Sutton takes another, and the race lead, at Sun Tour

Daylong breakaway caught 150 meters from finish

• Photos
• Results

By Neal Rogers

The scenario was different but the outcome the same for Garmin-Slipstream sprinter Chris Sutton, who took his second consecutive stage win at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour Wednesday.

Unlike his win Tuesday, which came from a group whittled down through attrition in the wind, Sutton took the victory and subsequent race lead Wednesday out a hard-charging lead group established over a cat. 2 climb just 15km from the finish line.

Sutton’s group overcame a two-man breakaway only 150 meters from the line that included his teammate, Tom Peterson, as well as young Australian talent Leigh Howard (Jayco-AIS). For the second time in two days Sutton overcame Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell in a sprint finish, this time after a 164km stretch along the scenic Great Ocean Road of Southern Victoria that finished in the tourist town of Apollo Bay.

It was a dramatic finish that saw a change in race leadership due to time bonuses as well as Peterson angry about his team’s decision to chase down the breakaway rather than allow him to try his chances with a stage win.

“I’m speechless. I would have loved to have won it today, but we went with the team,” the 2009 Amgen Tour of California stage winner said during the presentation ceremony, where he assumed the KOM jersey that had previously belonged to teammate Alex Howes.

However Garmin director Matt White said that it was a no-brainer that the team would try to bring Sutton to the line to fight for the stage win rather than roll the dice with Peterson against Howard, a 19-year-old world elite track omnium champion who has signed with Columbia-HTC for the 2010 season.

“I told Tom he had to drop him on the climb or we were going to have a sprint behind,” White said. “We have to be realistic; Tom’s never going to beat Leigh Howard in a two-up sprint. Leigh Howard is one of the fastest kids in the world. (Sutton) would have a hard battle against him, let alone Tom, who’s a climber, not a sprinter.”

Peterson took over the KOM jersey, a small consolation prize, while Howard was awarded most aggressive for initiating the day’s breakaway, which was initially five men.

“It is a bit unfortunate to be caught so close to the line, and I am very disappointed. We went a long way out. At 15k to go we thought we had it and we probably slowed up a bit too much,” Howard said. “And then there was the obvious change of tactics from Garmin. I understand why they did it. They won the stage.”

CAUGHT AT THE END

Unlike Tuesday’s stage, which saw rain fall on the peloton immediately after the start, the clouds were less coy Wednesday, opening up with a rain shower 30 minutes before the start.

However also unlike Tuesday’s stage, the weather conditions along the Great Ocean Road were relatively mild, with wind speeds lower, temperatures higher, and the rain clouds (mostly) threatening but not delivering.

The day’s route began at the Maritime Village at Flagstaff Hill, with the peloton riding up a cobbled hill made wet by the rains. Though some riders complained about the likelihood of an uphill pileup, which seemed probable, the start went off without a hitch.

From the gun a five-man group rode away, containing Howard, Peterson, Frank Pipp (Bissell), Rhys Pollack (Drapac Porsche) and William Clark (Praties). However with Fly V Australia manning the front, the group never opened a significant gap over three minutes.

Peterson broke the breakaway up on the cat. 1 ascent of Lavers Hill, the first of two climbs on the day, and only Howard was able to follow.

Garmin went on the offensive on the day’s second climb, with Peterson looking to shed Howard and Sutton looking to shed Cantwell. Neither was ultimately successful, however, as Garmin’s Trent Lowe and Svein Tuft were able to crack Cantwell enough to open a 10-second gap, while Peterson and Howard crested the climb together.

As a 10-man group descended towards the finish behind the two leaders, Fly V’s top time trialists Phil Zajicek and Ben Day took to the front of an equally sized group to bring Cantwell back up to Sutton.

“Jono never cracked, he kept his head straight,” Day said. “We knew we could ride it back. At no stage did we panic.”

“At this level of racing, this was the first time I’ve ever had to defend a race lead on a climb like that,” Cantwell said. “But when you have your guys that will turn themselves inside out for you… I think having the yellow jersey on your shoulders makes you twice as strong as you really are.”

Fly V’s riders pulled all the way until the final 3km, when Wiggins and Tuft took over the chase.

“Wiggo is like a freight train,” Sutton said. “I can’t describe how fast he goes. Today after Fly V did all the work, which was perfect for us, Trent Lowe took over at the front, and then Bradley and I tagged on, We don’t really talk that much on the road. We just have a bit of a signal. Wiggo just taps his hand on his rear and I hang on.”

