Frendo sprints to Crocodile Trophy stage 6 win

Australian Mark Frendo won his third Crocodile Trophy stage at this year's event in Laura on Thursday. Cory Wallace came in second in a sprint finish, unable to shake off the race leader who still firmly holds onto an 11-minute advantage in the GC. Jiri Krivanek was third, completing the podium of the elite general classification. Liesbeth Hessens was again the fastest women of the day, coming in as the incredible 26th place finisher overall and increasing her lead in the women's classification to more than seven hours.

Today's stage 6 from Granite Creek Dam to Laura took the riders via the historic Old Coach Trail, an old mining travel route. Laura lies on the entrance to the Cape York Peninsula about 120km inland from the coast in Far North Queensland and is a small township of 80 residents, which is more than tripled tonight by its Crocodile Trophy visitors.

The day started with an attack by the Austrian Patrick Schörkmayer, who was caught by the race leaders at the first rough climb about a third into the race. Falling back, he was later joined by yesterday's stage winner and fellow road racing team mate Josef Benetseder.

Wallace had planned to attack the overall race leader Frendo today, but didn't succeed as the Australian kept his pace.

"I sort of thought that ahead of the rather flat stages into Cooktown that are coming, today was going to be my last chance to attack," said Wallace after the finish. "I tried to crack him, but he just rode too well, and I'm not sure if and how I can get the 11 minutes back."

The top two men know each other well after having raced together at the Mongolia Challenge.

"I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's stage, because I don't think that Cory is going to back off," said Frendo as they both enjoyed a paddle pop in the 40+ degree heat at Laura.

Krivanek came in third with a 5:35 minute gap, which increased Frendo's overall lead on the technically strong Czech rider to 44 minutes.

Master 1 racer Mario Färberböck and elite rider Matthew Page came in fourth and fifth

The most unlucky fellow of the Crocodile Trophy would have to be last year's fastest Australian finisher, Steven Rankine. Riddled by mechanicals over the last few stages, his racing shoes practically disintegrated today and were held together only by cable ties and duct tape until the finish. After three flat tires, he lost his leader's jersey to teammate Paul Mashford from Cairns, who is currently fourth in the overall elite classification. Page sits in fifth overall.

Women

With an incredible lead of more than seven hours in her women's category, Hessens now has her eyes on a top-20 position in the overall male field.

"Two days ago I was in 18th position, but the last two days were so hot that it was really tough for me," said the Belgian, who lives, works and trains in the Swiss canton of Wallis.

"I don't mind climbing and some of those descents yesterday and today were just awesome, but I suffered in the heat and lost some time," said the 2013 Alpentour Trophy winner.

Friday's stage seven will be a 38km time trial at Laura with riders starting at 30-second gaps. It will be almost a rest day for the support crews and an adrenaline rush for the racers at the Crocodile Trophy.

