Hoskins holds on to final day lead to celebrate a deserved overall win

Melissa Hoskins (GreenEdge-AIS) has claimed GreenEdge's first overall victory in the fledgling team's short history, with the 21-year-old successfully retaining the overnight lead at the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. 

"I knew my team would look after me and they did really well," Hoskins said.

"I just had to back myself again, the girls did everything out there to keep me there so it was up to me to not let them down and coming around that last corner, that's the fastest I think I've ever taken a corner in my life."

Teammate Amanda Spratt summoned her inner time triallist, with a brave solo victory that began eight laps out from the finish to make it another brilliant day for the GreenEdge women.

"After that last intermediate sprint I just saw the perfect moment to attack," Spratt explained. "I went and no one came with me and once I had the gap it was just a case of making sure I stayed out there. I knew I had Mel and my teammates back there.

"Mel's proved to be the fastest sprinter here all week. It was a win-win for us – me at the front and Mel at the back."

Spratt was unchallenged in the back-end of the race, averaging 12 second gap on a rapidly reducing peloton. Meanwhile, Shara Gillow (GreenEdge-AIS) has taken out the Sprint Ace Competition, making it an historic occasion for the new GreenEdge women's professional team.

Hoskins finished second on the day behind Spratt, but was a deserved overall winner on 32 points after a consistent run throughout the race. Teammate Tiffany Cromwell was second behind Spratt. Chloe Hosking (Total Rush/Hyster) finished third on the stage and second overall with Rochelle Gilmore (BikeExchange Dream Team) next best on 21 with GreenEdge-AIS Jessie Maclean on 16.

Ewan's second stage win not enough to overcome Davis

Caleb Ewan (NSWIS) has won his second stage of the Jayco Bay Classic, riding off the wheel of GreenEdge's Leigh Howard in the last 50 metres to convincingly take the win. Howard finished in second place with overnight race leader Allan Davis (Mitchelton Wineries – Lowe Farms) in third, securing the overall victory on 29 points.

"It's great to finally get the overall win, another one off the bucket list," Davis said.

"Full congrats to the young fella, Ewan.No matter who you're racing, it doesn't matter about names, it's all on the legs doing the talking and he's done that.

"Apart from ability he knows where to put himself in a bike race and that will take him just as far as his ability."

Ewan finished second overall, one point behind and then BikeBug's Anthony Giacoppo third on 23 points.

Wearing Saxo Bank gloves and socks, 17-year-old Ewan is extremely focussed towards a professional career. He explained after the win that he believed that victory today meant more to him at this stage, than what it did to some of his older, more experienced rivals.

"I think that's what really gave me the extra kick in the end to try and win it," he told reporters.

"Leigh was matching me for a while and I just needed to grind a bit more and once I got around him I had the momentum to win," Ewan explained the sprint finish. "I was pretty surprised. I thought Allan Davis was going to be leading into the corner but he'd backed off."

While much of the on-course talk this week has resulted in comparisons to Mark Cavendish – Phil Liggett today suggested that Ewan is quicker than the Manx Missile at the same age – the world junior omnium champion suggests that he might not develop as a pure sprinter and instead be "more like [Philippe] Gilbert."

Ewan's next target is the Australian Track Nationals in Adelaide and won't be taking too much time to celebrate his win with another track session in the pipeline for tomorrow.

Earlier, Bernie Sulzberger (Urban Hotels), wrapped up two of the three intermediate sprints, to ensure his green jersey victory. Sulzberger, who has signed for Raleigh for the coming season in Europe said he was surprised to have been allowed to go through the day unchallenged.

"Mitch Docker was only three points behind me at the start so I thought that he actually would have went for it today but he didn't which made it a pretty easy job," he told Cyclingnews. The 30-year-old's focus now switches to the National Championships where on Thursday he will contest the criterium and then on Sunday, the road race where he is chasing a spot on the UniSA team.

"I was in good condition here last year and now I'm as good or better so I'll head into the crits tomorrow night and the road race with pretty good form," Sulzberger explained. "I'm happy with the way things are going."

The fourth and final race of the series in Williamstown did not allow for individual attacks of great yield due to the hot pace, including a scintillating lap of 1:10 in the final kilometres. The bunch stayed together for much of the race, with GreenEdge maintaining control at the front.

The speed contributed to a decent attrition rate with the majority of the field failing to finish, with tomorrow's national championships perhaps a factor.