For the third time in three days, Wiggins led Sutton through the final kilometer, and for the second consecutive day, Sutton took the win.

“I thought Tom Peterson might win the stage but Fly V kept chasing,” Sutton said. “I feel a bit sorry for both of them. Leigh Howard is a great bike rider and Tom is going really strong at the moment. He was upset he missed the move yesterday and I am sure he is a bit upset today as well. But that is bike racing. We rode a team plan.”

Cantwell came into the finish on Sutton’s wheel, but was powerless to come around.

“There was a long descent into the finish, it was windy, and Garmin got on the front and put it in the gutter and tried to drop me and everybody else,” Cantwell said. “I saw it coming, I saw it happening, and I just boxed on and got onto Chris Sutton’s wheel. He rode me to the finish, but the climb took a lot of sting out of my legs. I was kind of cramping coming into the finish, and then I got caught up when we caught Peterson and Howard, and I lost a little bit of my momentum to those guys. But Chris Sutton had an easy sit all day, and he was the stronger man at the finish. We lose the jersey, but they have to control tomorrow, and that’s good for us.”

Sutton now sits one second ahead of Cantwell, with Wiggins third, at 35 seconds, Matt Wilson (Australian national) fourth, at 45 seconds, and Svein Tuft fifth, at 55 seconds. Should Sutton win the overall, it would complete the first father and son Tour victories, complementing father Gary’s 1984 success.

Sutton added that though he’s happy to have taken another stage win, he insisted the team is riding for Wiggins and Tuft.

“We’re riding for Wiggo and Svein,” he said. “The three of us can podium but the big dangers are Jono and Matthew Wilson.”

Thursday’s stage is a relatively flat 120km jaunt from Anglesea to Barwon Heads, and is not expected to have a major outcome on the general classification. The weather forecast is cloudy, with isolated showers and a chance of hail and thunder.

Race Note

• Renowned race announcer Phil Liggett arrived at the Sun Tour Wednesday morning, and was on hand for a breakfast function attended by Warrnambool brass and race VIPs. During a Q&A session with Australian race commentator Matt Keenan, Liggett praised Cadel Evans’ recent world championship ride, saying, “It was emphatic, a very tough race. Cadel had only one chance, and that was to attack right where he did. He hit them, they hesitated, and the best riders in the world all were caught looking at each other. They were all at their limit, and Cadel destroyed himself to hold them off. He rode like that at the final time trial of the Vuelta España, his face was a waterfall of sweat, He was proving a point. I think he was upset that he wasn’t given an outright leader role, instead he shared that with Simon Gerrans. People have always commentated that Cadel doesn’t attack, that he advertises his performances and that he cannot shed himself of big names. But he proved that wrong in Mendrisio. It was excellent, and I was delighted for him.”

