Emotional Haas takes overall win after five incredible days of racing

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German sprint sensation Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano) claimed the 17th win of his season today in Melbourne, Australia crossing the line comfortably in a bunch sprint following a 61.5 kilometre criterium, the fifth and final stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. Anthony Giacoppo (Genesys Wealth Advisers) was second, while Jens Debusschere (Omega Pharma – Lotto) was third across the line.

Despite Kittel increasing his 2011 tally for the second time this week, the day really belonged to Nathan Haas (Genesys) who was never threatened as overnight leader of the general classification, increasing his 10 second advantage over Jack Bobridge (Garmin – Cervelo) by a further seven seconds. The battle for third was intense with Saxo Bank SunGard's Jonas Jorgensen (26 seconds), MTN – Qhubeka's Janse Van Rensburg (27 seconds) and Omega Pharma Lotto's Jens Debusschere (29 seconds) all snaring valuable time bonuses on the final stage.

Kittel's team were consistently at the front of the bunch with several breakaway groups taking their chances over the 4.1 kilometre circuit, while the race finally came back together on the final of the 15 laps.

The sprinter explained he was well-suited to the course having experienced a lot of criterium-style racing as a junior in Germany.

"It was a really nice finish to my season, I really like Australia, and this has just been a great day to close things out," Kittel said following the finish.

Given his recent form, the 23-year-old said he was indeed saddened that Sunday's stage marked the end of his season.

"Believe it or not I'm really disappointed," he admitted. "I just love cycling. I love the travelling and it's really something special when you spend the whole year on the road with the boys. You have so much exciting things the whole time. I will miss it during the winter. For sure I won't be lazy and I will prepare for next year. The winter time is not too long. In January or February we race again."

Canberra-based Haas finished safely in the bunch after teammate Steele Von Hoff went away in one of the day's early breaks. The 22-year-old paid tribute to the work of the orange train, which also secured the team classification while the current National Road Series leader also took out the sprint and young rider classification.

"Our team stepped up again today and as I've said all year, this team is just unbelievable," Haas said. "We've not lost a race in Australia this year and now to win the Herald Sun Tour, we would never have thought this. We were going to be happy with one placing in a stage."

Despite the pressure on his rookie shoulder, Haas explained that the hours between being awarded with the yellow jersey and heading to the inner-city suburb of Carlton for today's start had been a whirlwind.

"To be honest I haven't really had time to think about emotions going into this," he explained. "I just tried to stay as cool as possible and I actually surprised myself when I was on the line at the start, I was like oh, well you're sitting here and you're about to finish this crit, just roll through."

While Bobridge was a mathematical chance of overtaking the lead of his compatriot, he was never a threat.

"To be honest ... I just went in to defend second today," the current Australian road champion admitted. "It was going to be nearly impossible to take 10 seconds out of him today. I would have had to win both primes and finish in front of him, or place at the finish - and he's just as quick as I am, if not quicker.

"I've got to be happy with second ... I threw everything at him this week, but at the end of the day he was too good, the best man won."

One man under no pressure today was KOM classification leader, Cam Peterson (V Australia) with no points on offer in the crit. Just last week at the Tour of Tasmania, he had pushed Haas all the way before the Genesys rider finally took control of the overall on the eighth of 10 stages.

"Last week was really tough," Peterson spoke of his Tasmanian experience. "Nathan Haas come in and beat me in the end, and then winning this, it doesn't bother me that he beat me this week. I had two sick days this week and then came good yesterday and suffered through today."

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