WORLD champion team pursuit rider Sam Welsford showed his true class recently as he claimed another victory in stage three of the Tour of the Great South Coast.
Held over a brutal Port MacDonnell rural course, Welsford was forced to dig deep after 128.5km of tough road racing to fight off young gun, Drapac’s Jensen Plowright in a sprint to the finish
line.
Welsford was led to the finish well by his Pro Racing Sunshine Coast team, with fellow Australian team pursuit rider Kelland O’Brien eventually crossing the line in third.
The win saw Welsford extend his lead in the National Road Series event by 11 seconds over O’Brien.
He also claimed the sprint classification on a count-back from his team mate.
To add to the impressive performance, Welsford currently holds the criterium jersey after the opening stage at Vansittart Park on Tuesday.
It was back-to-back wins at Port MacDonnell for the world champion, after a similar sprint finish in the stage last year.
Welsford said the stage was tougher than last year, with splits and breakaways keeping everyone on their toes.
“It was an awesome stage and I am happy to go back-to-back,” he said.
“I have to thank my team – they led me up perfect and backed me the whole day.
“Hats off to Cam Scott who led us up for the first half of the last lap, which is about 10km.
“He gave Kel and I the best possible run at the finish.
“So far, everything is working out well.”
O’Brien continued his impressive tour, with the King of the Mountain jersey at the end of the stage.
It was another solid effort from Plowright to split the two Pro Racing riders and almost claim the stage win.
A track rider in his younger years, Plowright said he was enjoying the road format and was pleased to retain the rising star jersey.
“It was a tough day and we were happy to get to the finish and be so close to someone as good as Sam,” he said.
“Hopefully I will be able to hang onto it for the next few days.”
Plowright has to remain focused, as he wages a close battle for the rising star honours with Jarrad Drizners, with just a nine-second lead.
The most aggressive rider on the day went to Drapac’s Patrick Burt.
The conditions were typical of the stage, which has historically provided a tough challenge for riders, with brutal cross winds and open coastal sections.
Last week was no different, as a strong tail wind pushed the riders up to 60kph through Allendale when riders mid-pack clipped wheels and crashed.
Of the 78 riders, 30 were involved in the accident, with 16 now out of contention for the tour honours.
Tour promoter John Craven declared the crash the worst in the eight-year history of the race.
“There were bikes everywhere and I have never seen so many cuts and abrasions on so many cyclists,” he said.
The accident will affect the team time trial set down for today at Naracoorte, but the majority of the favourites for the overall honours were not involved.
The Pro Racing team has certainly not disappointed spectators in the Limestone Coast and Welsford now sits in the ideal position to claim the overall win.
Today’s two stages should suit the world champion team pursuit riders, which includes a criterium and team time trial at Naracoorte.
The somewhat less taxing criterium kicks off at 11am this morning, with 30 laps of a 1.05km town circuit.
However, it does include 11 intermediate sprints to test the front runners.
From there the tour’s first ever team trial starts at 2pm over a 16.4km course from the Naracoorte showgrounds to the Naracoorte Caves.
The Pro Racing team is expected to dominate that stage, with their world championship winning experience on the track sure to set the benchmark.
