Garmin Sharp rider Nathan Haas made good on his vow to ride strongly in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, with the former race winner taking a fine sprint victory at the end of stage one in Ballarat and taking over the race lead from his team-mate, prologue winner Jack Bauer.
Haas, who won the race in 2011, outsprinted Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), Jonathan Cantwell (Drapac Pro Cycling), Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge), Neil Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Cycling Team) and the rest of a 38 man front group.
“I know that my form’s good now and confidence comes with that,” the 24 year old said after what was his first pro victory with the WorldTour team. “The Tour Down Under was a nice litmus test for this race, which really is to me probably my most favourite race in the world.”
Haas revealed that his intention was to ride for team-mate Steele von Hoff, but the latter realised there was a chance for Haas to take victory himself.
“He was going to take my wheel through that final section. But one of the fantastic things about Steele is that he really thinks about the bigger picture in the sprint.
“He saw the door open for me and he didn’t get on it so he left the gap and then I went.”
The resulting ten second time bonus moved him ahead of Bauer, with the prologue winner now seven second back. Orica GreenEdge rider Will Clarke and Goss are third and fourth, nine seconds behind, with Von Hoff at eleven seconds and Clarke at twelve.
Australian champion and Santos Tour Down Under winner Simon Gerrans (Orica GreenEdge) is now ninth overall, thirteen seconds back, and will hope to make up the lost time in the stages to come.
The 125 kilometre stage began in Geelong and was marked by an early break. Those present were Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23 National Team), Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) and Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris Cycling). Together the trio built a lead of just under three and a half minutes, with Bettiol netting the intermediate sprint at Anakie.
They continued onto the category one climb of Glenmore Hill, where Hamilton took top points. The gap over the fragmenting peloton was down to two and a half minutes there, and the climb caused a group of fifteen riders to push ahead of the peloton.
Gerrans and four out of the five remaining Orcia GreenEdge riders were part of the group, as were the Garmin-Sharp trio of Haas, race leader Bauer and Von Hoff.
This group hauled back the three leaders on the descent and together the eighteen raced onwards. However despite opening a 32 second gap, there was a regrouping of sorts over the category four Mount Egerton, where Haas beat Simon Clarke and Drapac’s Lachlan Norris.
This group then hurtled on towards the finish, where Haas burst clear and picked up an important win. He said that he was committed to trying to take the jersey all the way to the finish of the race, which will end with the summit finish of Arthur’s Seat.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence at the moment that I can do it, and I’ve got even more confidence that the team’s going to give me the opportunity to keep doing it,” he said. “We’re here to win this race and it really suits us to the ground.”
Jayco Herald Sun Tour, Australia (2.1)
Stage 1, Geelong to Ballarat:
1, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) 125 kilometres in 3 hours 4 mins 12 secs
2, Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge)
3, Jonathan Cantwell (Drapac Pro Cycling)
4, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge)
5, Neil Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Cycling Team)
6, Pat Shaw (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
7, Guillaume Boivin (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
8, Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge)
9, Patrick Bevin (New Zealand Team)
10, Anthony Giacoppo (Avanti Cycling Team)
11, Mitch Docker (Orica-GreenEdge)
12, Steele von Hoff (Garmin Sharp)
13, Jordan Kerby (Drapac Pro Cycling)
14, Glenn O’Shea (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
15, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge)
16, Shaun O’Callaghan (African Wildlife Safaris)
17, Jack Haig (Avanti Cycling Team)
18, Calvin Watson (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
19, Darren Lapthorne (Drapac Pro Cycling)
20, Alex Clements (Jayco Australian U23
21, William Clarke (Drapac Pro Cycling)
22, John Anderson (Drapac Pro Cycling)
23, Lachlan Norris (Drapac Pro Cycling)
24, George Bennett (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
25, Michael Vink (Team Budget Forklifts)
26, Cameron Wurf (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
27, Patrick Lane (Synergy Baku Cycling)
28, Harry Carpenter (Jayco Australian U23
29, Robert Power (Jayco Australian U23
30, Rhys Gillett (African Wildlife Safaris)
31, Timothy Roe (Team Budget Forklifts)
32, Eric Sheppard (OCBC Singapore Team)
33, Thomas Dekker (Garmin Sharp)
34, James Oram (New Zealand Team)
35, Mark O’Brien (Avanti Cycling Team)
36, Lachlan Morton (Garmin Sharp)
37, Matthew Clarke (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
38, Jack Bauer (Garmin Sharp)
39, Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23) at 15 secs
