Aussie sprinter Matt Goss won his first race of the year in Geelong, Australia, today. He sprinted ahead of Australians Chris Sutton and Allan Davis at the end of the first stage of the Jayco Bay Classic.
"We came in here to try and get a stage win and we've knocked that over pretty early," Goss told the Herald Sun. "So that's a good start."
Goss took the win on a slight uphill finish. With the win, he moves into the overall lead in the four-day race held in the same city as last year's World Championships. The race win is encouraging for Goss ahead of Tour Down Under, where he will lead out HTC-Highroad team-mate Mark Cavendish. At the Jayco Bay Classic, he is racing for a team out of his home state of Tasmania, E3/Pure.
Last week, Goss won the Launceston Classic in Tasmania. It capped off his year, which included a stage win to Cava de' Tirreni at the Giro d'Italia and the GP Plouay.
In Geelong, he had the help of an all-Tasmanian team.
"We have a really strong team here, and Wes and Bernie Sulzberger are really going well, and they covered every move," said Goss. "I just tried to stay in the right position for the finish."
The Sulzbergers led for most of the first 40 minute of the 45-minute race held on a two-kilometre circuit.
The circuit tomorrow in Portarlington is expected to split the field and will test Goss' lead. Goss said that he has good condition and that there is no reason he cannot win the overall classification.
1. Matthew Goss (E3/Pure)
2. Chris Sutton (Sky)3. Allan Davis (Bikebug.com)4. Graeme Brown (Urban)5. Leigh Howard (Jayco VIS)6. Michael Matthews (Urban)