World Tour and sub category competitions - and to provide athletes with advice and support as required.
• Working closely with Australian road selectors to drive the selection process for Australian teams for benchmark events (World Titles, Commonwealth and Olympic Games)
• Strategic direction and delivery of Australian elite road teams toward podium performances at benchmark competitions.
• Implementation of a professional transition program for Australian neo-professionals going into World Tour Teams, including an athlete mentoring 'big brother' program where they will engage selected experienced Australian pro's to assist young riders in their personal development.

The UCI World Championships will be held in Florence, Italy on September 20-28, 2013.

Aussie MTB duo power to World Cup wins in Germany

Victoria’s Dan McConnell has become the first Australian male since Cadel Evans in 2000 to win a World Cup event, while Rebecca Henderson capped a sensational weekend for Australian mountain biking with victory in the under 23 women’s event at the UCI Cross Country (XC) World Cup #1 in Germany.

The wins came hot off the heels of the major bid announcement by Cycling Australia and Mountain Bike Australia last Friday that Australia will host 2014 and 2016 World Cup events in Cairns, Queensland.

A powerful final lap surge by McConnell (Trek Factory Racing) was the difference as he claimed Sunday’s elite men’s race and the World Cup leader’s jersey in superb style.

"I did not expect this," exclaimed McConnell, who finished 21st in the cross country event at the London 2012 Olympic Games. "I came into this looking for a solid top-15, so it's unbelievable.”

McConnell, the reigning Oceania champion, had previously recorded only one top-20 World Cup result and it appeared this would be the case again when he commenced the seventh and final lap in sixth place, 29 seconds behind Mantecon.

In a calculated final lap, McConnell steadily picked up places on the first long climb to move into second place, before taking the lead after the final descent and outsprinting Spain’s Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez on the home straight for the win.

“I could see Sergio in front of me, and at that stage I just gave it everything, and caught him through the grass section at the bottom of the descent,” McConnell explained. “I got into the last corner with a little bit of a gap and nothing was going to get past me at that point, I was running on adrenalin.”

In the under 23 women’s event, Canberra’s Rebecca Henderson claimed her maiden World Cup victory in a rain soaked event on Saturday.

Henderson (Trek Factory Racing) was cautious early in the stages of the race and found herself in fourth place after the first of four laps.

However the London Olympian powered to the front in the second lap and never relinquished the lead to finish 48 seconds clear of Jenny Rissveds (Sweden).

“I had a healthy lead, but I still felt pressure and rode as smart as I could,” said Henderson who like McConnell, now sits in the overall lead on the World Cup standings.

"This is an awesome result for Dan and Bec and on behalf of the MTBA Committee, congratulations to them,” said Russell Baker President, Mountain Bike Australia. “We thought it was going to be a good weekend for Australian Mountain Biking when we were able to announce two world cups for Cairns in 2014 and 2016, but how can you top these fantastic results."

Watch: McConnell’s win

The second round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be held in the Czech Republic from May 24.

JAYCO-AIS WTA News: Flakemore takes stage five Phelan 7th overall in GC

ROYAL SMILDE OLYMPIA'S TOUR (NED) UCI 2.2

STAGE 5 - REUVER I.T.T. , 13.8 km (NED) (68 starters)

Finally some sunshine for the week and a stage the remaining Aussie guys had been targetting to chase a result. All four Aussies left were all still fatigued from yesterday's monster day as were most of the remaining peloton.

Alex Clements was our first rider off and put in a solid effort. He finished 13th on the stage and gained some valuable experience during the long wet week of Dutch style racing.

Then Damien Howson set the fastest time taking 11secs. off Michael Vink from New Zealand and remained in the hot seat for a while with Campbell and Adam our two remaining starters.

Clearly the ride of the week for the Aussie team was Campbell Flakemore's T.T. effort today taking another 6secs. off Damien's time and moving from 13th to 9th overall.

Adam was our last rider off and best placed on G.C. and managed a great result to move into a tie for 6th on G.C..

So 1st and 2nd for the stage with Campbell and Damien. This is off the back of Rohan's T.T. win and Glenn O'Shea's 3rd here last year and in 2011 it was Luke Durbridge and Michael Hepburn taking 1-2 on the same course.

