Kerby claims emotional victory in U23 road race
Howson pipped on the line for second, Haig claims bronze
Jordan Kerby (Qld) has continued his amazing start to the year by taking out the under-23 Australian road national title. Kerby most recently won the prologue at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and lead the race for the opening stage. In the road race just one week following the tour he proved too good for Damien Howson (SA) as he sprinted past the under-23 time trial champion within sight of the line. Jack Haig (Vic), who is better known in the mountain bike scene picked up the silver medal after being one of the strongest climbers in the race.
It was an emotional win for Kerby as he continued his celebrations well past the finish line. Noted for his time trialling results Kerby was surprised to be able to follow the late race attacks after being in the early breakaway that formed on the first lap.
"I've worked very hard for the last five wins, trying to step up, get the wins and today, I finally got the biggest win of my life," said an ecstatic Kerby at the finish. "I've had a couple of junior world titles back in 2010 but this is the biggest win of my life.
"I'm trying to go places and this is one of the first steps to getting there.
Second-place Howson was visibly disappointed after claiming yet another runner-up position but he acknowledged the strength of Kerby after also being involved in the all-day escape group.
"Always, nice to come away with a win but I'm happy with today's ride," said Howson. "Jordan Kerby was just too strong on the line.
"The move went early in the race with about 24 of us. It was always going to come down to the final two laps and whoever was strongest on the climb. We got a bit of a gap and then it was down to three of us.
"With a little over a kilometre to go it was a cat and mouse race. The other two looked at each other and I went down the other side of the road. I had a tiny gap, a sniff of the win but it just wasn't to be. I got caught about 60 metres from the line," said Howson.
Haig, riding for the Huon-Genesys team was the team's best hope for a medal after demonstrating his climbing skills on the tough Buninyong course with his teammates working to protect him throughout the day. Toward the finish Haig admitted his lack of road race experience may have gotten the better of him.
"I lack a bit of the knowledge in road cycling and who the other riders are, and what their strengths and weaknesses are," said Haig.
"I knew in the last two laps that the climb would be my strength, I had a bit of a dig to see if I could drop them but it wasn't the case. We had three of us come down to the finish here."
How it unfolded
The wind may have dropped compared to the previous day but the exposed larger loop would still make life difficult for the peloton. Turning onto the Midland Highway for the first ascent of the Buninyong climb riders were immediately put into difficulty. Approximately 10 riders found their day essentially over within the opening minutes of the race.
Over the top of the climb it was straight into a long stretch of road that caused the main field to stretch across the road. A large group attacked off the front - immediately gaining 100m from the main peloton.
As the pressure continued to be piled on, more riders were being unhitched in the blustery conditions. With a little under 15km of racing completely, the leading group had swelled to 24 and were rapidly working towards a one minute lead.
The lead group had a number of the strong teams represented with Huon-Genesys Wealth Advisers, GPM-Data#3, Budget Forklifts, Suzuki Bontrager and SASI all featuring in the move.
Jack Haig (Vic), Jake McMahon (Tas), Kyle Ward (NSW), Nicholas Katsonis (Vic), Fergus Sully (Vic), Scott Law (NSW), Robert-Jon McCarthy (SA), Aaron Donnelly (NSW), Michael Crosbie (Vic), Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (ACT), Thomas Hamilton (Vic), Michael Phelan (ACT), Joshua Taylor (NSW), Alex Kinnane (SA), Ryan MacAnally (Qld), Brenton Jones (Vic), Joshua Prete (Qld), Damien Howson (SA), Sam Crome (Vic) and Alex Wohler (Qld) were amongst the front group.
The scramble to chase the huge front group lead to a crash in the main field as 10 riders hit the ground. Most of those affected by the crash were able to rejoin the peloton as the breakaway continued to stretch their lead to over three minutes at the 22km point.
While the bunch struggled to come to terms with the size of the leading group a number of riders decided to try and bridge across unsuccessfully. Group after group tried and failed to form a second group on the road as the slight breeze was too much for some riders to handle.
Riders continued to get dropped as the strain of Buninyong became too much and with just 45km the gap had extended to over five minutes.
