Haller holds on for overall Bay Crits victory as Ewan wins day 3
Australian sprinter takes second win in a row
Katusha Sports' Marco Haller held on to his overall lead to win the 2019 Lexus Blackburn Bay Crits in Williamstown, Australia, on Thursday afternoon, while Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) took his second stage victory after having also won on Wednesday.
Both Haller's teammate Alex Dowsett and Lexus of Blackburn's Luke Durbridge worked hard to whittle the field down so that only the main contenders were left to battle it out for the stage and overall honours.
Miles Scotson has been active during the whole series, and will hope to take that good form into the Australian national championships road race on Sunday – a race that he won in 2017. He led the race into the final lap on the Williamstown circuit as part of a three-man move with MS All Stars teammate Heinrich Haussler and Novotel Geelong's Jay McCarthy.
Lotto Soudal's Roger Kluge, meanwhile, led the peloton just a few bike lengths behind, trying to set it up for teammate Ewan.
Haussler attacked on the back straight of the square circuit, but a huge jump from Ewan, having looked as though he may have been out of contention, gained him the lead in the final straight, and with it the stage win, from Brenton Jones (Lexus of Blackburn), with Haussler in third.
Fourth place for Haller, however, ensured that the Austrian sewed up the overall title, having won on the opening day on the Eastern Gardens circuit in Geelong.
"I'm relieved, as it was a hard series," Haller said at the finish. "It's been a super cool week – absolutely brilliant – and a great way to kick off the new year.
"We obviously didn’t want to take any risks, and we were expecting Caleb to strike again, but I wanted to make sure I finished high up," he said. "I tried to cover everything a little bit, and in the end it worked out."
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal | 0:59:37 |
2 | Brenton Jones (Aus) Lexus of Blackburn | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) MS All Stars | 0:00:02 |
4 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Sport | 0:00:03 |
5 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha Sport | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Ben Hill (Aus) MS All Stars | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Zak Dempster (Aus) MS All Stars | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Raphael Freienstein (Ger) Lexus Of Blackburn | 0:00:06 |
9 | Reece Tucknott (Aus) Velofit Santic Racing | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Cameron Ivory (Aus) GPM Stulz | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Sport) | 27 | pts |
2 | Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal | 24 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) MS All Stars | 18 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Raphael Freienstein (Ger) Lexus Of Blackburn | 18 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Brenton Jones (Aus) Lexus of Blackburn | 13 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Michael Freiberg (Aus) Australian Cycling Academy | 13 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha Sport | 10 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Reece Tucknott (Aus) Velofit Santic Racing | 10 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Novotel Geelong City Of Greater Geelong | 9 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Miles Scotson (Aus) MS All Stars | 8 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
How to watch La Flèche Wallonne 2024
Catch all the action from the leg-busting slopes of the Mur de Huy on Wednesday, April 17 -
Swenson and De Crescenzo win inaugural titles at The Growler in California
More than 100 pro riders endure wintry weather for 140-mile road race with $55,000 payout to top five men and women -
Bilbao, Buitrago headline Bahrain Victorious for Flèche Wallonne
Four ascents of Mur de Huy mean more emphasis on early part of race -
La Flèche Wallonne 2024 - Analysing the contenders
Defending champion Demi Vollering joins Tom Pidcock among the top contenders for glory on the Mur de Huy