Full results

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Elite women - Stage 4
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Amanda Spratt (Greenedge-AIS)0:44:50
2Melissa Hoskins (Greenedge-AIS)0:00:03
3Chloe Hosking (Total Rush/Hyster)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Rochelle Gilmore (BikeExchange Dream Team)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Annette Edmondson (Pitcher Partners)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Rebecca Henderson (Suzuki-Trek Women)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Jessie Maclean (Greenedge-AIS)0:00:07
8Kate Finegan (Spencers Race)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Loren Rowney (Total Rush/Hyster)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Sue Forsyth (Pitcher Partners)Row 9 - Cell 2
11Liza Rachetto (Spencers Race)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Rosara Joseph (NZL)0:00:10
13Rebecca Wiasak (Suzuki-Trek Women)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Shara Gillow (Greenedge-AIS)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Grace Sulzberger (Jayco - AIS)0:00:15
16Rowena Fry (Jayco - AIS)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Sinead Noonan (Jayco - AIS)0:00:17
18Tiffany Cromwell (Greenedge-AIS)0:00:18
19Kirsty Broun (BikeExchange Dream Team)0:00:20
20Gracie Elvin (Jayco - AIS)0:00:24
DNFNicole Cooke (BikeExchange Dream Team)Row 20 - Cell 2
DNFPeta Mullens (BikeExchange Dream Team)Row 21 - Cell 2
DNFMyfanwy Galloway (BikeExchange Dream Team)Row 22 - Cell 2
DNFImogen Jelbart (Suzuki-Trek Women)Row 23 - Cell 2
DNFAilie Mcdonald (Suzuki-Trek Women)Row 24 - Cell 2
DNFAllison Rice (Suzuki-Trek Women)Row 25 - Cell 2
DNFIsabella King (Pitcher Partners)Row 26 - Cell 2
DNFElizabeth Phillipou (Pitcher Partners)Row 27 - Cell 2
DNFSequoia Cooper (Torq)Row 28 - Cell 2
DNFNadine Le Mescam (Torq)Row 29 - Cell 2
DNFThomay Michaltsis (Torq)Row 30 - Cell 2
DNFKatherine O'Shea (Torq)Row 31 - Cell 2
DNFChloe Mcintosh (Total Rush/Hyster)Row 32 - Cell 2
DNFKimberley Wells (Total Rush/Hyster)Row 33 - Cell 2
DNFCarly Williams (Total Rush/Hyster)Row 34 - Cell 2
DNFDelphine Astier (Spencers Race)Row 35 - Cell 2
DNFElla Hopkins (Spencers Race)Row 36 - Cell 2
DNFJessica Mundy (Spencers Race)Row 37 - Cell 2
DNFHolly Heffernan (NSWIS)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNFLaura Triggs (NSWIS)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFAngela Mcclure (Norwood C.C.)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNFAlice Wallett (Canberra Cycling Club)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFJess Wigan (MTBA)Row 42 - Cell 2
DNFAntonia Abbisogni (Bendigo & District CC)Row 43 - Cell 2
DNFJamie Leigh Edwards (Geelong Cycle Club)Row 44 - Cell 2
DNFCarla Franson (Central Districts C.C.)Row 45 - Cell 2
DNFElla Scanlan-Bloor (Southern Highlands CC)Row 46 - Cell 2
DNFNicole Whitburn (Degani Bakery Cafe)Row 47 - Cell 2
DNFTanya Matthewson (Degani Bakery Cafe)Row 48 - Cell 2
DNFAnna Kauffmann (Degani Bakery Cafe)Row 49 - Cell 2
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Sprint 1
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jessie Maclean (Greenedge-AIS)3pts
2Tiffany Cromwell (Greenedge-AIS)2Row 1 - Cell 3
3Melissa Hoskins (Greenedge-AIS)1Row 2 - Cell 3
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Sprint 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Annette Edmondson (Pitcher Partners)3pts
2Gracie Elvin (Jayco - AIS)2Row 1 - Cell 3
3Peta Mullens (BikeExchange Dream Team)1Row 2 - Cell 3
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General Classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Melissa Hoskins (Greenedge-AIS)32pts
2Amanda Spratt (Greenedge-AIS)29Row 1 - Cell 3
3Chloe Hosking (Total Rush/Hyster)29Row 2 - Cell 3
4Rochelle Gilmore (BikeExchange Dream Team)21Row 3 - Cell 3
5Jessie Maclean (Greenedge-AIS)16Row 4 - Cell 3
6Annette Edmondson (Pitcher Partners)15Row 5 - Cell 3
7Tiffany Cromwell (Greenedge-AIS)15Row 6 - Cell 3
8Loren Rowney (Total Rush/Hyster)14Row 7 - Cell 3
9Shara Gillow (Greenedge-AIS)12Row 8 - Cell 3
10Grace Sulzberger (Jayco - AIS)10Row 9 - Cell 3
11Rebecca Henderson (Suzuki-Trek Women)8Row 10 - Cell 3
12Kate Finegan (Spencers Race)5Row 11 - Cell 3
13Sinead Noonan (Jayco - AIS)5Row 12 - Cell 3
14Kirsty Broun (BikeExchange Dream Team)5Row 13 - Cell 3
15Peta Mullens (BikeExchange Dream Team)4Row 14 - Cell 3
16Isabella King (Pitcher Partners)4Row 15 - Cell 3
17Liza Rachetto (Spencers Race)3Row 16 - Cell 3
18Gracie Elvin (Jayco - AIS)2Row 17 - Cell 3
