Sören Nissen won stage 6 of the Crocodile Trophy in a furious sprint towards the line, winning just ahead of the Czech rider Milan Damek. Urs Huber and Konny Looser crossed the line right behind in third and fourth. Stage 5 winner Matthias Grick was fifth with a gap of about 16 minutes. Sjoukje Dufoer repeated the women’s win ahead of Sarah White and Lucy Coldwell. With two stages still to go, the overall standings in elite men and women remain unchanged.
It seems the elite breakaway group of four with Huber, Looser, Nissen and Damek were full of Skybury-energy as they charged towards the finish on today’s day six of the Crocodile Trophy. They had managed to break away on today’s 127km stage that took them across remote Outback roads and through Mount Mulligan Lodge.
In a spectacular and tight finish spring, Nissen took the stage win ahead of the Damek. Huber and Konny Looser followed straight after with Huber one stage closer to a possible fifth Crocodile Trophy win. Overall, he has a lead by 1:10 ahead of fellow Swiss racer Looser and has a defensive racing strategy to the finish line in Port Douglas.
“I now have to make sure bike and body perform well and keep a very close eye on Konny,” he said after stage 5.
Stage winner Nissen is 47 minutes behind the Swiss duo in the general classification in third with Matthias Grick at 1:40:29 in fourth and Damek in fifth at 2:15:56. For these riders the event had turned into a very tactical race and the battle for stage wins – and the boomerang trophies that come with those – is now in full swing.
Sjoukje Dufoer claims second stage win
In the women’s, Sjoukje Dufoer claimed her second stage win on the relatively flat race track, which had been favourable for the experienced road racer. Sarah White defended her overall lead, finishing in second with a gap of seven minutes. Lucy Coldwell was third and has a gap of 14:36 in the general women’s classification behind the local contender and 2015 Croc winner Sarah White from Cairns. Sjoukje Dufoer is in third overall by more than four hours.
Dufoer said that the first three stages had been very challenging with the steep climbs and difficult and rough terrain, but that she enjoyed the racing experience and the event atmosphere. She added that she was very happy to take a second Boomerang for today’s stage win home as a souvenir from her adventurous honeymoon.
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Crocodile Trophy racing towards 25th Anniversary
Crocodile Trophy founder Gerhard Schönbacher said today that it was that racing spirit that he so enjoyed being a part of. After 24 years in the lead and track marking car he was able to finally do what he loved, chatting to ´his´ racers and crew and immersing himself in the event.
“If I had known what a relief it would be to hand over the responsibility to a General Manager team, I think I would have done it years ago. I see my race from a completely new perspective and I´m having a great time,” he said, adding that he was ´on call´ and available for the new management team with Regina Stanger and Koenraad Vanschoren at the helm of the Crocodile Trophy, but that he wasn´t “getting involved” in the day to day operations.
“It is such a joy for me when riders come up to me for a chat," he said, clearly comfortable in his role and that he was looking forward to next year’s 25th Anniversary Edition.