With six of the eight smaller Buninyong laps remaining the main field had split in two but still trailed by 4:30. The next group on the road included around 20 riders and were one minuted behind the second bunch on the road.
The breakaway continued to work effectively and rarely eased the pace. The climb proved too hard for a few of the early breakaway riders as Taylor, Phelan and one other fell off from the leading pack. Jones was working hard for his teammate Haig who was being touted as a potential winner for the race.
Huon-Genesys had three riders in the lead with three laps remaining while a strong chase group finally broke clear of the peloton. Adam Phelan (ACT), riding for Drapac Professional Cycling, Jayco Herald Sun Tour winner Calvin Waston (Vic), Campbell Flakemore (Tas), Matt Clarke (Vic), Sam Crome (Vic) and Nick Shultz (Qld) were still 3:47 behind the leaders while U23 criterium champion Bradley Linfield (WA) and Caleb Ewan (NSW) had missed the move.
It would take a huge effort if the likes of Phelan, Watson and Tour of Bright winner Clarke were going to catch the front group. Flakemore had three Huon-Genesys teammates still at the front and would be contributing as little as possible to the chase.
With two laps to go Jones attacked his breakaway companions along with McMahon and Lovelock-Fay. The trio had mere seconds entering the start/finish line but the aggression would likely spell the end of the cohesion in the group. Jones had been doing a lot of the pace-making in the lead group and was looking to set-up the counter moves from either Donnelly or Haig.
Wohler had been contributing heavily and paid for his early enthusiasm, getting detached from the break closely followed by the Phelan and Watson group that needed a further 3:13 in order to see the front of the race.
Pre-race favourite Ewan was making his final attempt to get involved in the race having been stuck in the third group on the road. He went in pursuit with a Target-Trek rider for company.
On the penultimate lap four riders attacked the lead group and immediately gained ground. Haig, Kerby, Howson and Crome gained 20 seconds nearing the end of the lap. Donnelly tried to bridge to the four riders ahead but was chased by the remaining riders.
Entering the bell-lap the leading four had almost 30 seconds lead and looked to set to fight out the finish on the final ascent of Buninyong.
Crome couldn't quite hold on up the final climb with the lead now containing Kerby, Haig and Howson.
Kerby eventually attacked the other two and looked like he could power away to the finish. Howson took chase after Haig struggled to follow the pace. Howson and Kerby promptly joined and began to distance the talented climber Haig.
With less than 1km to go Howson had a small lead but it was the speed of Kerby that saw him overtake just before the line to take the victory.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jordan Kerby (Qld) | 3:19:48 | Row 0 - Cell 3 |
2 | Damien Howson (SA) | Row 1 - Cell 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Jack Haig (Vic) | 0:00:03 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Aaron Donnelly (NSW) | 0:00:44 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Brendan Johnston (ACT) | 0:00:46 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (ACT) | Row 5 - Cell 2 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Sam Crome (Vic) | 0:01:06 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Michael Crosbie (Vic) | 0:01:08 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Scott Law (NSW) | 0:01:15 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Ryan MacAnally (Qld) | Row 9 - Cell 2 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Brenton Jones (Vic) | Row 10 - Cell 2 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Jake McMahon (Tas) | Row 11 - Cell 2 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Joshua Prete (Qld) | 0:01:19 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Thomas Hamilton (Vic) | 0:01:58 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Campbell Flakemore (Tas) | 0:04:25 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Calvin Watson (Vic) | Row 15 - Cell 2 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Adam Phelan (ACT) | Row 16 - Cell 2 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Nicholas Schultz (Qld) | Row 17 - Cell 2 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Matthew Clark (Vic) | 0:04:27 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Jeremy Cameron (Vic) | 0:05:42 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Kyle Ward (NSW) | 0:07:07 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Samuel Spokes (NSW) | 0:09:56 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Bradley Linfield (WA) | Row 22 - Cell 2 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Jordan Davies (NSW) | Row 23 - Cell 2 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Patrick Lane (Vic) | Row 24 - Cell 2 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Jack Beckinsale (NSW) | Row 25 - Cell 2 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Caleb Ewan (NSW) | Row 26 - Cell 2 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Oliver Kent-Spark (Vic) | Row 27 - Cell 2 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Jay Dutton (NSW) | Row 28 - Cell 2 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Harry Carpenter (SA) | Row 29 - Cell 2 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