Full results

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Elite men stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mark Frendo (Aus)4:35:00
2Cory Wallace (Can) Kona-MBC0:00:01
3Jiri Krivanek (Cze) Prestige0:05:35
4Paul Mashford (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans0:08:50
5Matthew Page (GBr) A Cycling/PivotRow 4 - Cell 2
6Bevan Spratt (NZl)0:31:13
7Bart Duraj (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans0:35:41
8Steve Rankine (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans0:35:42
9Adam Cobain (Aus) Amy Gillet Foundation0:49:02
10Josef Benetseder (Aut) Team Eybl0:51:11
11Patrick Schörkmayer (Aut) Team-BenivaRow 10 - Cell 2
12Alessandro Bianchi Perugini (Ita) asd s.martino emmedue bikepoint2:05:04
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Elite women stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Liesbeth Hessens (Bel)5:47:16
2Giordana Sordi (Ita) SKYsport-Italy1:04:28
3Maria Cristina (Ita) GS Cicli Matteoni FRW1:30:45
4Anne-Mette Mortensen (Den) Team Fit 4 Run2:28:08
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M1 stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mario Farberbock (Aut) Bikepalast.com4:40:56
2Huub Tankink (Ned) GT-YellowWings Racing0:37:12
3Kristof Schrauwen (Bel) Houtambacht - Who killed Joe?0:47:01
4Johan Schrauwen (Bel) Houtambacht - Who killed Joe?Row 3 - Cell 2
5Jürgen Hofer (Aut)0:57:29
6Vincent Baert (Bel) One life. Live it!1:18:32
7Martin Wisata (Aut) Il Pastaio / Rocky Trail Racing1:23:27
8Matthew Moroney (Aus)1:50:49
9Andreas Ueberrhein (Ger) Mountainbike-Freiburg1:51:00
10Kurt Hannes (Bel)1:57:17
11Bart Couckuyt (Bel)1:57:22
12David Vermander (Bel) Houtambacht - Who killed Joe?4:39:16
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M2 stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Hans Planckaert (Bel) Smart Cycling Team5:08:05
2Hamish Morrin (NZl)0:09:14
3Zbigniew Mossoczy (Pol) Wertykal bikeBoard0:12:47
4Peter Mühl (Aut)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Phil Welch (GBr) Il Pastaio / Rocky Trail Racing0:20:24
6Kristof Roelandts (Bel) One life. Live it!0:39:11
7Dennis Valerius (Ned) Jobkitchen.be0:56:18
8Andy Tubbs (USA) andy tubbs1:09:50
9Steve Bunton (NZl) Cervo Rosso / Flat Out Forty1:15:08
10Christian Wenger (Aut) bikepalast1:30:08
11Georg Vinczencz (Aut) Radsport Waldherr1:35:41
12Robert Waters (GBr)1:51:31
13Kurt Alderweireldt (Bel)2:04:13
14Giovanni Montini (Ita) SKYsport-Italy2:04:46
15Wolfgang Mader (Aut) Dreamteam Tirol2:27:02
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M3 stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Daniele Bertozzi (Ita) GS Cicli Matteoni FRW4:51:55
2Peter Selkrig (Aus) Il Pastaio / Rocky Trail Racing0:23:41
3Radim Novotny (Cze) Prestige1:57:25
4Simon Gillett (Aus) Amy Gillett Foundation2:20:56
5Gerhard Grassmugg (Aut) Rofa-Sport Graz3:34:59
6Chris Wessels (Aus)3:49:44
7Andrew Wily (Aus) Amy Gillett FoundationRow 6 - Cell 2
8Robert Topfer (Aus) Amy Gillett FoundationRow 7 - Cell 2
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Masters' teams stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Franz Schmidhofer (Aut) race4two - carinthia6:49:47
1Mario Slabe (Aut) race4two - carinthiaRow 1 - Cell 2
2Marc Coninx (Bel) One Eight Five Vets 20:28:14
2Drik Oostvogels (Bel) One Eight Five Vets 2Row 3 - Cell 2
2Luc Peeters (Bel) One Eight Five Vets 1Row 4 - Cell 2
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Men's teams stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Brendon Skerke (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans CA5:24:02
1Jon Standage (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans CARow 1 - Cell 2
2Isaac Tonello (Aus) AMDF - Australian Mitochondrial Disease Federation0:40:21
2David Stallan (Aus) AMDF - Australian Mitochondrial Disease FederationRow 3 - Cell 2
