Jack Bobridge ten seconds back heading into final day
Saying yesterday that the white jersey of best young rider was his target between then and the end of the race, Nathan Haas did more than that on today’s big decider in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. The 22 year old Genesys Wealth Advisers rider showed his strength on the big climb of Arthur’s Seat, finishing second behind the Russian rider Egor Silin (Katusha), who soloed to a sixteen second victory.
Hass crossed the line just ahead of Jack Bobrdge (Garmin-Cervélo), a rider tipped as a major contender for the yellow jersey. The Australian national champion attacked repeatedly on the last climb but was unable to shake Haas off. The duo finished three seconds ahead of Silin’s team-mate Artem Ovechkin, while Drapac’s Lachlan Norris, Yukihiro Doi (Skil – Shimano) and Santos Tour Down Under champion Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervélo) were the only other riders within half a minute of the stage winner.
Stage one winner Rhys Pollock (Drapac), who led the race from day one, cracked and finished one minute 39 seconds back in 35th place. Having dropped to sixth overall, one minute 14 seconds behind Haas, his chances of winning the race are now gone.
Silin made his move two kilometres from the line, on what was the last of three ascents of the Arthur’s Seat climb. The former under 23 world championships bronze medallist said that the triumph was an important personal achievement for him.
“I am very happy. This is my first professional stage victory,” he beamed afterwards. “The finish was very nice for me as I climbed very well. I thank my team – they did a very good job.”
He had started the day ten minutes back overall, and so he was no threat for yellow. Haas and Bobridge certainly were, and they battled it out on the final climb. With Pollock dropped early, it was clear that the duo were fighting for the overall lead.
Haas’ response afterwards showed that he had exceeded his own expectations. “To come up against someone like Bobridge who I’ve admired since I was a junior is just a dream. I still can’t believe it’s happening,” he said.
“I spoke to my mate Richie Porte before the race – after the Tour of Tassie [Tour of Tasmania] – and he sent me a good message just saying, ‘you’ve got to trust that you are as good as these guys because they’re not supermen.’
“He said, your best at any time is often enough. I came into this race really trusting his words and on the first day I really backed myself and gave myself the opportunity to do it.”
Having succeeded in covering each of Bobridge’s moves and then pipping him at the line, he’s in control. Ten seconds is not a huge buffer, but it is likely to be enough on tomorrow’s final criterium stage.
“It feels pretty awesome. To be honest I’m trying to just stay pragmatic about it because there’s still another stage tomorrow so it’s not finished yet,” he said, not willing to tempt fate.
“Tomorrow it’s crits and I really love crits. It’s something that we do a lot in the National Road Series so I feel as if I’m not handicapped at all. My team’s going to be looking after me as well.”
Still, he said that he’s not under pressure. He’s already exceeded his own expectations and so he’ll accept however things turn out. “Whatever happens tomorrow, I feel as though I’ve come away with a good win inside,” he said. “It feels really good because I’m starting to realise one of my goals and some of the things I’ve sacrificed to be able to do this. It’s really nice to have something big like this happen.”
There were other battles to be played out today with Haas coming out on top of two of those as well. His runner-up slot on the stage sees him retain the lead in the Honda green sprinters jersey, ending the day four points clear of former Tour of Ireland winner Stijn Vandenbergh (Katusha), and his overall lead logically puts him as best in the young rider classification. In this case the two competitions are mirrored, as Bobridge is also ten seconds back in that white jersey battle.
The day’s break included Vandenbergh, John Anderson (Mitchelton Australia National Team), Cameron Peterson (V Australia), Patrick Shaw (Genesys Wealth Advisers) and PureBlack’s Glen Chadwick. These were clear for more than 80 kilometres, with Budget Forklifts’ Peter Herzig chasing alone behind.
Shaw beat Vandebergh for the first intermediate sprint, while the latter took the second. Chadwick was first to the top on the initial ascent of Arthur’s Seat while Peterson was best on the second climbing of it. His third place on the first climb was enough to see him end the day in the mountains jersey.
The break came back prior to the final climb. On the early slopes, Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma Lotto) attacked and was then joined by Silin, who left him behind in his push for the victory. Hansen would be passed by several riders including Haas and Bobridge, but would hang on to take eighth on the stage.
The GC battle will be settled on tomorrow’s final stage, a 15 lap, 61.5 kilometre circuit race in Melbourne. Two intermediate sprints offer bonus seconds of 3,2 and 1, while the finish will see 10, 6 and 4 up for grabs. Haas is in a strong position with that ten second buffer, but the race isn’t over yet.