No surprises as Wiggins wins stage, takes race lead

Image 1 of 31

 Much was expected of Garmin-Slipstream at the beginning of this year's Herald Sun Tour and the American outfit has delivered the blows, the latest Bradley Wiggins' time trial victory in stage five, held in Geelong today.

 It leaves Garmin Slipstream directeur sportif, Matt White, with some decisions to make; Wiggins won ahead of teammate Svein Tuft to put three of the squad's riders in the top four overall.

Chris Sutton, winner of three stages thus far in the event, sits in second, five seconds adrift of the British star, meaning that either could be the protected rider in tomorrow's final stage through Melbourne's Italian precinct on Lygon St.

"Maybe we're going to flip for tomorrow. I haven't really thought about it yet and we will probably talk about it tonight at our meeting," said White. "We're a team. We came here to win the Tour and we are going to do that. It's just a question of with whom."

While Wiggins is the senior rider in the team, with Olympic gold medals to his name and a fourth place at this year's Tour de France, he joked about the means of deciding who would be the team's number one tomorrow.

"We might just have a big punch-up in the carpark and see who comes off best," Wiggins quipped during the presentation as he received the race leader's yellow jersey.

"I haven't been in this position before, so I don't know how we will work it out," he added, a touch more seriously. "If he [Sutton] wants to win, he can win. We always ride together, we get on really well and we are close both on and off the bike. I might let him have it," said Wiggins.

Sutton, who has the possibility to become the first son of a previous winner to take overall victory in Australia's oldest stage cycling race, was of a similar view,

"We're just going to have a team meeting tonight. The main aim is to win tomorrow and to go for five stages straight," Sutton said.

"We bleed for each other. We're brothers in arms. We are not racing against each other, it's a team effort. I just didn't win three stages here, it was the boys who put me there - the riders and the staff," he added.

Having won three stages in the event, Sutton has certainly earned the overall crown after demonstrating his excellent late-season form. "To win this race has always been a dream of mine. If I win I am going to be super happy," he said. "I will win the Jayco Herald Sun Tour one day - if it's not this year, I'll be back for the next one."

He was quick to add that if riding for Wiggins was part of the plan, he'd be more than happy to do so. "I'll ride for Wiggo. We've known each other since 2006 when we were at Cofidis. Bradley's a great time trial specialist and this morning talking at breakfast he really calmed me down. He is always helping me," said Sutton.

Which all probably makes White's call more difficult to determine. The only hint as to how it might pan out came when he acknowledged that Sutton might be more motivated on this occasion. Clearly the boss wasn't worrying about anyone outside the team.

"The good thing is that Cantwell is far enough away. We can get first and second anyway," White said.

From his side, Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia), who now sits in third overall at 32 seconds behind Wiggins, was still upbeat.

"I am a little bit disappointed - when you get so close, yet so far. But I am renowned for my sprinting and criterium riding, so I am still hopeful of the podium," said Cantwell

Tomorrow's sixth and final stage is a circuit race over 15 laps of 4.1km circuit taking in Lygon, Grattan and Rathdowne Streets in Carlton. With intermediate sprints after laps five and 10 delivering three, two and one bonus seconds respectively to the top three placegetters in each and stage honours worth 10, six and four seconds, it will be a helter skelter affair from start to finish.

Results