31 | Sam McCallum (Vic) | Row 30 - Cell 2 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
32 | Alex Clements (Tas) | Row 31 - Cell 2 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
33 | Samuel Davis (WA) | Row 32 - Cell 2 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
34 | Fergus Sully (Vic) | 0:12:28 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
35 | Michael Phelan (ACT) | Row 34 - Cell 2 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
36 | Nicholas Katsonis (Vic) | Row 35 - Cell 2 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
37 | Mitchell Cooper (Vic) | Row 36 - Cell 2 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
38 | Joshua Taylor (NSW) | Row 37 - Cell 2 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
39 | Ian Peter Richards (Qld) | 0:14:50 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
40 | Douglas Freeburn (Qld) | Row 39 - Cell 2 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
41 | Liam Hill (Vic) | 0:17:44 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
42 | Timothy Cameron (ACT) | Row 41 - Cell 2 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
43 | Luke Ockerby (Tas) | Row 42 - Cell 2 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jesse Kerrison (Qld) | Row 43 - Cell 2 | Row 43 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Alex Wohler (Qld) | Row 44 - Cell 2 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Ivan Michelin-Beard (ACT) | Row 45 - Cell 2 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Fraser Northey (SA) | Row 46 - Cell 2 | Row 46 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Karl Michelin-Beard (NSW) | Row 47 - Cell 2 | Row 47 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Matthew Slee (NSW) | Row 48 - Cell 2 | Row 48 - Cell 3 |
DNF | James Boal (Vic) | Row 49 - Cell 2 | Row 49 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Joshua Cornish (NSW) | Row 50 - Cell 2 | Row 50 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Ben Cutajar (Qld) | Row 51 - Cell 2 | Row 51 - Cell 3 |
DNF | David Edwards (Qld) | Row 52 - Cell 2 | Row 52 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jesse Ewart (NSW) | Row 53 - Cell 2 | Row 53 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Rylee Field (NSW) | Row 54 - Cell 2 | Row 54 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Scott Mcphee (SA) | Row 55 - Cell 2 | Row 55 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Justin Vanstone (Qld) | Row 56 - Cell 2 | Row 56 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Shaun Baxter (WA) | Row 57 - Cell 2 | Row 57 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Nicholas Bien (Vic) | Row 58 - Cell 2 | Row 58 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Aaron Blomeley (Vic) | Row 59 - Cell 2 | Row 59 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Clement Boydell (Vic) | Row 60 - Cell 2 | Row 60 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Munro Boydell (Vic) | Row 61 - Cell 2 | Row 61 - Cell 3 |
DNF | James Butler (Vic) | Row 62 - Cell 2 | Row 62 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Taylor Charlton (Qld) | Row 63 - Cell 2 | Row 63 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Andrew Clarkson (SA) | Row 64 - Cell 2 | Row 64 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Alistair Crameri (Vic) | Row 65 - Cell 2 | Row 65 - Cell 3 |
DNF | James Cummings (Vic) | Row 66 - Cell 2 | Row 66 - Cell 3 |
DNF | James Fox (Vic) | Row 67 - Cell 2 | Row 67 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Chris Filiatrault (ACT) | Row 68 - Cell 2 | Row 68 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Sam Fuhrmeister (Vic) | Row 69 - Cell 2 | Row 69 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Justin Gassner (SA) | Row 70 - Cell 2 | Row 70 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Nicholas Graham-Dawson (WA) | Row 71 - Cell 2 | Row 71 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Michael Hale (Vic) | Row 72 - Cell 2 | Row 72 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Julian Hamill (NSW) | Row 73 - Cell 2 | Row 73 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Joshua Hamilton (Qld) | Row 74 - Cell 2 | Row 74 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Chris Harper (SA) | Row 75 - Cell 2 | Row 75 - Cell 3 |