40, Damien Howson (Orica-GreenEdge) at 18 secs
41, Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 20 secs
42, Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp) at 1 min 25 secs
43, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor JLT) at 2 mins 26 secs
44, Tural Isgandarov (Synergy Baku Cycling)
45, Kristian Juel (Team Budget Forklifts)
46, Hugh Carth (Rapha Condor JLT)
47, Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare) at 6 mins 46 secs
48, Jeremy Cameron (African Wildlife Safaris)
49, Scott Davies (Great Britain National Team)
50, Hayden McCormick (New Zealand Team)
51, Benjamin Day (UnitedHealthcare)
52, Jeffry Louder (UnitedHealthcare)
53, Matthias Krizek (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
54, Dion Smith (New Zealand Team)
55, Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare)
56, Samuel Horgan (Team Budget Forklifts)
57, Joseph Cooper (Avanti Cycling Team)
58, Chris Jory (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
59, James Rendall (African Wildlife Safaris)
60, Michael Cuming (Rapha Condor JLT)
61, Samuel Spokes (Jayco Australian U23
62, Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris)
63, Joshua Prete (Team Budget Forklifts)
64, Campbell Flakemore (Avanti Cycling Team)
65, Matej Mahoric (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 9 mins 47 secs
66, Matty Lloyd (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
67, Samuel Witmitz (Team Budget Forklifts)
68, Jason Spencer (African Wildlife Safaris)
69, Bradley White (UnitedHealthcare)
70, Ji Wen Low (OCBC Singapore Team)
71, Robert-John McCarthy (Jayco Australian U23
72, Christopher Lawless (Great Britain National Team)
73, Thomas Moses (Rapha Condor JLT)
74, Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT)
75, Germain Burton (Great Britain National Team)
76, Tom Scully (New Zealand Team)
77, Adrian Hegyvary (UnitedHealthcare)
78, Elchin Asadov (Synergy Baku Cycling)
79, Cameron Bayly (OCBC Singapore Team)
80, Thomas Rabou (OCBC Singapore Team)
81, Rico Rogers (OCBC Singapore Team) at 14 mins 29 secs
82, Harrif Saleh (Terengganu Team)
83, Umardi Rosdi (Terengganu Team)
84, Oliver Wood (Great Britain National Team)
85, Daniel Klemme (Synergy Baku Cycling)
86, Christopher Latham (Great Britain National Team)
87, Zamri Saleh (Terengganu Team)
88, Christoph Schweizer (Synergy Baku Cycling)
89, Luke Davison (Synergy Baku Cycling)
90, Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Team)
91, Ying Hon Ronald Yeung (OCBC Singapore Team)
92, Christopher Opie (Rapha Condor JLT)
93, Hamish Schreurs (New Zealand Team)
94, Fakhruddin Makuzi (Terengganu Team)
95, Jacob Ragan (Great Britain National Team) at 17 mins 54 secs
Non finsher: Anuar Manan (Terengganu Team)
Intermediate sprint:
Anakie:
1, Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 6 pts
2, Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23) 4
3, Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris) 2
King of the mountains:
Glenmore (category 1):
1, Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23) 24 pts
2, Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 16
3, Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris) 8
Mount Edgerton (category 4):
1, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) 6 pts
2, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) 4
3, Lachlan Norris (Drapac Pro Cycling) 2
Most aggressive rider: Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
Young rider: Harry Carpenter (Jayco Australian U23) 3 hours 7 mins 19 secs
Overall standings:
1, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) 3 hours 7 mins 5 secs
2, Jack Bauer (Garmin Sharp) at 7 secs
3, William Clarke (Drapac Pro Cycling) at 9 secs
4, Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge)
5, Steele von Hoff (Garmin Sharp) at 11 secs
6, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) at 12 secs
7, Neil Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Cycling Team)
8, Jonathan Cantwell (Drapac Pro Cycling)
9, Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) at 13 secs
10, Anthony Giacoppo (Avanti Cycling Team)
11, Glenn O’Shea (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia) at 14 secs
12, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge)
13, Lachlan Norris (Drapac Pro Cycling)
14, Harry Carpenter (Jayco Australian U23
15, Mitch Docker (Orica-GreenEdge) at 15 secs
16, Jordan Kerby (Drapac Pro Cycling)
17, Shaun O’Callaghan (African Wildlife Safaris)
18, Cameron Wurf (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
19, Patrick Bevin (New Zealand Team) at 16 secs
20, Jack Haig (Avanti Cycling Team)
21, Timothy Roe (Team Budget Forklifts)
22, Thomas Dekker (Garmin Sharp)
23, Darren Lapthorne (Drapac Pro Cycling) at 17 secs
24, Rhys Gillett (African Wildlife Safaris)
25, George Bennett (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 18 secs
26, James Oram (New Zealand Team)
27, Alex Clements (Jayco Australian U23) at 19 secs
28, Guillaume Boivin (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 20 secs
29, Pat Shaw (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
30, John Anderson (Drapac Pro Cycling)
31, Lachlan Morton (Garmin Sharp)
32, Matthew Clarke (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
33, Michael Vink (Team Budget Forklifts) at 21 secs
