Australian rider Chris Sutton moved a step closer to his goal of taking the overall victory in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour when he won today’s second stage of the race.
The Garmin Slipstream rider was one of six who pushed ahead towards the end of the 141 kilometre stage to Warrnambool, and he galloped in just ahead of Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia), Matthew Wilson (Jayco Australia National) and David Pell (Savings & Loans). Team-mates Bradley Wiggins and Svein Tuft worked for Sutton in the finale and finished three and nine seconds back respectively.
Cantwell took over the race lead from stage one winner Jaan Kirsipuu, who was 13th, one minute and five seconds behind. He leads Sutton by three seconds, with Wilson a further sixteen seconds back.
Sutton’s father Gary won the overall classification back in 1984, one year after his uncle Shane did likewise. The young rider wants to match that feat, and spoke afterwards about his father’s likely response.
"He'll probably say ‘good onya son, but not as good as me’ he told Ozcycling.com. “But I think he's quietly proud of me - especially now I'm cooking, cleaning and speaking a couple of languages," Sutton said.
"Whilst it is always sweet to get a win, especially in Australia, hopefully I've got another couple in me yet. And I've still got hopes of winning overall so we can become the first father and son combination to do it.
"I look up to my dad, he's a great coach. And then there's Uncle Shane, who coaches me. He'll say it’s about time."
The day was marked by strong winds and with approximately 30 kilometres remaining, thirteen riders pushed on ahead from the 50-man main group. Then inside the final half hour of racing Svein Tuft (Garmin Slipstream) forged ahead of the break and was joined by Wilson, Cantwell and Pell. Sutton and Wiggins were able to bridge across and that meant that six riders would fight it out for the stage win and the yellow jersey.
Cantwell missed out on the former, but was delighted to get the latter. "It's a dream come true - to put this (the yellow jersey) on my shoulders. We have had a great preparation, the team has worked inside out, everything came together," Cantwell said.
Tomorrow’s stage takes the riders 164 kilometres from Warrnambool to Apollo Bay. It features the category one ascent of Lavers Hill plus a category two climb that peaks 15 kilometres from the finish. Cantwell said that he is aiming to hold onto yellow; not just tomorrow, but hopefully until the end of the race.
"I have been trying to get as many time bonuses as I can on guys like Tuft and Wiggins before the time trial on Friday. If I can go with 30 seconds on them, I'll be happy,” he said.
"A 10 kilometre time trial is definitely in my reach. I have been working on both my hill climbing and time trialling for most of 2009.”
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Jayco Herald Sun Tour, Victoria, Australia (2.1), October 11-17:
October 13, Stage 2 : Colac – Warrnambool:
1 Chris Sutton (Garmin-Slipstream) 141 kilometres in 3 hours 33 mins 44 secs
2, Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia)
3, Matthew Wilson (Jayco Australia National)
4, David Pell (Savings & Loans)
5, Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) at 3 secs
6, Svein Tuft (Garmin-Slipstream) at 9 secs
Mountains:
KOM 1:
1, Alex Howes (Garmin-Slipstream) 12 pts
2, Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly) 8
3, Paul Mach (Bissell Pro Cycling) 4
KOM 2:
1, Alex Howes (Garmin-Slipstream) 12
2, Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly) 8
3, Svein Tuft (Garmin-Slipstream) 4
General Classification after Stage 2:
1, Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) at 7 hours 15 mins 17 secs
2, Chris Sutton (Garmin-Slipstream) at 3 secs
3, Matthew Wilson (Jayco Australia National) at mins 19 secs
4, David Pell (Savings & Loans) at 25 secs
5, Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) at 28 secs
6, Svein Tuft (Garmin-Slipstream) at 46 secs
Sprint classification:
1, Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) 36 pts
2, Chris Sutton (Garmin-Slipstream) 22
3, Jaan Kirsipuu (LeTua) 10
Mountains classification:
1, Alex Howes (Garmin-Slipstream) 38 pts
2, Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly) 20
3, Stuart Shaw (Drapac Porsche) 12
Under 23 classification:
1, Nick Aitken (Jayco Australia National) at 7 hours 16 mins 42 secs
2, Mitchell Pearson (Prime Estate) at 3 mins 9 secs
3, Ricardo Van Der Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) same time
Teams classification:
1, Garmin Slipstream 21 hours 47 mins 14 secs
2, Fly V Australia, at 4 mins 53 secs
3, Bissell Pro Cycling, at 9 mins 11 secs
Other:
8, Prime Estate, at 30 mins 36 secs