Kerby claims emotional victory in U23 road race

Jordan Kerby (Qld) has continued his amazing start to the year by taking out the under-23 Australian road national title. Kerby most recently won the prologue at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and lead the race for the opening stage. In the road race just one week following the tour he proved too good for Damien Howson (SA) as he sprinted past the under-23 time trial champion within sight of the line. Jack Haig (Vic), who is better known in the mountain bike scene picked up the silver medal after being one of the strongest climbers in the race.

"I've worked very hard for the last five wins, trying to step up, get the wins and today, I finally got the biggest win of my life," said an ecstatic Kerby at the finish. "I've had a couple of junior world titles back in 2010 but this is the biggest win of my life.

"I'm trying to go places and this is one of the first steps to getting there.

Second-place Howson was visibly disappointed after claiming yet another runner-up position but he acknowledged the strength of Kerby after also being involved in the all-day escape group.

"Always, nice to come away with a win but I'm happy with today's ride," said Howson. "Jordan Kerby was just too strong on the line.

"The move went early in the race with about 24 of us. It was always going to come down to the final two laps and whoever was strongest on the climb. We got a bit of a gap and then it was down to three of us.

"With a little over a kilometre to go it was a cat and mouse race. The other two looked at each other and I went down the other side of the road. I had a tiny gap, a sniff of the win but it just wasn't to be. I got caught about 60 metres from the line," said Howson.

Haig, riding for the Huon-Genesys team was the team's best hope for a medal after demonstrating his climbing skills on the tough Buninyong course with his teammates working to protect him throughout the day. Toward the finish Haig admitted his lack of road race experience may have gotten the better of him.

"I lack a bit of the knowledge in road cycling and who the other riders are, and what their strengths and weaknesses are," said Haig.

"I knew in the last two laps that the climb would be my strength, I had a bit of a dig to see if I could drop them but it wasn't the case. We had three of us come down to the finish here." 

How it unfolded

The wind may have dropped compared to the previous day but the exposed larger loop would still make life difficult for the peloton. Turning onto the Midland Highway for the first ascent of the Buninyong climb riders were immediately put into difficulty. Approximately 10 riders found their day essentially over within the opening minutes of the race.

Over the top of the climb it was straight into a long stretch of road that caused the main field to stretch across the road. A large group attacked off the front - immediately gaining 100m from the main peloton.

As the pressure continued to be piled on, more riders were being unhitched in the blustery conditions. With a little under 15km of racing completely, the leading group had swelled to 24 and were rapidly working towards a one minute lead.

The lead group had a number of the strong teams represented with Huon-Genesys Wealth Advisers, GPM-Data#3, Budget Forklifts, Suzuki Bontrager and SASI all featuring in the move.

Jack Haig (Vic), Jake McMahon (Tas), Kyle Ward (NSW), Nicholas Katsonis (Vic), Fergus Sully (Vic), Scott Law (NSW), Robert-Jon McCarthy (SA), Aaron Donnelly (NSW), Michael Crosbie (Vic), Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (ACT), Thomas Hamilton (Vic), Michael Phelan (ACT), Joshua Taylor (NSW), Alex Kinnane (SA), Ryan MacAnally (Qld), Brenton Jones (Vic), Joshua Prete (Qld), Damien Howson (SA), Sam Crome (Vic) and Alex Wohler (Qld) were amongst the front group.

The scramble to chase the huge front group lead to a crash in the main field as 10 riders hit the ground. Most of those affected by the crash were able to rejoin the peloton as the breakaway continued to stretch their lead to over three minutes at the 22km point.

While the bunch struggled to come to terms with the size of the leading group a number of riders decided to try and bridge across unsuccessfully. Group after group tried and failed to form a second group on the road as the slight breeze was too much for some riders to handle.

Riders continued to get dropped as the strain of Buninyong became too much and with just 45km the gap had extended to over five minutes.

With six of the eight smaller Buninyong laps remaining the main field had split in two but still trailed by 4:30. The next group on the road included around 20 riders and were one minuted behind the second bunch on the road.

The breakaway continued to work effectively and rarely eased the pace. The climb proved too hard for a few of the early breakaway riders as Taylor, Phelan and one other fell off from the leading pack. Jones was working hard for his teammate Haig who was being touted as a potential winner for the race.

Huon-Genesys had three riders in the lead with three laps remaining while a strong chase group finally broke clear of the peloton. Adam Phelan (ACT), riding for Drapac Professional Cycling, Jayco Herald Sun Tour winner Calvin Waston (Vic), Campbell Flakemore (Tas), Matt Clarke (Vic), Sam Crome (Vic) and Nick Shultz (Qld) were still 3:47 behind the leaders while U23 criterium champion Bradley Linfield (WA) and Caleb Ewan (NSW) had missed the move.

