Gillow breaks duck for GreenEdge in Portarlington, as Hoskins assumes lead

Image 1 of 47

GreenEdge has claimed their first win of the 2012 season with young starlet Shara Gillow claiming stage three of the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. As an added bonus developing sprinter Melissa Hoskins (GreenEdge-AIS) did enough to move into the yellow jersey with fifth place on the stage.

Gracie Elvin (Jayco-AIS) finished runner-up to Gillow with yet another GreenEdge-AIS team member, Tiffany Cromwell finishing in third.

"It was so awesome," Gillow exclaimed after the race. "Such a good team effort and we got our first win... First win for GreenEdge and to be a part of such an awesome team. The team dynamics are so good."

The 24-year-old admitted the significance of her achievement, to be the first member of GreenEdge in either the women's or men's team to claim victory, was yet to sink in.

"Now that you just mention it, I realise that," she admitted. "First women's Pro UCI team [in Australia] and the first win. It's a credit to all the girls for all their effort."

Gillow escaped with Rowena Fry on the third lap before going on to drop Fry and maintain a solo break for the remainder of the race. The national time trial champion's margin over the field was as much as 35 seconds with the 24-year-old looking very much in form ahead of the National titles in Ballarat starting later this week.

The win came as GreenEdge team financier Gerry Ryan made his first appearance at the race, with the team backer at the finish to cheer Gillow home, waving the chequered flag as the Queenslander crossed the line.

Hoskins is confident that she and her teammates have what it takes to maintain their position heading into tomorrow's final stage at Williamstown.

"We've done everything we've come here for, tomorrow will be another big day again, we've got to try and hold onto it but we've got a win under our belt now and we've got the yellow so tomorrow's going to be a very big day," she confirmed.

"For sure we've got the team to do it and we've proven it, we're the strongest team here by far."

Giacoppo proves plaudits right with classy win over Durbridge

In the men's event, GreenEdge composite team Mitchelton Wineries – Lowe Farms claimed its second runner-up placing in as many days with Luke Durbridge outsprinted by BikeBug's Anthony Giacoppo. Koen de Kort (Urban Hotels) was third.

Allan Davis (Mitchelton Wineries – Lowe Farms) was eighth and retained the overall leader's jersey now had a four-point buffer over his nearest rival, Giacoppo (17 points) heading into Wednesday's final stage at Williamstown. NSWIS young gun Caleb Ewan is third on 16 points.

"It wasn't really rocket science ... there are two races in one, with the individual stage honour and the overall," explained Davis with the successful defence of his jersey out of the way.

"We wanted to get someone in the break from our team and that was 'Durbo' today. We got second again, [but] we maintained the leader's jersey and we had a crack at the stage win and nearly got both.

"[There is] one more day to go tomorrow and hopefully we do the same."

Perth-based Giacoppo, who rides in the NRS for the highly-successful Genesys outfit, said that the "depth of the field" in Geelong made today the biggest win of his career, having won the Goulburn to Sydney prologue and the Shipwreck Coast Classic event in 2011.

The 25-year-old is hoping that today's result was a good sign in the lead up to Sunday's National Road Championships at Buninyong.

"I'd like to try and go for the Tour Down Under spot [with UniSA] but we'll see how that goes," Giacoppo told reporters. "I think everyone wants that one."

The GreenEdge men were spurred on by the earlier performances of Gillow and GreenEdge-AIS, with Leigh Howard escaping for an 11 second break on the main bunch on the second lap however was gradually reeled in.

Giacoppo was next to make the move, gaining a 12 second advantage with Durbridge chasing and then a 30 second gap to the peloton. The pair maintained a distance until just after the halfway mark of the one hour criterium, joined forces. It was a move Giacoppo said he was happy to see.

"I train with Luke a little bit at home so I know how strong he is once he gets wound up so as soon as he joined me I thought yep, we're sweet," he said.

Mark O'Brien (Budget Forklifts), Johnnie Walker (Degani Bakery Cafe) and Koen de Kort (Urban Hotels) moved ahead of the bunch to give chase but the lead of Durbridge and Giacoppo was never challenged. In fact, the pair came dangerously close to lapping the field with a gap of around 1:30 and the main bunch was pulled off the course to avoid confusion. GreenEdge's Mitch Docker was first of the bunch across the finish line to claim sixth.

The pair had a small battle early on the final lap and just to be sure of his position, Giacoppo started his sprint several hundred metres before the finish line with Durbridge content with second.

Meantime defending champion, Matt Goss (GreenEdge) controversially found himself having an early exit from the race for the second time this week, after his seat dropped around several centimetres on the back part of the course.

"It's not something that would have necessarily ended my race – I could have ridden like that but it feels like you're on a BMX," Goss told Cyclingnews.

Advised to go to the mechanic's tent a few hundred metres from the finish line, Goss stopped and fixed the problem and then waited for the bunch to come past. He was then informed a commissaire that he had to chase, rather than wait.

"If they had of told me as soon as I pulled up, I would have sucked it up and rode a BMX for the next part of the race but as it was, I was three quarters of a lap down and they said I have to chase," he explained. "I'm not going to ride back that far by myself then expect to be in the race."

Goss had made clear prior to the four-stage event that he would not be in the same winning form as in 2011 however, despite such bad luck in two of the first three days of 2012, is in no way perturbed.

"That's okay, we've got good racing coming up," he said. "We've still got tomorrow and the team's going great. I'm happy how I'm travelling."

Full results