19Lucy Coldwell (Carnigie Caulfield CC)2Row 18 - Cell 3
20Sue Forsyth (Pitcher Partners)1Row 19 - Cell 3
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Sprint Ace Competition
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Shara Gillow (Greenedge-AIS)10pts
2Jessie Maclean (Greenedge-AIS)6Row 1 - Cell 3
3Chloe Hosking (Total Rush/Hyster)5Row 2 - Cell 3
4Tiffany Cromwell (Greenedge-AIS)4Row 3 - Cell 3
5Peta Mullens (BikeExchange Dream Team)4Row 4 - Cell 3
6Annette Edmondson (Pitcher Partners)3Row 5 - Cell 3
7Kirsty Broun (BikeExchange Dream Team)3Row 6 - Cell 3
8Amanda Spratt (Greenedge-AIS)2Row 7 - Cell 3
9Loren Rowney (Total Rush/Hyster)2Row 8 - Cell 3
10Rowena Fry (Jayco - AIS)2Row 9 - Cell 3
11Gracie Elvin (Jayco - AIS)2Row 10 - Cell 3
12Melissa Hoskins (Greenedge-AIS)1Row 11 - Cell 3
13Sue Forsyth (Pitcher Partners)1Row 12 - Cell 3
14Grace Sulzberger (Jayco - AIS)1Row 13 - Cell 3
15Sinead Noonan (Jayco - AIS)1Row 14 - Cell 3
16Chloe McConville (Carnigie Caulfield CC)1Row 15 - Cell 3
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Teams Classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1GreenEdge-AIS94pts
2Total Rush/Hyster43Row 1 - Cell 3
3BikeExchange.com.au Dream Team30Row 2 - Cell 3
4Pitcher Partners20Row 3 - Cell 3
5Jayco - AIS17Row 4 - Cell 3
6Suzuki-Trek Women8Row 5 - Cell 3
7Spencers Race8Row 6 - Cell 3
8Carnegie Caulfield CC2Row 7 - Cell 3
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Elite men - Stage 4
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS0:59:45
2Leigh Howard (Vic) GreenEdge CyclingRow 1 - Cell 2
3Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe FarmsRow 2 - Cell 2
4Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels0:00:04
5Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike BugRow 4 - Cell 2
6Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban HotelsRow 5 - Cell 2
7Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe0:00:07
8Robbie McEwen (QLD) GreenEdge Cycling0:00:18
9Sam Witmitz (Vic) Budget Forklifts0:00:28
10Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug0:00:30
11Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban HotelsRow 10 - Cell 2
12Mark O'Brien (Vic) Budget Forklifts0:00:31
13Zak Dempster (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe0:00:33
14Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling0:01:06
15Baden Cooke (Vic) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms0:01:29
DNFMatthew Goss (Tas) GreenEdge CyclingRow 15 - Cell 2
DNFWesley Sulzberger (Tas) GreenEdge CyclingRow 16 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe FarmsRow 17 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Hepburn (QLD) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe FarmsRow 18 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Lane (Vic) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe FarmsRow 19 - Cell 2
DNFBert de Backer (Bel) Urban HotelsRow 20 - Cell 2
DNFRichard Lang (NSW) Urban HotelsRow 21 - Cell 2
DNFHeinrich Haussler (NSW) Bike BugRow 22 - Cell 2
DNFSteele Von Hoff (Tas) Bike BugRow 23 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Carver (NSW) Bike BugRow 24 - Cell 2
DNFMark Jamieson (Tas) Degani Bakery CafeRow 25 - Cell 2
DNFDean Windsor (NSW) Degani Bakery CafeRow 26 - Cell 2
DNFJohnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery CafeRow 27 - Cell 2
DNFJoel Pearson (NSW) Genesys Wealth AdvisersRow 28 - Cell 2
DNFNic Sanderson (Vic) Genesys Wealth AdvisersRow 29 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Loft (Tas) Budget ForkliftsRow 30 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Ockerby (Tas) Budget ForkliftsRow 31 - Cell 2
DNFBlair Windsor (NSW) Budget ForkliftsRow 32 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Knoff (Vic) John West CyclingRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFRene Kolbach (NSW) John West CyclingRow 34 - Cell 2
DNFOliver Kent-Spark (Vic) John West CyclingRow 35 - Cell 2
DNFNicholas Brian (NSW) John West CyclingRow 36 - Cell 2
DNFTrent Derecourt (WA) John West CyclingRow 37 - Cell 2
DNFNathan Bradshaw (NSW) NSWISRow 38 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Williams (NSW) NSWISRow 39 - Cell 2
DNFTirian McManus (NSW) NSWISRow 40 - Cell 2
DNFJack McCulloch (NSW) NSWISRow 41 - Cell 2
DNFTaiji Nishitani (Jpn) Geelong MazdaRow 42 - Cell 2
DNFKazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Geelong MazdaRow 43 - Cell 2
DNFKazushige Kuboki (Jpn) Geelong MazdaRow 44 - Cell 2
DNFTakuya Takashi (Jpn) Geelong MazdaRow 45 - Cell 2