STAGE 5 results - 13.8km T.T.

1. Flakemore, Campbell (Australia) 16min.54.580secs. @ 48.994 km/hr
2. Howson, Damien (AUS) @ 6s.
3. Van Baarle, Dylan (Rabobank development, NED) @ 15s.
8. Phelan, Adam (AUS) @ 46s.
13. Clements, Alex (AUS) @ 55s.
(68 finishers)

YouTube highlights of T.T. stage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NdElpccDI08#!

STAGE 6 - REUVER CIRCUIT RACE, 83 km (NED) (68 starters)

The final stage was a 10km circuit around Reuver and teams chasing intermediate sprint bonuses and points for respective overall jerseys.A final bunch sprint had the Aussie train of four hit front at 2km remaining trying to get a time bonus for Adam Phelan to move up on G.C.
Adam sprinted well to get sixth on the stage and finish 7th overall.

FINAL G.C.
1. Van Baarle, Dylan (Rabobank development, NED)
2. Koning, Peter (Metec, NED) @ 1m.12s.
3. Van der Zwet, Arno (Koga, NED) @ 1m.17s.
7. Phelan, Adam (Australia) @ 4m.08s.
9. Flakemore, Campbell (AUS) @ 4m.57s.
32. Howson, Damien (AUS) @ 18m.41s.
59. Clements, Alex (AUS) @ 33m.30s.

Cairns to host UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events

MEDIA RELEASE
Saturday May 18 2013
 
Queensland has secured two major international mountain bike events to be held in Cairns in 2014 and 2016.
 
Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Minister Jann Stuckey congratulated Cycling Australia on its bid for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cups and said the events would leave an important tourism and events legacy for Tropical North Queensland.
 
“Today’s announcement represents a major coup for Cairns and Queensland, providing an opportunity to showcase a region renowned for being ‘Adventurous by Nature’ as well as bringing economic benefits to the State,” Ms Stuckey said.
 
“The World Cup events in 2014 and 2016 will see Cairns become the focus of the world’s mountain biking community.
 
“The events, bid for by Cycling Australia with the support of the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, are expected to attract attendees from 45 countries around the world.
 
“In addition, a series of participatory Cross Country Marathon (XCM) mountain bike events will be held in the lead up to each World Cup encouraging cycling enthusiasts from across the country to bring their bikes to Cairns, test themselves on the trails and stay to watch the World Cup events.
 
“Investing in the events will also mean ongoing infrastructure, positioning Queensland as a great destination for hosting future World Championship Mountain Biking events.”
 
Ms Stuckey said mountain biking was a Commonwealth Games and Olympic sport and hosting the events would demonstrate to the international sporting fraternity Queensland’s ability to host world-class sporting events ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. 
 
“Cairns is an ideal destination for hosting major sporting events providing enticing holiday options for participants, their families and friends, encouraging visitors to stay longer in the region,” she said.
 
“In 2012 the region welcomed more than two million visitors who spent $2.5 billion on visits both increases of four per cent increase on 2011.
 
“Today’s announcement is the latest addition to the growing calendar of major events, supported by the Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, for the region which also includes Great Barrier Reef Masters Games, Cairns Airport Adventure Festival as well as AFL and NRL Fixtures.
 
“The Newman Government recognises sports tourism as a major contributor to Queensland’s economy and supports the target of $30 billion in overnight visitor expenditure by 2020.”
 
UCI Board of Management Committee Member and President of Oceania Cycling Confederation Ms Tracey Gaudry congratulated Cycling Australia and Tourism Events Queensland for the bid to host the UCI MTB World Cup events.

“Today’s announcement is a significant one for cycling in Australia. It marks the beginning of a new suite of major cycling events that the UCI and Cycling Australia have been working on together in partnership and the future is bright.”

Cycling Australia’s Commercial Director Mr Michael Edgley highlighted the partnership between Tourism Events Queensland, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, James Cook University and Cairns Regional Council as being the determining factor in Cairns winning the right to host these mountain bike events.

“The Cairns stakeholder group worked together seamlessly to secure these events and are to be congratulated for putting together a team that will ensure that Cairns will be ready to welcome the world’s mountain bike community in style.”

