Sulzberger claims Regioni stage win

SouthAustralia.com-AIS rider Wesley Sulzberger sits in second place overall after victory in stage three of the Giro delle Regioni in Italy.

The 21 year-old Tasmanian, who last year claimed the silver medal in the men's Under 23 road race at the World Championships in Stuttgart, out-sprinted race leader, Ukraine's Vitaly Buts, with a winning time of just under four hours at the end of the 147-kilometre stage from Giovanni Teatino to Chieti.

Sulzberger's team-mate Simon Clarke was a little over a minute back in sixth place.

"Today's performance by the Australians was one of the best I've seen," said Team Director Brian Stephens. "On the category one climb Travis Meyer attacked and rode on his own for 50 kilometres and Wes went with the next break of four riders which ended up being three who then caught Travis.

"Meanwhile Simon and Cameron Meyer were with the main group of about 30 riders, led by Italy A and B, trying to catch the break," said Stephens. "It was a superb team effort all round."

Buts leads on a count-back to Sulzberger, who is on the same overall time with Clarke now sixth overall at 1'04" and second in the points classification, trailing Buts by four points. Cameron Meyer is 11th overall at 1'08" and is third in the young riders classification. Three stages remain.

(Additional reporting and research provided by Susan Westemeyer)