DNF | William Heath (WA) | Row 76 - Cell 2 | Row 76 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Harry Herne (NSW) | Row 77 - Cell 2 | Row 77 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Davy Huang (Vic) | Row 78 - Cell 2 | Row 78 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Zane Hunter (Vic) | Row 79 - Cell 2 | Row 79 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Craig Hutton (NSW) | Row 80 - Cell 2 | Row 80 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jarryd Jones (Vic) | Row 81 - Cell 2 | Row 81 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Alex Kinnane (SA) | Row 82 - Cell 2 | Row 82 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jake Klajnblat (Vic) | Row 83 - Cell 2 | Row 83 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Matthew Leonard (Vic) | Row 84 - Cell 2 | Row 84 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Wade Longworth (WA) | Row 85 - Cell 2 | Row 85 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jason Lowndes (Vic) | Row 86 - Cell 2 | Row 86 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Andrew Martin (WA) | Row 87 - Cell 2 | Row 87 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jack Matthews (Tas) | Row 88 - Cell 2 | Row 88 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Robert-Jon Mccarthy (SA) | Row 89 - Cell 2 | Row 89 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Daniel Mcdonald (NSW) | Row 90 - Cell 2 | Row 90 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Liam Melville (NSW) | Row 91 - Cell 2 | Row 91 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Trent Morey (Vic) | Row 92 - Cell 2 | Row 92 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Stuart Mulhern (Qld) | Row 93 - Cell 2 | Row 93 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Conor Murtagh (Vic) | Row 94 - Cell 2 | Row 94 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Samuel Nelson (NSW) | Row 95 - Cell 2 | Row 95 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Matthew Nicholson (Tas) | Row 96 - Cell 2 | Row 96 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Shaun O'callaghan (SA) | Row 97 - Cell 2 | Row 97 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Cameron Parlevliet (Vic) | Row 98 - Cell 2 | Row 98 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Todd Satchell (Vic) | Row 99 - Cell 2 | Row 99 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Sam Sautelle (ACT) | Row 100 - Cell 2 | Row 100 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Patrick Sharpe (NSW) | Row 101 - Cell 2 | Row 101 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Clive Silcock (Vic) | Row 102 - Cell 2 | Row 102 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Nicholas Smith (Vic) | Row 103 - Cell 2 | Row 103 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Stuart Smith (Vic) | Row 104 - Cell 2 | Row 104 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Trevor Spencer (Vic) | Row 105 - Cell 2 | Row 105 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Joel Stearnes (Tas) | Row 106 - Cell 2 | Row 106 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Andrew Stephan (Qld) | Row 107 - Cell 2 | Row 107 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jared Triggs (NSW) | Row 108 - Cell 2 | Row 108 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Thomas Weereratne (Vic) | Row 109 - Cell 2 | Row 109 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Liam White (Vic) | Row 110 - Cell 2 | Row 110 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Alexander Woff (Vic) | Row 111 - Cell 2 | Row 111 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Dimitry Makeev (Vic) | Row 112 - Cell 2 | Row 112 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Mitchell Dedman (Vic) | Row 113 - Cell 2 | Row 113 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Billy Hutton (NSW) | Row 114 - Cell 2 | Row 114 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Stefan Imberger (Vic) | Row 115 - Cell 2 | Row 115 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Robert Kell (NSW) | Row 116 - Cell 2 | Row 116 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Calum Middleton (Vic) | Row 117 - Cell 2 | Row 117 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Luke Parker (Vic) | Row 118 - Cell 2 | ` |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Crosbie (Vic) | 19 | pts |
2 | Jack Haig (Vic) | 9 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Damien Howson (SA) | 8 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Jeremy Cameron (Vic) | 4 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Jordan Kerby (Qld) | 3 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Fergus Sully (Vic) | 3 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Brendan Johnston (ACT) | 2 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Thomas Hamilton (Vic) | 2 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Alex Wohler (Qld) | 2 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Robert-Jon Mccarthy (SA) | 2 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
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