It would take a huge effort if the likes of Phelan, Watson and Tour of Bright winner Clarke were going to catch the front group. Flakemore had three Huon-Genesys teammates still at the front and would be contributing as little as possible to the chase.

With two laps to go Jones attacked his breakaway companions along with McMahon and Lovelock-Fay. The trio had mere seconds entering the start/finish line but the aggression would likely spell the end of the cohesion in the group. Jones had been doing a lot of the pace-making in the lead group and was looking to set-up the counter moves from either Donnelly or Haig.

Wohler had been contributing heavily and paid for his early enthusiasm, getting detached from the break closely followed by the Phelan and Watson group that needed a further 3:13 in order to see the front of the race.

Pre-race favourite Ewan was making his final attempt to get involved in the race having been stuck in the third group on the road. He went in pursuit with a Target-Trek rider for company.

On the penultimate lap four riders attacked the lead group and immediately gained ground. Haig, Kerby, Howson and Crome gained 20 seconds nearing the end of the lap. Donnelly tried to bridge to the four riders ahead but was chased by the remaining riders.

Entering the bell-lap the leading four had almost 30 seconds lead and looked to set to fight out the finish on the final ascent of Buninyong.

Crome couldn't quite hold on up the final climb with the lead now containing Kerby, Haig and Howson.

Kerby eventually attacked the other two and looked like he could power away to the finish. Howson took chase after Haig struggled to follow the pace. Howson and Kerby promptly joined and began to distance the talented climber Haig.

With less than 1km to go Howson had a small lead but it was the speed of Kerby that saw him overtake just before the line to take the victory.

Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jordan Kerby (Qld)3:19:48Row 0 - Cell 3
2Damien Howson (SA)Row 1 - Cell 2 Row 1 - Cell 3
3Jack Haig (Vic)0:00:03Row 2 - Cell 3
4Aaron Donnelly (NSW)0:00:44Row 3 - Cell 3
5Brendan Johnston (ACT)0:00:46Row 4 - Cell 3
6Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (ACT)Row 5 - Cell 2 Row 5 - Cell 3
7Sam Crome (Vic)0:01:06Row 6 - Cell 3
8Michael Crosbie (Vic)0:01:08Row 7 - Cell 3
9Scott Law (NSW)0:01:15Row 8 - Cell 3
10Ryan MacAnally (Qld)Row 9 - Cell 2 Row 9 - Cell 3
11Brenton Jones (Vic)Row 10 - Cell 2 Row 10 - Cell 3
12Jake McMahon (Tas)Row 11 - Cell 2 Row 11 - Cell 3
13Joshua Prete (Qld)0:01:19Row 12 - Cell 3
14Thomas Hamilton (Vic)0:01:58Row 13 - Cell 3
15Campbell Flakemore (Tas)0:04:25Row 14 - Cell 3
16Calvin Watson (Vic)Row 15 - Cell 2 Row 15 - Cell 3
17Adam Phelan (ACT)Row 16 - Cell 2 Row 16 - Cell 3
18Nicholas Schultz (Qld)Row 17 - Cell 2 Row 17 - Cell 3
19Matthew Clark (Vic)0:04:27Row 18 - Cell 3
20Jeremy Cameron (Vic)0:05:42Row 19 - Cell 3
21Kyle Ward (NSW)0:07:07Row 20 - Cell 3
22Samuel Spokes (NSW)0:09:56Row 21 - Cell 3
23Bradley Linfield (WA)Row 22 - Cell 2 Row 22 - Cell 3
24Jordan Davies (NSW)Row 23 - Cell 2 Row 23 - Cell 3
25Patrick Lane (Vic)Row 24 - Cell 2 Row 24 - Cell 3
26Jack Beckinsale (NSW)Row 25 - Cell 2 Row 25 - Cell 3
27Caleb Ewan (NSW)Row 26 - Cell 2 Row 26 - Cell 3
28Oliver Kent-Spark (Vic)Row 27 - Cell 2 Row 27 - Cell 3
29Jay Dutton (NSW)Row 28 - Cell 2 Row 28 - Cell 3
30Harry Carpenter (SA)Row 29 - Cell 2 Row 29 - Cell 3
31Sam McCallum (Vic)Row 30 - Cell 2 Row 30 - Cell 3
32Alex Clements (Tas)Row 31 - Cell 2 Row 31 - Cell 3
33Samuel Davis (WA)Row 32 - Cell 2 Row 32 - Cell 3
34Fergus Sully (Vic)0:12:28Row 33 - Cell 3
35Michael Phelan (ACT)Row 34 - Cell 2 Row 34 - Cell 3
36Nicholas Katsonis (Vic)Row 35 - Cell 2 Row 35 - Cell 3
37Mitchell Cooper (Vic)Row 36 - Cell 2 Row 36 - Cell 3
38Joshua Taylor (NSW)Row 37 - Cell 2 Row 37 - Cell 3
39Ian Peter Richards (Qld)0:14:50Row 38 - Cell 3
40Douglas Freeburn (Qld)Row 39 - Cell 2 Row 39 - Cell 3
41Liam Hill (Vic)0:17:44Row 40 - Cell 3
42Timothy Cameron (ACT)Row 41 - Cell 2 Row 41 - Cell 3
43Luke Ockerby (Tas)Row 42 - Cell 2 Row 42 - Cell 3
DNFJesse Kerrison (Qld)Row 43 - Cell 2 Row 43 - Cell 3
DNFAlex Wohler (Qld)Row 44 - Cell 2 Row 44 - Cell 3
DNFIvan Michelin-Beard (ACT)Row 45 - Cell 2 Row 45 - Cell 3
DNFFraser Northey (SA)Row 46 - Cell 2 Row 46 - Cell 3
DNFKarl Michelin-Beard (NSW)Row 47 - Cell 2 Row 47 - Cell 3
DNFMatthew Slee (NSW)Row 48 - Cell 2 Row 48 - Cell 3
DNFJames Boal (Vic)Row 49 - Cell 2 Row 49 - Cell 3
DNFJoshua Cornish (NSW)Row 50 - Cell 2 Row 50 - Cell 3
DNFBen Cutajar (Qld)Row 51 - Cell 2 Row 51 - Cell 3
DNFDavid Edwards (Qld)Row 52 - Cell 2 Row 52 - Cell 3
DNFJesse Ewart (NSW)Row 53 - Cell 2 Row 53 - Cell 3
DNFRylee Field (NSW)Row 54 - Cell 2 Row 54 - Cell 3
DNFScott Mcphee (SA)Row 55 - Cell 2 Row 55 - Cell 3
DNFJustin Vanstone (Qld)Row 56 - Cell 2 Row 56 - Cell 3
DNFShaun Baxter (WA)Row 57 - Cell 2 Row 57 - Cell 3
DNFNicholas Bien (Vic)Row 58 - Cell 2 Row 58 - Cell 3
DNFAaron Blomeley (Vic)Row 59 - Cell 2 Row 59 - Cell 3
DNFClement Boydell (Vic)Row 60 - Cell 2 Row 60 - Cell 3
DNFMunro Boydell (Vic)Row 61 - Cell 2 Row 61 - Cell 3
DNFJames Butler (Vic)Row 62 - Cell 2 Row 62 - Cell 3
DNFTaylor Charlton (Qld)Row 63 - Cell 2 Row 63 - Cell 3
DNFAndrew Clarkson (SA)Row 64 - Cell 2 Row 64 - Cell 3
DNFAlistair Crameri (Vic)Row 65 - Cell 2 Row 65 - Cell 3