Australian MTB Cross Country Olympic (XCO) Champion Peta Mullens said that getting the opportunity to represent Australia in a UCI MTB World Cup on home soil was something to be cherished.

“The Cairns courses will be unique and the tropical nature of the events will be a real highlight for all the international competitors. I’m so excited about the prospect of donning the green and gold bands here in Cairns”.

The UCI is due to ratify the full suite of UCI MTB events contained in the Cycling Australia bid at the June UCI Board of Management meeting.

JAYCO-AIS WTA News: Cold and wet racing continues in Netherlands

STAGE 4 - BOCHOLTZ to VOERENDAAL, 192 km (NED)
(106 starters)

A tough stage by any tour standards with rain all day and never rising above 10 degrees. WIth the unrelenting hills around Valkenburg, the day turned into survival of the strongest.

Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank development) raced brilliantly and calculated his final attack superbly to put himself in the tour lead with a 43sec. advantage going into tomorrow morning's 13.8km time trial.   Van Baarle finished 2nd to Rohan Dennis in last year's time trial stage to take over the lead and then Rabobank defended his lead on the last stage circuit race.  So all looking predictably safe for him again tomorrow.

Adam, Campbell, Damien and Alex all dug deep in the trying conditions but ran out of legs in the last hour and came in empty, with 68 finishing riders scattered over 19mins. Glenn, Mitch and Brad have had better days and didn't finish the stage.

Plenty of refueling tonight for the double stage based in Reuver tomorrow with the remaining guys still keen to chase a Time Trial result and finish off a long wet week ! !

STAGE 4 results - 192km

  1.   Van Baarle, Dylan (Rabobank development, NED) 
  2.   Groenewegen, Dylan (de Rijke, NED)  @ 29s.
  3.   Reinders, Elmar (Metec, NED)  s.t.
15.   Phelan, Adam (Australia)  @ 3m.16s.
30.   Flakemore, Campbell (AUS)  @ 4m.53s.
33.   Howson, Damien (AUS)  @ 12m.31s.
64.   Clements, Alex (AUS)  @  19m.
         (68 finishers)

G.C. after STAGE 4

  1.   Van Baarle, Dylan (Rabobank development, NED)
  2.   Van der Zwet, Arno (Koga, NED)  @ 43secs.
  3.   Koning, Peter (Metec, NED)  @ 1m.
  7.   Phelan, Adam (Australia)  @ 3m.37s..
13.   Flakemore, Campbell (AUS)  @ 5m.12s.
35.   Howson, Damien (AUS)  @ 6m.19s.
74.   Clements, Alex (AUS)  @ 13m.50s.

JAYCO-AIS WTA News: Flakemore in fifth after third stage

ROYAL SMILDE OLYMPIA'S TOUR (NED) UCI 2.2
May 13-18

STAGE 3 - ULFT to GENDRINGEN, 157 km (NED)
(120 starters)

Moving further east from the coast towards the German border, today's stage was less about the crosswinds and by mid-stage a constant deluge of rain on the technical circuits made for some nervous racing.

Brad (Linfield) got caught in an early crash with around ten others which split the bunch in half for a short period before bunch etiquette allowed the race to regroup.

By mid-stage a group of four was allowed to get to two minutes on the peloton but the rain was increasing by the minute creating constant punctures and then Campbell (Flakemore) and Adam (Phelan) slipped uncontrollably exiting a roundabout.  Their teammates rode extremely professionally to patiently pace our two G.C. contenders back through the convoy.

Adam then needed a quick bike change from the crash with the stage entering the finishing 11 kilometre circuit for four laps.  The break had been caught by this point when Brad jumped across to a late breakaway on the circuit and worked well with his 3 companions before finally being caught at 5km to go.

So seven Aussies still riding strongly and supporting Campbell and Adam's G.C. ambitions very well.  With time bonuses along the road Campbell still sits in 5th overall but drops to 19secs. from the lead, with Adam still holding 8th at 21secs.

Tomorrow's 192km stage from Bocholtz to Voerendaal will be the telling day of the tour with 13 classified mountain sprints and numerous narrow steep hills around the Valkenburg area.

Followed Saturday morning with a 13.8km time trial in Reuver and and 80km circuit race the same afternoon to complete the tour.