1Brendon Skerke (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans CA5:24:02
1Jon Standage (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans CARow 5 - Cell 2
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Elite men general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mark Frendo (Aus)23:38:45
2Cory Wallace (Can) Kona-MBC0:11:01
3Jiri Krivanek (Cze) Prestige0:44:02
4Paul Mashford (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans1:38:19
5Matthew Page (GBr) A Cycling/Pivot2:01:21
6Josef Benetseder (Aut) Team Eybl2:08:22
7Steve Rankine (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans2:37:04
8Patrick Schörkmayer (Aut) Team-Beniva3:11:03
9Bart Duraj (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans3:14:42
10Bevan Spratt (NZl)3:31:50
11Adam Cobain (Aus) Amy Gillet Foundation3:55:34
12Alessandro Bianchi Perugini (Ita) asd s.martino emmedue bikepoint13:04:57
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Elite women general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Liesbeth Hessens (Bel)29:13:17
2Giordana Sordi (Ita) SKYsport-Italy7:24:44
3Maria Cristina (Ita) GS Cicli Matteoni FRW7:36:27
4Anne-Mette Mortensen (Den) Team Fit 4 Run11:32:57
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M1 general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mario Farberbock (Aut) Bikepalast.com24:38:30
2Johan Schrauwen (Bel) Houtambacht - Who killed Joe?2:14:43
3Kristof Schrauwen (Bel) Houtambacht - Who killed Joe?2:19:18
4Huub Tankink (Ned) GT-YellowWings Racing4:12:13
5Jürgen Hofer (Aut)5:08:49
6Martin Wisata (Aut) Il Pastaio / Rocky Trail Racing5:33:01
7Andreas Ueberrhein (Ger) Mountainbike-Freiburg6:35:56
8Vincent Baert (Bel) One life. Live it!6:46:29
9Matthew Moroney (Aus)8:20:40
10Bart Couckuyt (Bel)9:47:31
11Kurt Hannes (Bel)13:47:24
12David Vermander (Bel) Houtambacht - Who killed Joe?16:18:36
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M2 general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Hans Planckaert (Bel) Smart Cycling Team26:04:02
2Hamish Morrin (NZl)1:11:11
3Peter Mühl (Aut)2:41:07
4Zbigniew Mossoczy (Pol) Wertykal bikeBoard2:42:20
5Phil Welch (GBr) Il Pastaio / Rocky Trail Racing2:44:14
6Kristof Roelandts (Bel) One life. Live it!3:30:18
7Dennis Valerius (Ned) Jobkitchen.be4:34:32
8Andy Tubbs (USA) andy tubbs5:14:15
9Steve Bunton (NZl) Cervo Rosso / Flat Out Forty7:19:17
10Christian Wenger (Aut) bikepalast7:34:54
11Georg Vinczencz (Aut) Radsport Waldherr7:44:38
12Robert Waters (GBr)8:19:25
13Giovanni Montini (Ita) SKYsport-Italy8:20:23
14Kurt Alderweireldt (Bel)9:02:51
15Wolfgang Mader (Aut) Dreamteam Tirol10:50:08
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M3 general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Selkrig (Aus) Il Pastaio / Rocky Trail Racing27:23:02
2Daniele Bertozzi (Ita) GS Cicli Matteoni FRW2:57:19
3Simon Gillett (Aus) Amy Gillett Foundation7:47:50
4Radim Novotny (Cze) Prestige8:46:29
5Gerhard Grassmugg (Aut) Rofa-Sport Graz10:26:31
6Robert Topfer (Aus) Amy Gillett Foundation12:45:57
7Chris Wessels (Aus)14:05:23
8Andrew Wily (Aus) Amy Gillett Foundation14:52:25
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Masters general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Drik Oostvogels (Bel) One Eight Five Vets 237:29:49
1Marc Coninx (Bel) One Eight Five Vets 237:29:50
2Franz Schmidhofer (Aut) race4two - carinthia0:16:15
2Mario Slabe (Aut) race4two - carinthiaRow 3 - Cell 2
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Men general classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1David Stallan (Aus) AMDF - Australian Mitochondrial Disease Federation32:37:30
1Isaac Tonello (Aus) AMDF - Australian Mitochondrial Disease Federation32:37:59
2Jon Standage (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans CA0:59:31
2Brendon Skerke (Aus) Tenni's - Cairns Home Loans CARow 3 - Cell 2

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