DNFJames Cummings (Vic)Row 66 - Cell 2 Row 66 - Cell 3
DNFJames Fox (Vic)Row 67 - Cell 2 Row 67 - Cell 3
DNFChris Filiatrault (ACT)Row 68 - Cell 2 Row 68 - Cell 3
DNFSam Fuhrmeister (Vic)Row 69 - Cell 2 Row 69 - Cell 3
DNFJustin Gassner (SA)Row 70 - Cell 2 Row 70 - Cell 3
DNFNicholas Graham-Dawson (WA)Row 71 - Cell 2 Row 71 - Cell 3
DNFMichael Hale (Vic)Row 72 - Cell 2 Row 72 - Cell 3
DNFJulian Hamill (NSW)Row 73 - Cell 2 Row 73 - Cell 3
DNFJoshua Hamilton (Qld)Row 74 - Cell 2 Row 74 - Cell 3
DNFChris Harper (SA)Row 75 - Cell 2 Row 75 - Cell 3
DNFWilliam Heath (WA)Row 76 - Cell 2 Row 76 - Cell 3
DNFHarry Herne (NSW)Row 77 - Cell 2 Row 77 - Cell 3
DNFDavy Huang (Vic)Row 78 - Cell 2 Row 78 - Cell 3
DNFZane Hunter (Vic)Row 79 - Cell 2 Row 79 - Cell 3
DNFCraig Hutton (NSW)Row 80 - Cell 2 Row 80 - Cell 3
DNFJarryd Jones (Vic)Row 81 - Cell 2 Row 81 - Cell 3
DNFAlex Kinnane (SA)Row 82 - Cell 2 Row 82 - Cell 3
DNFJake Klajnblat (Vic)Row 83 - Cell 2 Row 83 - Cell 3
DNFMatthew Leonard (Vic)Row 84 - Cell 2 Row 84 - Cell 3
DNFWade Longworth (WA)Row 85 - Cell 2 Row 85 - Cell 3
DNFJason Lowndes (Vic)Row 86 - Cell 2 Row 86 - Cell 3
DNFAndrew Martin (WA)Row 87 - Cell 2 Row 87 - Cell 3
DNFJack Matthews (Tas)Row 88 - Cell 2 Row 88 - Cell 3
DNFRobert-Jon Mccarthy (SA)Row 89 - Cell 2 Row 89 - Cell 3
DNFDaniel Mcdonald (NSW)Row 90 - Cell 2 Row 90 - Cell 3
DNFLiam Melville (NSW)Row 91 - Cell 2 Row 91 - Cell 3
DNFTrent Morey (Vic)Row 92 - Cell 2 Row 92 - Cell 3
DNFStuart Mulhern (Qld)Row 93 - Cell 2 Row 93 - Cell 3
DNFConor Murtagh (Vic)Row 94 - Cell 2 Row 94 - Cell 3
DNFSamuel Nelson (NSW)Row 95 - Cell 2 Row 95 - Cell 3
DNFMatthew Nicholson (Tas)Row 96 - Cell 2 Row 96 - Cell 3
DNFShaun O'callaghan (SA)Row 97 - Cell 2 Row 97 - Cell 3
DNFCameron Parlevliet (Vic)Row 98 - Cell 2 Row 98 - Cell 3
DNFTodd Satchell (Vic)Row 99 - Cell 2 Row 99 - Cell 3
DNFSam Sautelle (ACT)Row 100 - Cell 2 Row 100 - Cell 3
DNFPatrick Sharpe (NSW)Row 101 - Cell 2 Row 101 - Cell 3
DNFClive Silcock (Vic)Row 102 - Cell 2 Row 102 - Cell 3
DNFNicholas Smith (Vic)Row 103 - Cell 2 Row 103 - Cell 3
DNFStuart Smith (Vic)Row 104 - Cell 2 Row 104 - Cell 3
DNFTrevor Spencer (Vic)Row 105 - Cell 2 Row 105 - Cell 3
DNFJoel Stearnes (Tas)Row 106 - Cell 2 Row 106 - Cell 3
DNFAndrew Stephan (Qld)Row 107 - Cell 2 Row 107 - Cell 3
DNFJared Triggs (NSW)Row 108 - Cell 2 Row 108 - Cell 3
DNFThomas Weereratne (Vic)Row 109 - Cell 2 Row 109 - Cell 3
DNFLiam White (Vic)Row 110 - Cell 2 Row 110 - Cell 3
DNFAlexander Woff (Vic)Row 111 - Cell 2 Row 111 - Cell 3
DNSDimitry Makeev (Vic)Row 112 - Cell 2 Row 112 - Cell 3
DNSMitchell Dedman (Vic)Row 113 - Cell 2 Row 113 - Cell 3
DNSBilly Hutton (NSW)Row 114 - Cell 2 Row 114 - Cell 3
DNSStefan Imberger (Vic)Row 115 - Cell 2 Row 115 - Cell 3
DNSRobert Kell (NSW)Row 116 - Cell 2 Row 116 - Cell 3
DNSCalum Middleton (Vic)Row 117 - Cell 2 Row 117 - Cell 3
DNSLuke Parker (Vic)Row 118 - Cell 2 `
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Hill climb classsification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Michael Crosbie (Vic)19pts
2Jack Haig (Vic)9Row 1 - Cell 3
3Damien Howson (SA)8Row 2 - Cell 3
4Jeremy Cameron (Vic)4Row 3 - Cell 3
5Jordan Kerby (Qld)3Row 4 - Cell 3
6Fergus Sully (Vic)3Row 5 - Cell 3
7Brendan Johnston (ACT)2Row 6 - Cell 3
8Thomas Hamilton (Vic)2Row 7 - Cell 3
DNFAlex Wohler (Qld)2Row 8 - Cell 3
DNFRobert-Jon Mccarthy (SA)2Row 9 - Cell 3

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