Haas wraps up overall win in Geelong

Image 1 of 8

Nathan Haas (Genesys) finished 20th in the Geelong Tour's final day criterium in the main peloton to wrap up his fourth National Road Series overall victory, and his second straight win in the Scody Cup. Ben Kersten (Fly V) took out top honours on the stage, hanging on to edge his own teammate, stage 1 winner Scott Law in a bunch sprint.

The story of the day however was Genesys riders snaring the top three places in the overall standings, with Haas' teammates Patrick Shaw and Anthony Giacoppo completing the trifecta.

"I'm stoked, it feels really beautiful," Haas said after the race. "People don’t realise how hard it is to win a Scody Cup stage, let alone a tour like Gippsland and Geelong."

"I am privileged to have a team like I do. I’m now going to aim at the Tour of Tassie, the Launceston to New Norfolk Classic and the Melbourne to Warrnambool."

New Zealander Alexander Ray (PureBlack Racing) won both the overall sprint championship and the most aggressive rider for the Tour. Queenslander Peter Herzig (Budget Forklifts), who narrowly missed out on wins on a number of stages with some gutsy breakaway efforts got some consolation with the win in the mountains classification.

The next race in the National Road Series is the Tour of the Murray River, taking place at the end of August.

Elite Women

Canberra journalist Rebecca Wiasak overcame a bee sting just 30 minutes before the Victorian open criterium championship today (Sunday) to win the Women’s Tour of Geelong. She was stung on the back of the neck by a bee as she warmed up in the gardens but received quick cold-pack treatment from her Suzuki-NDIT team.

Wiasak rode patiently in the criterium championship to notch only 17th place, but her tour leadership was never threatened. Wiasak, 27, defeated Victorian Kendelle Hodges by 47 seconds with South Australian Jessica Mundy a further 22 seconds back in third place. The 36km criterium championship, raced over 20 laps of a spectacular 1.8km sundrenched circuit in Geelong’s Eastern Gardens, was won by Queenslander Loren Rowney from Mundy and Tasmanian Grace Sulzberger.

Rowney also won the Victorian open road race championship at Anakie on Saturday.

"The sting hurt, but it didn’t bother me,” the excited Wiasak said after her victory. "It’s not the first time it’s happened."

"Geelong is still my home," she said. "I was a runner when I lived here and it’s so rewarding to come back and take out the victory. I'm really happy."