Wesley Sulzberger wins stage 1 of Adelaide Tour

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Wesley Sulzberger (Drapac Pro Cycling) made a triumphant start to his assault on the 2014 National Road Series as he outlasted a disintegrating breakaway while in the women's event, Ruth Corset (Holden Women's Cycling) recorded a solo victory in the opening stage of the Jarvis Subaru Adelaide Tour on Thursday.

Sulzberger took out the 85km race three seconds ahead of Cameron Peterson (Peloton Sports/Turramurra Cyclery) and a further 39 seconds ahead of teammate Jonathan Cantwell.

"The race was really aggressive before that main breakaway went and I was expecting some of the other bigger teams to launch across but that didn't happen so I was really surprised. We had Jonathan Cantwell up there with me so it was nice to have a bit of support and it paid off in the end," Sulzberger said after the stage.

An 11-man breakaway broke free from the peloton after 20km of racing and both Avanti Racing and Budget Forklifts missed the move which included Sulzberger. The maximum advantage the break enjoyed was 2:20 before the peloton started to put the hammer down before the base of Adelaide's infamous corkscrew climb.

With the breakaway falling away and the climbers of the peloton breathing down his neck, Sulzberger played his hand on the climb taking Peterson with him. "Jonathon Cantwell led me into the climb and was riding for me, which put a bit of pressure on me to finish off the job. I went out on the first hair-pin and attacked and went on with Cameron [Peterson],' Sulzberger explained after claiming the line honours.

"Coming over the top of the climb I was with Cam and he was riding really strong. We rode to the finish together and I think Cam was feeling pretty good because he ramped up the pace and I let him do that. I kicked off his wheel in the last 500 metres.

"Jonathan Cantwell was third on the stage as well so that was a really good effort by him to scramble over the climb and finish off with the rest of the guys, and finish off the sprint for third."

Third placed Cantwell won a three-up sprint for the podium ahead of National Road Series leader Joe Cooper (Avanti Racing) who had jumped ahead of the peloton and fellow breakaway rider Jackson Mawby (Satalyst Giant).

In the women's race, 2012 NRS Champion Ruth Corset (Holden Women's Cycling) put on a dominant ride through the hills of Adelaide, showing off her climbing prowess in the opening stage of the Jarvis Subaru Adelaide Tour and opening race of the women's 2014 NRS.

"I just had to attack at the bottom [of corkscrew]," said Corset who was runner up in the series in 2013. "My teammates got on the front and rode tempo and slowly rode [the break] back just before the big descent into the gorge.

"It was pretty fast on the descent, but they positioned me well coming into the climb where I attacked."

Corset took out the testing stage 32 seconds ahead of Lizzie Williams (Specialized) and 35 seconds in front of Victoria's Tessa Fabry (Jayco/Apollo/VIS). Earlier in the race, Lauretta Hanson (Bicycle Superstore) had attempted to solo to victory and built a 50 second advantage but was caught with less than 30km to go.

"We didn't really panic, we wanted to keep it together until the bottom of the climb because I was planning to attack and get away," said Corset.

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