The race was still up for grabs between several riders nearing the final two laps.(Image credit: Shane Goss/licoricegallery.com)
William Clarke (Leopard Trek) before stage 1 of the Santos Tour Down Under.(Image credit: Jean-François Quénet)
The big Tasmanian Will Clarke took out the MARS sprint points competition.(Image credit: Shane Goss/licoricegallery.com)
Will Clarke (Champion System) surprised many with his strength on the hilly Buninyong course this weekend at the Mars Cycling Australia elite men's road race. Clarke's nearly two-meter frame is not exactly suited to climbing, but he showed no shortage of wattage as he powered around the 10.1 kilometre circuit.
The display earned him fifth place on the day and the sprint classification, but perhaps more importantly gave him a coveted selection in this year's UniSA-Australia team for the Tour Down Under. Clarke admits that he had aspired to make the squad with a good result, but found it tough going as a lone rider against the GreenEdge armada.
"It was hard to know which guys to follow," said Clarke. "But after a while you figured out who were the stronger guys, who it was worth following, and that made it a lot easier.
Having ridden last year with the Leopard-Trek squad, Clarke looked like a changed rider in comparison to his nationals performance just 12 months ago when he finished way out of the picture in 30th. He explained that though it had been a hard year and a lot of race days with the team, he'd certainly learned a lot and was feeling confident ahead of the Tour Down Under.
"Coming from Genesys the year before and riding in Australia, to going to Europe and seeing how they do it over there, I think it's made me a lot stronger and it was a great experience for me. I'm going a lot better this year versus last year, so hopefully I can go well at the Tour Down Under as well."
And on the mess that occurred after the disbanding of the Leopard-Trek team in September Clarke remained positive.
"There were 10 or so of us who were unlucky to be let go, we all found out a bit late. But I was lucky to find a ride with Champion System who have put together a really good program. So that's something to look forward to."
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Alex Hinds is a graduate of Economics and Political Science from Sydney University. Growing up in the metropolitan area of the city he quickly became a bike junkie, dabbling in mountain and road riding. Alex raced on the road in his late teens, but with the time demands of work and university proving too much, decided not to further pursue full-time riding.
If he was going to be involved in cycling in another way the media seemed the next best bet and jumped at the opportunity to work in the Sydney office of Cyclingnews when an offer arose in early 2011.
Though the WorldTour is of course a huge point of focus throughout the year, Alex also takes a keen interest in the domestic racing scene with a view to helping foster the careers of the next generation of cycling.
When not writing for Cyclingnews Alex is a strong proponent of the awareness of cyclists on the road in Sydney having had a few close run-ins with city traffic in the past.