Photo Gallery

Results

Stage 3

• 1. Chris Sutton (Aus), Garmin-Slipstream, 3:48:58
• 2. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus), Fly V Australia, s.t.
• 3. David Tanner (Aus), Rock Racing, s.t.
• 4. Tom Peterson (U.S.), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 5. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Garmin-Slipstream, s.t.
• 6. Mitchell Pearson (Aus), Prime Estate, s.t.
• 7. Leigh Howard (Aus), Jayco AIS, s.t.
• 8. David Mccann (Irl), Prime Estate, at 0:02
• 9. Peter Latham (NZ), Bissell, at 0:02
• 10. Philip Zajicek (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 0:02
• 11. Aaron Kemps (Aus), Rock Racing, at 0:02
• 12. Rohan Dennis (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 0:02
• 13. Bernard Van Ulden (U.S.), Jelly Belly, at 0:02
• 14. Ben Jacques-Maynes (U.S.), Bissell, at 0:02
• 15. Svein Tuft (Can), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:02
• 16. Paul Mach (U.S.), Bissell, at 0:02
• 17. Nathan Earle (Aus), Praties, at 0:02
• 18. Darren Lapthorne (Aus), Rapha Condor, at 0:02
• 19. Simon Richardson (GB), Rapha Condor, at 0:02
• 20. Jeremy Yates (NZ), LeTua, at 0:10
• 21. Takumi Beppu (Jpn), Aisan, at 0:10
• 22. Nick Aitken (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 0:10
• 23. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn), Aisan, at 0:15
• 24. Lachlan Norris (Aus), Prime Estate, at 0:19
• 25. Tom Southam (GB), Rapha Condor, at 0:19
• 26. Matthew Wilson (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 0:19
• 27. Benjamin Day (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 0:39
• 28. Tim Roe (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:08
• 29. David Pell (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:08
• 30. Jai Crawford (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:08
• 31. Ricardo Van Der Velde (Ned), Garmin-Slipstream, at 1:08
• 32. Trent Lowe (Aus), Garmin-Slipstream, at 1:08
• 33. Alex Howes (U.S.), Garmin-Slipstream, at 1:08
• 34. Michael Matthews (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 1:08
• 35. Wil Routley (Can), Jelly Belly, at 1:08
• 36. Michael England (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 1:08
• 37. Kiel Reijnen (U.S.), Jelly Belly, at 1:08
• 38. Cameron Jennings (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 1:08
• 39. Brett Tivers (NZ), Prime Estate, at 1:08
• 40. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn), Aisan, at 1:08
• 41. Kristian House (GB), Rapha Condor, at 1:15
• 42. Joshua Chugg (Aus), Praties, at 8:42
• 43. Luke Fetch (Aus), Prime Estate, at 8:42
• 44. Rhys Pollock (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 8:42
• 45. Jonny Clarke (Aus), Jelly Belly, at 8:42
• 46. Omer Kem (U.S.), Bissell, at 8:42
• 47. Jeremy Vennell (NZ), Bissell, at 8:42
• 48. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn), Aisan, at 8:42
• 49. Darren Rolfe (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 8:42
• 50. Richie Porte (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 8:42
• 51. Mitchell Docker (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 8:42
• 52. Dylan Newell (Aus), Praties, at 0:12:43
• 53. Frank Pipp (U.S.), Bissell, at 0:16:37
• 54. John Anderson (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 23:59
• 55. Stephen Cunningham (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 23:59
• 56. Peter Ladd (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 23:59
• 57. William Dickeson (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 23:59
• 58. Lars Pria (Rom), LeTua, at 23:59
• 59. Nic Sanderson (Aus), Rock Racing, at 23:59
• 60. Glenn O’shea (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 23:59
• 61. Adam Semple (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 23:59
• 62. David Kemp (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 23:59
• 63. John Cornish (Aus), Prime Estate, at 23:59
• 64. Dean Downing (GB), Rapha Condor, at 23:59
• 65. Benjamin King (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 23:59
• 66. Thomas Nankervis (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 23:59
• 67. Andrew Roe (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 23:59
• 68. Matthew Rice (Aus), Jelly Belly, at 23:59
• 69. Zak Dempster (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 23:59
• 70. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), LeTua, at 23:59
• 71. Dean Windsor (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 23:59
• 72. Cody O’reilly (U.S.), Bissell, at 23:59
• 73. Mitsuhiro Matsumura (Jpn), Aisan, at 23:59
• 74. Stuart Shaw (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 23:59
• 75. Herz Serge (G), LeTua, at 23:59
• 76. Jason Rigg (Aus), Praties, at 23:59
• 77. Kyle Marwood (Aus), Praties, at 23:59
• 78. William Clarke (Aus), Praties, at 23:59
• 79. Joel Pearson (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 23:59
• 80. Malcolm Rudolph (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 23:59
• 81. Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn), Aisan, at 23:59
• 82. Peter Smith (Aus), Prime Estate, at 24:08

