Jayco Tour of Tasmania this week

By Rod Morris in Launceston

Tattersall's Cup leader Robert McLachlan can expect plenty of pressure in this week's Jayco Tour of Tasmania (Australia), which starts in Launceston on Wednesday, August 17. McLachlan performed well in the recent Tour of Gippsland, winning four of nine stages, but finishing 33rd overall because of a chain mishap in Stage 6. With the top 10 riders in the Tattersall's Cup earning automatic starts - plus financial incentives - for the Tour of Queensland in late October, this week's tour will be hectic.

In a change from previous years, when the series was based around one-day races, this year's Tattersall's Cup features three tours, climaxing with the Tour of the Murray River from August 31-September 4. The Tour of Tasmania will include nine stages, encompassing 428.3 km and including 61 intermediate sprints and 14 hill climbs. The tour will start at the Launceston Silverdome and head on a short but testing 49.8 km stage towards Grindelwald, and in the afternoon, riders will be tested further with a 93.9 km stage from Grindelwald to Bridport - the longest stage of this week's event.

But if the mainlanders and the New Zealand visitors think they are going to get everything their own way, they'd better think again. 20 Tasmanian riders are amongst the entries, including Matt Goss who was added to the field only yesterday. Goss, a winner of two junior world track medals last year, upstaged a class field in December when he won the third annual Launceston International Classic. He has just returned to Australia from an extensive overseas campaign, including a bold showing in the Tour of China.