DNFEya Hashimoto (Jpn) Geelong MazdaRow 46 - Cell 2
DNFTom Leezer (Ned) Rapido Cycles / Four Points GeelongRow 47 - Cell 2
DNFJames Mowatt (Vic) Rapido Cycles / Four Points GeelongRow 48 - Cell 2
DNFScott Liston (Vic) Rapido Cycles / Four Points GeelongRow 49 - Cell 2
DNFNeil van der Ploeg (Vic) Rapido Cycles / Four Points GeelongRow 50 - Cell 2
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Sprint 1
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels3pts
2Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug2Row 1 - Cell 3
3Baden Cooke (Vic) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms1Row 2 - Cell 3
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Sprint 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels3pts
2Wesley Sulzberger (Tas) GreenEdge Cycling2Row 1 - Cell 3
3Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms1Row 2 - Cell 3
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Sprint 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels3pts
2Wesley Sulzberger (Tas) GreenEdge Cycling2Row 1 - Cell 3
3Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms1Row 2 - Cell 3
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General Classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms29pts
2Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS28Row 1 - Cell 3
3Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug23Row 2 - Cell 3
4Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels22Row 3 - Cell 3
5Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels19Row 4 - Cell 3
6Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe16Row 5 - Cell 3
7Leigh Howard (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling13Row 6 - Cell 3
8Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms10Row 7 - Cell 3
9Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug8Row 8 - Cell 3
10Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban Hotels8Row 9 - Cell 3
11Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling8Row 10 - Cell 3
12Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe8Row 11 - Cell 3
13Dean Windsor (NSW) Degani Bakery Cafe8Row 12 - Cell 3
14Zak Dempster (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe7Row 13 - Cell 3
15Steele Von Hoff (Tas) Bike Bug7Row 14 - Cell 3
16Mark O'Brien (Vic) Budget Forklifts6Row 15 - Cell 3
17James Mowatt (Vic) Rapido Cycles / Four Points Geelong5Row 16 - Cell 3
18Robbie McEwen (QLD) GreenEdge Cycling3Row 17 - Cell 3
19Sam Witmitz (Vic) Budget Forklifts2Row 18 - Cell 3
20Trent Derecourt (WA) John West Cycling2Row 19 - Cell 3
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Sprint Ace Competition
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels21pts
2Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling9Row 1 - Cell 3
3Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug8Row 2 - Cell 3
4Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug6Row 3 - Cell 3
5Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms6Row 4 - Cell 3
6Wesley Sulzberger (Tas) GreenEdge Cycling5Row 5 - Cell 3
7Dean Windsor (NSW) Degani Bakery Cafe4Row 6 - Cell 3
8Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS3Row 7 - Cell 3
9Leigh Howard (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling3Row 8 - Cell 3
10Baden Cooke (Vic) Mitchelton Wines / Lowe Farms2Row 9 - Cell 3
11Robbie McEwen (QLD) GreenEdge Cycling1Row 10 - Cell 3
12Mark O'Brien (Vic) Budget Forklifts1Row 11 - Cell 3
13Zak Dempster (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe1Row 12 - Cell 3
14Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe1Row 13 - Cell 3
15Trent Derecourt (WA) John West Cycling1Row 14 - Cell 3
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Teams Classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Urban Hotels49pts
2Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms39Row 1 - Cell 3
3Degani Bakery Cafe39Row 2 - Cell 3
4Bike Bug38Row 3 - Cell 3
5NSWIS28Row 4 - Cell 3
6GreenEDGE24Row 5 - Cell 3
7Budget Forklifts8Row 6 - Cell 3
8Rapido Cycles/Four Points Geelong5Row 7 - Cell 3
9John West Cycling2Row 8 - Cell 3

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As a sports journalist and producer since 1997, Jane has covered Olympic and Commonwealth Games, rugby league, motorsport, cricket, surfing, triathlon, rugby union, and golf for print, radio, television and online. However her enduring passion has been cycling.

 

Jane is a former Australian Editor of Cyclingnews from 2011 to 2013 and continues to freelance within the cycling industry.


 

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