A hot ride brings home three jerseys
Stage 4 - 21 January 2006
by
Emma Masters
Russell van Hout and Paul Crake cross the finish line in first and second place |
The Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under just keeps hotting up – today Team UniSA-Australia not only felt the rush of heat on a 42 degree day, but also felt the rush of victory with both Russell van Hout and Paul Crake riding home together at the finish line at Willunga – taking both first and second place in the Willunga stage.
Both van Hout and Crake raised their hands in victory as they crossed the line, celebrating a stage win for van Hout and a strong finish for them both after a gruelling, hot day on the roads.
Signing autographs for fans after the race, van Hout said the stage win is something he really wanted, and a great addition to his recent Australian Championship.
“It’s awesome,” van Hout said.
“It’s a dream come true to win in front of all my family and friends.”
And Team UniSA-Australia Manager Dave Sanders agrees.
“It was in the plan for Russell to go for it today,” Sanders said.
“I’m really over the moon… it wasn’t an easy ride today but we were determined to try to use the politics of the race – we knew the other teams would try to get a group away early.
“We wanted to protect the team leadership and get a couple of our riders up in the front group. Sean wasn’t well – and he had to drop back, so we were worried our plan wouldn’t come together.
“The pressure was then on Paul Crake to get up there at the front. He really did an incredible job to get up there to the break away. It really was a fantastic ride by him.”
Crake’s strong ride today earned him the Most Aggressive Rider jersey. After a close stage win a couple of days ago, the young cyclist is certainly proving he has a strong future ahead of him. And his efforts today have put him in the running for the overall Most Aggressive Rider overall.
The race began with a quick break away group, but by the second lap along the foreshore at Aldinga Beach esplanade, van Hout had caught the group and was holding his place in the pack. Not far behind, Crake held his own in the second break away, with the rest of the team working in the peloton a distance behind.
Not long after passing the cheering crowd at the first sprint at Aldinga Beach, the second break closed the gap and it was then that Crake and van Hout joined forces.
As they dashed toward the second sprint at Aldinga’s Snapper Point, van Hout was leading the group and looking strong, earning 4 points for second place in the fast sprint.
But it was just before van Hout’s King of the Mountain win that he and Crake powered ahead from the break of 20 riders to then move into poll position for the finish.
“It’s great – you have your plans, but they don’t always come off, today they did” Sanders said.
“We just had a team meeting and they were all laughing and joking together.
“The team has really bonded. It’s been a real team effort. Every day a couple of them have got up there."
Before the race, team rider Rob McLaughlan said the team would be looking after the strong climbers, Gene Bates, van Hout and Crake – and they certainly achieved what they set out to do.
Today’s ride has further cemented Team UniSA-Australia’s place as number one team for the race. Van Hout not only won the stage, but also holds the sprint jersey.
And the strong ride from the team has consolidated Gene Bates at position five in the overall race, along with van Hout and Chris Jongewaard placing in the top 10.
So while spectators tackled the furnace conditions and melting tar on the roads, the riders kept their wheels burning rubber, trying their best to prevent the heat from taking its toll – at the finish line ripped jersey’s could be seen on the chests of many a cyclist.
Willunga is notoriously the Tour’s decider day, and
it was a day that many will not forget, if not for heat but for the joy
of seeing Australian riders Russell van Hout and Paul Crake take their
place in the Tour’s history books.
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