Shaw thing on opening stage
By Cycling News published
Drapac gets the first bunch kick
Canberra’s Stuart Shaw (Drapac) was a surprise leader of the Tour of the Murray River, after winning the bunch sprint over some favoured sprinters. Shaw triumph in a blistering sprint finish from the consistent Joel Pearson (Genesys Wealth Advisers), while speedy Malaysian Harrif Saleh finished in third place.
The opening 155km stage produced one of the biggest crashes witnessed in Australian road cycling, which fortunately left no riders with serious injury. More than 70 riders from the 131-man field tumbled to the bitumen only six kilometres after the start of the Echuca-Rochester stage.
Former Tour De France star Henk Vogels, back home from the United States as manager of the Virgin Blue-RBS Morgans line-up, had an up-front view of the carnage from his team vehicle and said it was the biggest pile-up he had seen in world cycling. “In terms of numbers, yes, but not with injuries,” Vogels said. “It was pretty mind-blowing, though.”
Ballarat’s Patrick Shaw, leader of the current Scody Cup series and a member of the Virgin Blue RBS Morgans team, was one of the fallen riders. Chief commissaire Peter Tomlinson, of NSW, was forced to neutralise the race for 25 minutes as team managers and crews scrambled to repair broken bikes and get their riders back into the event.
Shaw managed to miss most of the impact from the fall and rode a brilliant team race to triumph in front of a large crowd in Rochester, home of one of Australia’s original cycling greats, the late Sir Hubert Opperman.
The victory secured him tour leadership from Sydney’s Richard Lang, who accumulated 11 bonus seconds in intermediate sprints throughout the journey, with Pearson in third spot.
Shaw works about 30 hours a week as a part-time draftsman for a Canberra gas company and paid tribute to the Drapac philosophy of ensuring that all team members must undertake some form of tertiary education or employment.
“It was an aggressive stage with no wind but I managed to get my old legs going at the finish,” Shaw said.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 3:32:32 |
2 | Joel Pearson (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
3 | Harrif Saleh (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
4 | Zamri Saleh (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
5 | Michael Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
6 | Richard Lang (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
7 | Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
8 | Scott Law (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
9 | Thomas Robinson (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
10 | Rico Rogers (NZl) Swan Hill Rural City Council | |
11 | James Mowatt (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
12 | Kyle Marwood (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
13 | Alexander Ray (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
14 | Jason Rigg (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
15 | Jackson Wardrop (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
16 | Adam Phelan (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
17 | Jack Beckinsale (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | 0:00:03 |
18 | Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
19 | Sean Joyce (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
20 | Christopher D'Amelio (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
21 | Amir Rusli (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
22 | Matthew Benson (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
23 | Dale Scarfe (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
24 | Jason Allen (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
25 | Benjamin Hill (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
26 | James Williamson (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
27 | Timothy Walker (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
28 | John Cornish (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
29 | James Hepburn (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
30 | Kane Walker (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
31 | David Pell (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
32 | Ben Grenda (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
33 | Sam Davis (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
34 | Sam Rutherford (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
35 | Alexander Malone (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
36 | Rene Kolbach (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
37 | Clayton Fettell (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
38 | Shahrul Amin (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
39 | Jeremey Stephens (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
40 | Cameron Peterson (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
41 | Rick Sanders (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
42 | Jackson Law (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
43 | Eric Sheppard (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
44 | Gordon McCauley (NZl) Hyster - Total Rush | |
45 | James Herd (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
46 | Mitchell Pearson (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
47 | Matthew Wheatcroft (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
48 | Russell Gill (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | |
49 | Christoper Williams (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
50 | Edward Bissaker (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
51 | Aaron Donnelly (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
52 | Akmal Amrum (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
53 | Charles Howlett (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
54 | James Mcdulling (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
55 | Jay Mccarthy (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
56 | Will Tehan (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
57 | Daniel Furmston (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
58 | Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
59 | Luis Trueba (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
60 | Stuart Smith (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
61 | Matthew Marshall (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | |
62 | Neil Van Der Ploeg (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
63 | Damien Howson (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
64 | Andrew Roe (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
65 | Alex Carver (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
66 | Scot Cronly-Dillon (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
67 | Brad Tilby (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
68 | Patrick Lane (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
69 | Patrick Drapac (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
70 | Geoff Straub (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
71 | Daniel Hopper (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | |
72 | Nicholas Walker (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
73 | Gilbert Gutowski (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