STAGE 3 results - 158km
  1.   Vermeulen, Jeff (Metec, NED)  3hrs. 28m. 10s.
  2.   Stroetinga, Wim (Koga, NED)  s.t.
  3.   Teunissen, Mike (Raobank development, NED)  s.t.
         (lead group of 93 riders)
         All seven Australians on bunch time.

G.C. after STAGE 3
  1.   Vermeulen, Jeff (Metec, NED)
  2.   Vermeltfoort, Coen (de Rijke-Shanks, NED)  @ 3secs.
  3.   Van der Zwet, Arno (Koga, NED)  @ 12secs.
  4.   Van Baarle, Dylan (Rabobank development, NED)  @ 15secs.
  5.   Flakemore, Campbell (Australia)  @ 19secs.
  6.   Asselman, Jesper (Metec, NED)  @ 20secs.
  7.   Karwowski, Cameron (NZL)  @ 21secs.
  8.   Phelan, Adam (Australia)  @ 21secs.
  9.   Chaigneau, Robin (Koga, NED)  @ 24secs.
10.   Teunissen, Mike (Raobank development, NED)  @  25secs.
35.   Howson, Damien (AUS)  @ 6m.19s.
37.   O'Shea, Glenn (AUS)  @ 6m.22s.
66.   Linfield, Brad (AUS)  @ 13m.31s.
74.   Clements, Alex (AUS)  @ 13m.50s.
93.   Mulhern, Mitch (AUS)  @ 15m.58s.

JAYCO-AIS WTA News: Aussies in good position after stage 2 of Olympias Tour

ROYAL SMILDE OLYMPIA'S TOUR (NED) UCI 2.2
May 13-18

STAGE 2 - RHENEN to ALKMAAR, 173 km (NED)
(120 starters)

Another action packed stage with the peloton splitting in pieces by mid-stage.

A 25km dike across the water north-east of Amsterdam provided the biggest challenge of the day with a cross tailwind being strategically used by the Dutch teams to take turns trying to break the lead group of 45 riders into smaller groups.  We were fortunate to keep Campbell and Adam in the front group all day and some good work from Damien and Glenn to protect them from the winds.

Mitch, Alex and Brad missed the split by the halfway point but came in with a large group to remain in the tour for tomorrow.

Due to intermediate and stage time bonuses Campbell drops to 5th overall at 13secs. and Adam 8th at 15secs., with last year's tour winner Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank development) picking up valuable seconds along the road to also take Campbell's under 22 jersey for now. 

Van Baarle is shaping up to be the one to watch for the overall again but Campbell and Adam are in a good position with a committed team working hard towards Friday's queen stage in the hilly Valkenburg region near last year's Road Worlds courses and Saturday's 13.8km Time Trial and circuit race in Reuver.

Tomorrow's 158km stage is again expected to be windy starting in Ulft and finishing with 4 laps of an 11km circuit in Gendringen.

STAGE 2 results - 173km
  1.   Van der Zwet, Arno (Koga, NED)  3hrs. 37m. 7s.
  2.   Vermeulen, Jeff (Metec, BEL)  @ 2s.
  3.   Wippert, Wouter (3M, NED)  s.t.
13.   Phelan, Adam (Australia) s.t.
24.   Flakemore, Campbell (Australia) s.t.
         (lead group of 25 riders)

Clements, Linfield, Mulhern @ 7'37"

James Victor

JAYCO-AIS WTA News: Flakemore third on GC after opening stage of Olympias Tour

ROYAL SMILDE OLYMPIA'S TOUR (NED) UCI 2.2
May 13-18

STAGE 1 - NOORDWIJKERHOUT to HOOFDDORP, 180km (NED)
(131 starters)

What was expected to be an aggressive and fast paced race today turned out to be critical in the overall scheme of General Classification. Crosswinds and a few showers gave plenty of opportunities to break up the race as much as possible with the Aussies covering all of the major moves early and the five stronger Dutch teams all looking to make their moves in some trying conditions.

Campbell and Adam got into a decisive break of 18 riders at 80km to go and then the De Rijke-Shanks team (NED) put seven of their team on the front of the main chase group to form a significant group of 30 riders and splitting the peloton into three groups.

