News

More Than One Championship On Offer

By Rod Morris

While each and every one of the 80 riders in the Skilled Tour of Tasmania road cycling race later this month harbour thoughts of winning the General Classification - for many it is only a pipedream.

In all reality there is probably only a dozen genuine chances of claiming overall honours. David McKenzie (IteamNova.com), Brett Aitken (Skilled), Jeremy Yates (New Zealand), defending champion Glen CHadwick (Skilled Quest), Alan Iacuone (IteamNova.com) and Tasmania's own Nathan Clarke and Sean Sullivan (TIS No. 1) are among those who could be classed as real threats in the General Classification, which of course will carry with it, the prestigious yellow jersey.

For other riders, there are three other preliminary aims - the Country Club Sprint Ace, Wrest Point King of the Mountain and Teams Championship.

The Country Club Sprint Ace is determined by a number of intermediate sprints dotted throughout all of the stages that make up the overall road race, which this year will include six stages covering more than 520 km over five days.

Each intermediate sprint carries sliding points of 3-2-1 for the first three riders across the line. A Sprint King leader is announced each day and that rider will wear a green jersey the following stage to herald his leadership.

The Wrest Point King of the Mountain is another prestigious aside to any road race. The points system for the KOM varies on the degree of difficulty of the mountain the riders are attempting to climb. For the Tour of Tasmania, there are two categories, Cat. 2 = 6 pts, 4 pts, 2 pts and 1 pt and Cat. 3 - 5, 3, 2.

The leader in the KOM championship is clearly identified in a red and black racing jersey.

Normally the Teams Championship carries little fanfare, but for many riders and - particularly team managers - signals the overall strength of their work ethic.This category is determined by the aggregate time of the first three riders across the finish line in each stage.

In the 2002 Tour of Tasmania, the IteamNova.com and Jayco - VIS teams are looming as the biggest threats.

Previous winners 

Year -    Sprint Championship     King of the Mountain    Teams Championship
1996 -    David McKenzie          David McKenzie          Interedge/Intercotta
1997 -    Harm Jansen             Alan Iacuone            Jayco-VIS
1998 -    Roberto Gaggioli        Brendan Vesty           Volvo Cannondale
1999 -    Harm Jansen             Pelle Kil               Limerick Arms Hotel
2000 -    Robert Tighello         Glenn Chadwick          Milo Russia