Kiwi rider believes Garmin-Sharp team-mates better bets for overall, is wary of Gerrans
Garmin-Sharp rider Jack Bauer raced into the early lead in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour today, winning the 2.5 kilometre prologue held in Melbourne. The Kiwi beat compatriot Tom Scully (New Zealand) by one second, with William Clarke (Drapac Pro Cycling) and Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT) a further second back.
Bauer’s team-mates Nathan Haas, Steele von Hoff and Rohan Dennis were all within five seconds of their fellow Garmin-Sharp rider, netting fifth, sixth and seventh.
Recent Santos Tour Down Under winner Simon Gerrans got his bid for a third Jayco Herald Sun Tour victory underway with an eleventh place finish. He has six seconds to make up on Bauer in the days ahead.
“We’ve just come off a strong Tour Down Under, and I’m enjoying my time in Aussie,” said Bauer afterwards. “I’ve been training pretty well and staying healthy. The whole team is here with pretty decent legs. I didn’t really think we’d have anyone to challenge for today’s stage, but maybe it’s me.”
He admitted he was surprised to win, but said that the technical route suited his characteristics. “It’s not your standard prologue course, it’s like a city centre crit, a final lap of a city centre crit. I like that kind of riding and I think it showed today,” he said.
He described Scully as a ‘pretty awesome bike rider’ and said that he knew that he would be good. “It’s a bit of a pity knock a fellow Kiwi off the top perch, but it’s my job. It may as well be another Kiwi doing it.”
Clarke rode very well in the recent Santos Tour Down Under and accepted the result today. “I had hoped for a good result here. A top five was what I was aiming for, so third is nice,” he stated. “There were some close times – Jack beat me by a second and a half – but he’s a super-powerful rider.
“It was quite a technical course so it was a lot about taking risks in the corners tonight. That’s what you had to do to get a good result. I knew I had the legs for this sort of stuff so to confirm it gives me a lot of encouragement.”
Clarke’s penchant for breakaways gives him hope that he can aim for the overall victory. Directeur Sportif Agostino Giramondo said that the time he gained over some other riders today could prove vital later this week, although he accepted that the summit finish on the final day would cause big gaps.
“Really, we haven’t got a lot of pressure on us being third at the moment but at the same time, we’re there within striking distance,” Giramondo stated. “For us, there’s none better than Will Clarke who has proven that he is a breakaway specialist. If things fall the right way for him, having those few seconds up his sleeve could be enough to win the tour.
“Whether it’s enough for Arthurs Seat on Sunday is yet to be seen but the race could be over before we get there.”
Bauer believes that one of his Garmin-Sharp team-mates have a better chance than he does on that climb and so will try to defend over the days ahead but also to look for someone from the squad to take the overall.
“Obviously the stages are fairly lumpy, especially that final on Arthurs Seat near the end of the week,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of talent in the team and some good climbers. I’ll see what I can do to hold onto the jersey early on before we hit the hills.”
However he’s cautious about what Gerrans can do, particularly after his victories in the Australian national championships and the Santos Tour Down Under.
“Like everybody says, he’s in the form of his life,” he said. “There’s no better bike rider from this side of the world at the moment. Obviously he’s the man to beat and has got a strong team around him, but so do we. We definitely have a few cards to play.”
Tomorrow’s road race stage covers 125 undulating kilometres from Geelong to Ballarat.
Race route:
Prologue, Wednesday 5 February: Southbank, Melbourne ITT
Stage 1, Thursday 6 February: Geelong to Ballarat
Stage 2, Friday 7 February: Ballarat to Bendigo
Stage 3, Saturday 8 February: Mitchelton Winery to Nagambie
Stage 4, Sunday 9 February: Arthurs Seat, Mornington Peninsula
Jayco Herald Sun Tour, Australia (2.1):
Prologue, Melbourne:
1, Jack Bauer (Garmin Sharp) 2.5 kilometres in 3 mins
2, Tom Scully (New Zealand Team) at 1 secs
3, William Clarke (Drapac Pro Cycling) at 2 secs
4, Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT)
5, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) at 3 secs
6, Steele von Hoff (Garmin Sharp) at 4 secs
7, Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp) at 5 secs
8, Neil Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Cycling Team)
9, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge)
10, Germain Burton (Great Britain National Team) at 6 secs
11, Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge)
12, Anthony Giacoppo (Avanti Cycling Team)
13, Glenn O’Shea (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia) at 7 secs
14, Christopher Lawless (Great Britain National Team)
15, Campbell Flakemore (Avanti Cycling Team)
16, Lachlan Norris (Drapac Pro Cycling)
17, Joseph Cooper (Avanti Cycling Team)
18, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge)
19, Samuel Spokes (Jayco Australian U23
20, Harry Carpenter (Jayco Australian U23
21, Cameron Wurf (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 8 secs
22, Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare)
23, Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge)
24, Jordan Kerby (Drapac Pro Cycling)
25, Shaun O’Callaghan (African Wildlife Safaris)
General classification:
1, Jack Bauer (Garmin Sharp) 3 mins
2, Tom Scully (New Zealand Team) at 1 secs
3, William Clarke (Drapac Pro Cycling) at 2 secs
4, Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT)
5, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) at 3 secs
6, Steele von Hoff (Garmin Sharp) at 4 secs
7, Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp) at 5 secs
8, Neil Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Cycling Team)
9, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge)
10, Germain Burton (Great Britain National Team) at 6 secs
11, Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge)
12, Anthony Giacoppo (Avanti Cycling Team)
13, Glenn O’Shea (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia) at 7 secs
14, Christopher Lawless (Great Britain National Team)
15, Campbell Flakemore (Avanti Cycling Team)
16, Lachlan Norris (Drapac Pro Cycling)
17, Joseph Cooper (Avanti Cycling Team)
18, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge)
19, Samuel Spokes (Jayco Australian U23
20, Harry Carpenter (Jayco Australian U23
21, Cameron Wurf (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 8 secs
22, Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare)
23, Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge)
24, Jordan Kerby (Drapac Pro Cycling)
25, Shaun O’Callaghan (African Wildlife Safaris) all same time