Unfortunately the rest of the Aussies weren't able to anticiapte that move quickly enough and left their chase too long. The group of 30 chased for over one hour until making contact with the leaders at 10km to go and form the decisive G.C. group of 37 riders with the remainder of the peloton now at over 4 minutes.

Adam sprinted well for seventh in the stage, with Campbell comfortably inside the lead group across the line.

Campbell now sits third overall, also with the under 22 leaders jersey at 9 secs. down on G.C., while Adam is seventh at 11 secs. down and both well in contention for overall honours by Saturday's final stages.

Alex Morgan struggled with the winds and conditions and after a crash midway through the stage, regained the bunch briefly before succumbing to the constant pressure with another eight riders anf finished outside the time limit.

Tomorrow is again expected to be windy and wet with a 25km bridge exposing the race to the predictable weather coming into the final 70km of the 173km stage from Rhenen to Alkmaar.

James Victor

STAGE 1 results - 180km

1. Vermeulen, Jeff (Metec-TKH, NED) 3hrs 52m.30s @ 46.4 km/hr
2. Stroetinga, Wim (Koga, NED) s.t.
3. Wippert, Wouter (team 3M, NED) s.t.
7. Phelan, Adam (AUS) s.t.
15. Flakemore, Campbell (AUS) s.t.
( lead group = 37 riders )

- Clements, Howson, Linfield, O'Shea @ 5'34"
- Mulhern @ 8'05"
- Morgan @ 18'01"

Earle continues winning streak for Huon-Genesys at Toowoomba

Tasmania’s Nathan Earle (Huon Genesys) has claimed victory in the FKG Tour of Toowoomba, the third round in the Subaru National Road Series.

Earle’s win makes it three from three for the Tasmanian based outfit who topped the general classification at both the Tour de Perth and Battle on the Border.

“It’s pretty special to be able to come here and win,” Earle described. “Pat (Shaw) has won it two years previously and I got third in 2010 - I wore the leaders jersey for a day and lost it so that was bit upsetting and I said to myself ‘I want to come back here at some point and win the tour.”

Earle clinched the leaders jersey on stage two of the Darling Downs tour, winning a sprint to the line at the summit of Mount Bunya before the team cemented their lead with a solid performance in the team time trial on Saturday.

“My highlight is definitely the win on Bunya Mountain,” Earle said. “But also the team time trial was pretty special, just to be a part of that and to dominate by more than a minute to the second place was awesome.”

Earle, 24, took out the tour eight seconds ahead of teammate and current Subaru National Road Series leader Jack Haig while teammate Ben Dyball finished third overall, 16 seconds behind.

“The tour went so well for us,” Haig commented. “The first day was pretty hard, Drapac took it to us but we knew we had the best climbers at the tour and we showed that on stage two in Bunya Mountains.”

Current under 23 cross country mountain bike Australian Champion, 19 year old Haig is enjoying being in the NRS leaders jersey in his first year with a professional road cycling team.

“It’s a little bit overwhelming but I’m really enjoying being able to wear a jersey at the tours,” Haig explained. “I’m just looking forward to keeping it for as long as I can and trying to get some exposure and get my name out there.”

The final day’s stage went to Search2Retain sprinter Neil Van der Ploeg who won a bunch sprint ahead of stage four victor Ben Grenda (Polygon Australia) and Josh Taylor (GPM Wilson).

“It’s awesome to get the win,” Van der Ploeg exclaimed. “I’ve finished from second place to fifth place numerous times in the NRS so far this year so I was really keen to get a win on the board.”

Van der Ploeg took out the 50 kilometre criterium around Queens Park in the centre of Toowoomba after a last ditch attack by William Walker (Drapac) was shut down inside the final lap.

“I think you’d be a bit of a fool not to be concerned with someone like Will going off the front,” Van der Ploeg said of Walker’s stage one victory. “Luckily we had Angus Tobin there to do a bit of a chase which was just enough in the end and I can’t thank the team enough.”