Overall

• 1. Chris Sutton (Aus), Garmin-Slipstream, 11:04:08
• 2. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 0:01
• 3. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:35
• 4. Matthew Wilson (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 0:45
• 5. Svein Tuft (Can), Garmin-Slipstream, at 0:55
• 6. David Tanner (Aus), Rock Racing, at 1:25
• 7. Philip Zajicek (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 1:30
• 8. Aaron Kemps (Aus), Rock Racing, at 1:35
• 9. Ben Jacques-Maynes (U.S.), Bissell, at 1:35
• 10. Bernard Van Ulden (U.S.), Jelly Belly, at 1:39
• 11. David Pell (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:40
• 12. Nick Aitken (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 1:42
• 13. Tom Peterson (U.S.), Garmin-Slipstream, at 4:35
• 14. Mitchell Pearson (Aus), Prime Estate, at 4:41
• 15. David Mccann (Irl), Prime Estate, at 4:43
• 16. Peter Latham (NZ), Bissell, at 4:43
• 17. Paul Mach (U.S.), Bissell, at 4:43
• 18. Simon Richardson (GB), Rapha Condor, at 4:43
• 19. Darren Lapthorne (Aus), Rapha Condor, at 4:43
• 20. Benjamin Day (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 5:20
• 21. Jai Crawford (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 5:49
• 22. Ricardo Van Der Velde (Ned), Garmin-Slipstream, at 5:49
• 23. Kiel Reijnen (U.S.), Jelly Belly, at 5:49
• 24. Cameron Jennings (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 5:49
• 25. Michael Matthews (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 13:01
• 26. Alex Howes (U.S.), Garmin-Slipstream, at 13:01
• 27. Rhys Pollock (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 13:21
• 28. Darren Rolfe (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 13:43
• 29. Omer Kem (U.S.), Bissell, at 21:43
• 30. Jeremy Yates (NZ), LeTua, at 23:28
• 31. Rohan Dennis (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 23:49
• 32. Michael England (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 24:06
• 33. Tom Southam (GB), Rapha Condor, at 24:06
• 34. Wil Routley (Can), Jelly Belly, at 24:06
• 35. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn), Aisan, at 24:06
• 36. Trent Lowe (Aus), Garmin-Slipstream, at 24:17
• 37. Kristian House (GB), Rapha Condor, at 24:22
• 38. Takumi Beppu (Jpn), Aisan, at 24:27
• 39. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), LeTua, at 25:22
• 40. Zak Dempster (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 28:40
• 41. Leigh Howard (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 30:08
• 42. Tim Roe (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 31:18
• 43. Jeremy Vennell (NZ), Bissell, at 32:29
• 44. Dylan Newell (Aus), Praties, at 35:50
• 45. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn), Aisan, at 36:43
• 46. Joshua Chugg (Aus), Praties, at 38:52
• 47. Jonny Clarke (Aus), Jelly Belly, at 38:52
• 48. Mitchell Docker (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 38:52
• 49. Richie Porte (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 38:52
• 50. Frank Pipp (U.S.), Bissell, at 40:24
• 51. Nathan Earle (Aus), Praties, at 46:20
• 52. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn), Aisan, at 46:33
• 53. Lachlan Norris (Aus), Prime Estate, at 46:37
• 54. John Cornish (Aus), Prime Estate, at 46:57
• 55. Benjamin King (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 46:57
• 56. John Anderson (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 46:57
• 57. Adam Semple (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 46:57
• 58. Cody O’reilly (U.S.), Bissell, at 46:57
• 59. Kyle Marwood (Aus), Praties, at 46:57
• 60. Malcolm Rudolph (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 46:57
• 61. Brett Tivers (NZ), Prime Estate, at 47:26
• 62. Dean Downing (GB), Rapha Condor, at 47:44
• 63. Stuart Shaw (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 52:00
• 64. Nic Sanderson (Aus), Rock Racing, at 54:09
• 65. David Kemp (Aus), Fly V Australia, at 54:09
• 66. Jason Rigg (Aus), Praties, at 54:09
• 67. Dean Windsor (Aus), Drapac Porsche, at 54:09
• 68. Luke Fetch (Aus), Prime Estate, at 55:00
• 69. William Clarke (Aus), Praties, at 1:06:01
• 70. Peter Ladd (Aus), Budget Forklifts, at 1:06:03
• 71. Matthew Rice (Aus), Jelly Belly, at 1:06:03
• 72. Joel Pearson (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:06:03
• 73. Mitsuhiro Matsumura (Jpn), Aisan, at 1:06:03
• 74. William Dickeson (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:10:17
• 75. Lars Pria (Rom), LeTua, at 1:10:17
• 76. Thomas Nankervis (Aus), Jayco Australia, at 1:10:17
• 77. Stephen Cunningham (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:10:17
• 78. Herz Serge (G), LeTua, at 1:10:17
• 79. Andrew Roe (Aus), Savings & Loans, at 1:10:17
• 80. Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn), Aisan, at 1:10:17
• 81. Glenn O’Shea (Aus), Jayco AIS, at 1:10:22
• 82. Peter Smith (Aus), Prime Estate, at 1:10:26

FILED UNDER: News / Race Report / Race Result / Road

Neal Rogers

An interest in all things rock 'n' roll led Neal into music journalism while attending UC Santa Cruz. After several post-grad years spent waiting tables, surfing and mountain biking, Neal moved to San Francisco, working stints as a bike messenger and at a software start-up. He moved to Colorado in 2001, taking an editorial internship at VeloNews. He never left, and is now Velo's editor in chief. When not traveling the world covering races, Neal can be found riding his bike, skiing, cooking, or attending a concert. Follow him on Twitter at @nealrogers.

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