74 | Mark Isaacs (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
75 | Alexander Smyth (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
76 | Peter Spencer (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
77 | Yusrizal Usoff (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
78 | Timothy Dalgliesh (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
79 | Andy Mcnab (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
80 | George Tansley (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
81 | Timothy Decker (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
82 | Jacob Sutherland (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
83 | Mitchell Mulhern (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
84 | Alexand Edmondson (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
85 | Fraser Northey (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
86 | Brendan Brooks (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | |
87 | Harry Rassie (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
88 | Oliver Kent-Spark (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
89 | Chris Beeck (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
90 | Ben Cutajar (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | |
91 | Elliott Wells (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
92 | Andrew Barlow (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
93 | Ghazali Hamid (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
94 | David Edwards (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
95 | Scott Mcphee (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
96 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
97 | Liam Dove (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
98 | Fallanie Ali (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
99 | Sean Evangelista (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
100 | Jared Rowney (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
101 | James Henry (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
102 | David Melville (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
103 | David Tozer (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
104 | Angus Gale (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
105 | Courtney Black (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
106 | Fakhrullah Alias (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
107 | Michael Cupitt (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
108 | Trevor Griffiths (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
109 | David Treacy (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
110 | Ethan Kimmince (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
111 | Brett Tivers (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
112 | Chris Steffanoni (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
113 | Jared Triggs (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | 0:00:24 |
114 | Thomas Palmer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
115 | Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 0:00:27 |
116 | Tristan Jones (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | 0:00:31 |
117 | Logan Mort (Aus) Blackpeloton | 0:02:36 |
118 | Fergus Maclachlan (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | 0:03:34 |
119 | Matthew Werrell (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | 0:03:38 |
120 | Stephen Bomball (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | 0:03:41 |
121 | Trent Williams (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | 0:04:36 |
122 | Louis Evangelista (Aus) GE Plumbing | 0:04:40 |
123 | Clive Silcock (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | 0:13:04 |
124 | Damian Harris (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
DNF | James Northey (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
DNF | Brendan Schultz (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
DNF | Alastair Loutit (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 3:32:15 |
2 | Joel Pearson (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 0:00:05 |
3 | Harrif Saleh (Mas) Malaysian National Team | 0:00:09 |
4 | Zamri Saleh (Mas) Malaysian National Team | 0:00:10 |
5 | Michael Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 0:00:11 |
6 | Richard Lang (Aus) Jayco Skins | 0:00:12 |
7 | Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | 0:00:13 |
8 | Scott Law (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
9 | Thomas Robinson (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 0:00:14 |
10 | Rico Rogers (NZl) Swan Hill Rural City Council | |
11 | James Mowatt (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
12 | Kyle Marwood (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 0:00:15 |
13 | Alexander Ray (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
14 | Jason Rigg (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 0:00:17 |
15 | Jackson Wardrop (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
16 | Adam Phelan (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
17 | Jack Beckinsale (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
18 | Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
19 | Sean Joyce (Aus) Blackpeloton | 0:00:18 |
20 | Christopher D'amelio (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
21 | Amir Rusli (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
22 | Matthew Benson (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
23 | Dale Scarfe (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
24 | Jason Allen (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
25 | Benjamin Hill (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | 0:00:19 |
26 | James Williamson (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
27 | Timothy Walker (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
28 | John Cornish (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
29 | James Hepburn (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
30 | Kane Walker (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
31 | David Pell (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 0:00:20 |
32 | Ben Grenda (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | |
33 | Sam Davis (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
34 | Sam Rutherford (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
35 | Alexander Malone (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
36 | Rene Kolbach (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
37 | Clayton Fettell (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
38 | Shahrul Amin (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
39 | Jeremey Stephens (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
40 | Cameron Peterson (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
41 | Rick Sanders (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
42 | Jackson Law (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
43 | Eric Sheppard (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
44 | Gordon McCauley (NZl) Hyster - Total Rush | |
45 | James Herd (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
46 | Mitchell Pearson (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
47 | Matthew Wheatcroft (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
