THE strong winds did not phase Bennelong Swiss Wellness Cycling Team’s Hayden Toovey who headed an elite field, once again, to hold onto the Tour of the Great South Coast leader’s jersey after Stage 3 when the National Road Series event visited the seaside town of Port MacDonnell yesterday.
Toovey finished first in Stage 2 on Wednesday and was rightly awarded the leader’s jersey heading into yesterday’s race.
A third-place finish on the Port MacDonnell Sea Parade was enough for the 22-year-old to hold onto the lead coming into today’s stage.
In a new initiative, Stage 3 both started and finished at the foreshore of Port MacDonnell.
Riders completed five laps of the town and rural circuit, which added up to the desired 128.5km.
The stage was hotly contested from the outset, with the first sprint at Allendale East showing former tour leader and Inform Make NRS cycling team’s German rider Raphael Freinstein was ready to contest.
The brutal wind played havoc with the peloton, which eventually split into several groups.
Brisbane Continental Cycling’s Michael Vink and Inform Make NRS Carter Turnbull held a 40-second lead at the final sprint on lap five in Allendale East.
However, with just 10km to go the peloton had closed the gap to just 25 seconds and the race to the finish was on.
In the end it was Australian Cycling Academy-Ride Sun’s Sam Welsford who won the stage with a sprint to the finish.
Welsford finished ahead of Oliver’s Real Food Racing Nicholas White and current tour-leader Toovey.
White put together an impressive race, which saw him not only place second, but finish with the king of the mountain classification, with eight points.
The Ballarat cyclist said he was pleased with his result at Stage 3.
“It is always good to wear a jersey in a tour,” he said.
“We will just try and defend it now and see what happens.”
Welsford – who gained three points in the three hill climbs – said it was a difficult stage, but he was pleased to come away with the win.
“It was awesome, some of the best racing I have done in a long time,” he said.
“I competed in the Tour of the Great South Coast two years ago, so it was good to come back.
“I really liked this stage, the race is always on the limit.”
Welsford now sits in fifth in the general classification and said it was an aim to move up the list coming into the final three stages across the Victorian border.
“It is going to be hard to move up, but hopefully we can find some points here and there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Toovey – who recently won the Battle Recharge – said he and his team’s main aim was to hold onto the leaders jersey for the remainder of the tour.
However, they were aware it would be a challenge due to the calibre of riders contesting each day.
The 22-year-old said he was honoured to be in the position and admitted it will take a big effort to remain at the top.
Particularly with Freinstein’s efforts – who sits behind Toovey in the general classification.
Freinstein was again in form yesterday, which saw him extend his sprint classification lead.
“If you sit back and wait for the finish, before you know it there will be other riders within striking distance of you,” Toovey said.
“So, you have to just keep at it and keep ticking away.
“Any of our riders in their own right could challenge for the GC (general classification).
“So, it is very flattering that my team is working for me.
“Hopefully I can pull it off.”
Michael Vink made his Brisbane Continental Cycling team proud with an aggressive ride yesterday.
As a result, the New Zealand rider took out the stage’s most aggressive jersey.
Vink said he was pleased to be back in Australia and racing.
“It is so much fun over here,” he said.
“For a new team like us, it is really good to get some exposure.
“To get out there and show the jersey off, that is really the goal for us.”
South Australian Sports Institutes Jarrad Drizners will again hold onto the young rider classification after a ninth-place finish yesterday.
“We lived another day, which is good,” he said.
“It was a pretty tough stage, so we will see how we go in the rest of the tour.”
The tour now heads across the border, with a tough road stage from Heywood to Casterton today.
Tomorrow will see riders contest another road stage at Cape Bridgewater, followed by the final stage, a criterium at Portland on Sunday.