34, Robert Power (Jayco Australian U23) at 22 secs
35, Eric Sheppard (OCBC Singapore Team)
36, Calvin Watson (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia) at 23 secs
37, Patrick Lane (Synergy Baku Cycling)
38, Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23) at 33 secs
39, Mark O’Brien (Avanti Cycling Team) at 34 secs
40, Damien Howson (Orica-GreenEdge) at 37 secs
41, Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 40 secs
42, Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp) at 1 min 37 secs
43, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor JLT) at 2 mins 45 secs
44, Kristian Juel (Team Budget Forklifts) at 2 mins 47 secs
45, Hugh Carth (Rapha Condor JLT) at 2 mins 48 secs
46, Tural Isgandarov (Synergy Baku Cycling) at 3 mins
47, Joseph Cooper (Avanti Cycling Team) at 7 mins
48, Campbell Flakemore (Avanti Cycling Team)
49, Samuel Spokes (Jayco Australian U23
50, Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare) at 7 mins 1 secs
51, Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare) at 7 mins 3 secs
52, Hayden McCormick (New Zealand Team)
53, Jeffry Louder (UnitedHealthcare)
54, Samuel Horgan (Team Budget Forklifts)
55, Matthias Krizek (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 7 mins 4 secs
56, James Rendall (African Wildlife Safaris) at 7 mins 6 secs
57, Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris)
58, Benjamin Day (UnitedHealthcare) at 7 mins 7 secs
59, Dion Smith (New Zealand Team)
60, Joshua Prete (Team Budget Forklifts)
61, Michael Cuming (Rapha Condor JLT)
62, Scott Davies (Great Britain National Team) at 7 mins 9 secs
63, Chris Jory (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia)
64, Jeremy Cameron (African Wildlife Safaris) at 7 mins 13 secs
65, Tom Scully (New Zealand Team) at 9 mins 55 secs
66, Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT) at 9 mins 56 secs
67, Germain Burton (Great Britain National Team) at 10 mins
68, Christopher Lawless (Great Britain National Team) at 10 mins 1 secs
69, Bradley White (UnitedHealthcare) at 10 mins 3 secs
70, Jason Spencer (African Wildlife Safaris)
71, Samuel Witmitz (Team Budget Forklifts) at 10 mins 5 secs
72, Robert-John McCarthy (Jayco Australian U23) at 10 mins 6 secs
73, Thomas Rabou (OCBC Singapore Team)
74, Thomas Moses (Rapha Condor JLT) at 10 mins 7 secs
75, Matej Mahoric (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 10 mins 8 secs
76, Cameron Bayly (OCBC Singapore Team)
77, Adrian Hegyvary (UnitedHealthcare) at 10 mins 9 secs
78, Ji Wen Low (OCBC Singapore Team) at 10 mins 13 secs
79, Elchin Asadov (Synergy Baku Cycling) at 10 mins 15 secs
80, Matty Lloyd (Kordamentha Real Estate - Team Australia) at 10 mins 28 secs
81, Luke Davison (Synergy Baku Cycling) at 14 mins 47 secs
82, Christopher Latham (Great Britain National Team) at 14 mins 48 secs
83, Christopher Opie (Rapha Condor JLT)
84, Hamish Schreurs (New Zealand Team)
85, Daniel Klemme (Synergy Baku Cycling) at 14 mins 49 secs
86, Christoph Schweizer (Synergy Baku Cycling) at 14 mins 51 secs
87, Rico Rogers (OCBC Singapore Team) at 14 mins 53 secs
88, Oliver Wood (Great Britain National Team)
89, Harrif Saleh (Terengganu Team) at 14 mins 56 secs
90, Umardi Rosdi (Terengganu Team) at 14 mins 59 secs
91, Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Team) at 15 mins 1 secs
92, Ying Hon Ronald Yeung (OCBC Singapore Team)
93, Zamri Saleh (Terengganu Team) at 15 mins 3 secs
94, Fakhruddin Makuzi (Terengganu Team) at 15 mins 7 secs
95, Jacob Ragan (Great Britain National Team) at 18 mins 18 secs
Points:
1, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) 10 pts
2, Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) 8
3, Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 6
4, Jonathan Cantwell (Drapac Pro Cycling) 6
5, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) 4
6, Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23) 4
7, Neil Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Cycling Team) 2
8, Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris) 2
King of the mountains:
1, Thomas Hamilton (Jayco Australian U23) 24 pts
2, Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 16
3, Nathan Elliott (African Wildlife Safaris) 8
4, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) 6
5, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) 4
6, Lachlan Norris (Drapac Pro Cycling) 2
Young rider: 1, Harry Carpenter (Jayco Australian U23) 3 hours 7 mins 19 secs
Teams:
1, Garmin Sharp, 9 hours 21 mins 44 secs
2, Drapac Professional Cycling, at 10 secs
3, Orica-Green Edge, at 11 secs
4, Avanti Cycling Team
5, Jayco Australian U23, National Team, at 18 secs
6, Cannondale Pro Cycling, at 22 secs
7, Korda Mentha Real Estate - Team Australia, at 26 secs
8, Team Budget Forklifts, at 2 mins 49 secs
9, New Zealand National Team, at 6 mins 59 secs
10, African Wildlife Safaris Cycling Team, at 7 mins 7 secs
11, Rapha Condor JLT, at 11 mins 57 secs
12, Synergy Baku Cycling Project, at 12 mins 46 secs
13, OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling, at 20 mins 8 secs
14, United Healthcare Pro Cycling, at 20 mins 37 secs
15, Great Britain National Team, at 26 mins 37 secs
16, Terengganu Cycling Team, at 44 mins 28 secs
Remaining stages:
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