JAYCO-AIS WTA News: First European Tour kicks off

ROYAL SMILDE OLYMPIA'S TOUR (NED) UCI 2.2
May 13-18

PROLOGUE, 3.2km - KATWIJK aan ZEE (NED)
(131 starters)

Australian National team
Alex Clements
Campbell Flakemore
Damien Howson
Brad Linfield
Alex Morgan
Mitch Mulhern
Glenn O'Shea
Adam Phelan

The Royal Smilde Olympia's Tour is the first European Tour for the season for the Jayco-AIS World Tour Academy Team, with special guest rider for the week in South Australia's Glenn O'Shea.

O'Shea raced with the Jayco-AIS team at last year's Olympias Tour and has spent the last couple of months after Track Worlds racing with the An Post Belgium team.  O'Shea's experience and tactical sense will add to a solid in-form young team who are looking forward to continued results during the week-long tour.

Also joining the road racing group for the first time is current Track world champion Alex Morgan who is looking to gain valuable road racing experience in Europe throughout the next few months.

Caleb Ewan remains on the injured list after his serious crash last Sunday but he is mending well and should be racing again by the end of May.

The prologue was held along the boulevarde south-west of Amsterdam and the winds were at a premium. No technical difficulties to the course, but a block headwind start for 2.2km, U-turn at a roundabout, and roaring 1km tail wind into the finish.

The Italian-based guys had put some work together in training to be amongst the results today and stay close on G.C. But the results below showed the guys are well focussed on moving their solid training efforts into results.

The winner of the stage rode for Argos Shimano last year and has already won some big races in Belgium and Holland this year. With seven of the Australians in the top 10 and Alexander Clements, not suited to the short sharpy prologues, still rode a respectable time to finish mid-field.

I've included the top 20 below to show that there are a few decent teams represented here wtih Rabobank always our nemisis this week having four guys finish between 12th and 20th.

So looking forward to an eventful week of crosswinds and agressive Dutch style racing with the decisive pentultimate stage Time Trial next Saturday morning.

- James Victor

PROLOGUE results - 3.2km

1. Vermeltfoort, Coen (Di RIjke, NED) 03min. 56sec. @ 48.8 km/hr
2. Howson, Damien (AUS) 2"
3. Mulhern, Mitchell (AUS) 2"
4. Morgan, Alexander (AUS) 3"
5. Karwowski, Cameron (NZL) 5"
6. Asselman, Jesper (Metas, NED) 5"
7. Flakemore, Campbell (AUS) 5"
8. O'Shea, Glenn (AUS) 5"
9. Phelan, Adam (AUS) 5"
10. Linfield, Bradley (AUS) 6"
11. Van Der Zwet, Arno (Koga, NED) 8"
12. Zepuntke, Ruben (Rabobank, NED) 9"
13. van Baarle, Dylan (Rabobank, NED - 2012 winner) 9"
14. Gate, Aaron (NZL) 9"
15. Groenewegen, Dylan (De Rijke, NED) 10"
16. Vermeulen, Jeff (Metas, NED) 10"
17. Pfingsten, Christoph (De Rijke, NED) 10"
18. Chaigneau, Robin (Koga, NED) 10"
19. Korevaar, Merijn (Rabobank, NED) 11"
20. Bovenhuis, Jasper (Rabobank, NED) 12"
68. Clements, Alexander (AUS) 25"

Hansen claims Giro stage win

Queensland's Adam Hansen (Lotto), won the seventh stage of the Tour of Italy on Friday, with Spain's Benat Intxausti claiming the overall leader's pink jersey.

Saturday's eighth stage is a 54.8km time trial between Gabbice Mare and Saltara, with Bradley Wiggins, 1:32 behind Intxausti in 23rd overall, fancied to prevail to boost his chances of victory.

Hansen took command of the stage after forming part of a five-strong breakaway group that hit the front early on in the day's run. Hansen and Emanuele Sella forged clear of the frontrunners near the Chieti climb 35km from the finish, with Hansen dropping the Italian to come home alone.

Hansen took the stage with a 1:07 gap back to a group led by Italian Enrico Battaglin with another home hope, Danilo Di Luca, in third. Intxausti came in 14th at 1:07.

Hansen, who turns 32 on Saturday, was clinching his first stage victory on a major tour since he turned professional in 2007.

In the overall standings, Intxausti now leads by five seconds from Vincenzo Nibali, who like Wiggins also fell, with last year's Giro winner, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, eight seconds back in third.