48 | Russell Gill (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | |
49 | Christoper Williams (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
50 | Edward Bissaker (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
51 | Aaron Donnelly (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
52 | Akmal Amrum (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
53 | Charles Howlett (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
54 | James McDulling (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
55 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
56 | Will Tehan (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
57 | Daniel Furmston (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
58 | Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
59 | Luis Trueba (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
60 | Stuart Smith (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
61 | Matthew Marshall (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | |
62 | Neil Van Der Ploeg (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
63 | Damien Howson (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
64 | Andrew Roe (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | |
65 | Alex Carver (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
66 | Scot Cronly-Dillon (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
67 | Brad Tilby (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
68 | Patrick Lane (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
69 | Patrick Drapac (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
70 | Geoff Straub (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | |
71 | Daniel Hopper (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | |
72 | Nicholas Walker (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
73 | Gilbert Gutowski (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
74 | Mark Isaacs (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
75 | Alexander Smyth (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
76 | Peter Spencer (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
77 | Yusrizal Usoff (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
78 | Timothy Dalgliesh (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
79 | Andy McNab (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
80 | George Tansley (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
81 | Timothy Decker (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
82 | Jacob Sutherland (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | |
83 | Mitchell Mulhern (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
84 | Alexand Edmondson (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
85 | Fraser Northey (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
86 | Brendan Brooks (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | |
87 | Harry Rassie (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
88 | Oliver Kent-Spark (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
89 | Chris Beeck (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
90 | Ben Cutajar (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | |
91 | Elliott Wells (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
92 | Andrew Barlow (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
93 | Ghazali Hamid (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
94 | David Edwards (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | |
95 | Scott Mcphee (Aus) Team SASI Cycling | |
96 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) Jayco Skins | |
97 | Liam Dove (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | |
98 | Fallanie Ali (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
99 | Sean Evangelista (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
100 | Jared Rowney (Aus) GE Plumbing | |
101 | James Henry (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
102 | David Melville (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
103 | David Tozer (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
104 | Angus Gale (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
105 | Courtney Black (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
106 | Fakhrullah Alias (Mas) Malaysian National Team | |
107 | Michael Cupitt (Aus) Merida Australia Road Team | |
108 | Trevor Griffiths (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | |
109 | David Treacy (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carrol | |
110 | Ethan Kimmince (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | |
111 | Brett Tivers (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | |
112 | Chris Steffanoni (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | |
113 | Jared Triggs (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | 0:00:38 |
114 | Thomas Palmer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 0:00:41 |
115 | Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 0:00:44 |
116 | Tristan Jones (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | 0:00:48 |
117 | Logan Mort (Aus) Blackpeloton | 0:02:53 |
118 | Fergus Maclachlan (Aus) Swan Hill Rural City Council | 0:03:51 |
119 | Matthew Werrell (Aus) Shortis.com.au Cycling Team | 0:03:55 |
120 | Stephen Bomball (Aus) New South Wales Instutite of Sport | 0:03:58 |
121 | Trent Williams (Aus) Apollo Bicycles | 0:04:53 |
122 | Louis Evangelista (Aus) GE Plumbing | 0:04:57 |
123 | Clive Silcock (Aus) Mildura Rural City Council | 0:13:21 |
124 | Damian Harris (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
DNF | James Northey (Aus) Blackpeloton | |
DNF | Brendan Schultz (Aus) RACE - Fenton Green | |
DNF | Alastair Loutit (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Richard Lang (Aus) Jayco Skins | 11 | pts |
2 | Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 7 | |
3 | Ben Grenda (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 4 | |
4 | Adam Phelan (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | 4 | |
5 | Thomas Robinson (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 4 | |
6 | Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | 3 | |
7 | Michael Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 3 | |
8 | Alexander Ray (Aus) Hyster - Total Rush | 3 | |
9 | Fakhrullah Alias (Mas) Malaysian National Team | 2 | |
10 | Timothy Walker (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 2 | |
11 | Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | 2 | |
12 | Kyle Marwood (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 2 | |
13 | Mark Isaacs (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | 2 | |
14 | Alexander Malone (Aus) Bike Bug North Sydney/Carroll & O'Dea | 2 | |
15 | Daniel Furmston (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | 1 | |
16 | James Hepburn (Aus) Virgin Blue RBS Morgans | 1 | |
17 | David Pell (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Gordon McCauley (NZl) Hyster - Total Rush | 3 | pts |
2 | Adam Phelan (Aus) McDonagh Blake - Witness | 3 | |
3 | Thomas Palmer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 3 | |
4 | Eric Sheppard (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | 2 | |
5 | Jason Rigg (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 2 | |
6 | Ben Grenda (Aus) Genesys Wealth Advisers | 2 | |
7 | Charles Howlett (Aus) search2retain-myteam2 | 1 | |
8 | Nicholas Walker (Aus) Jayco/VIS/QAS | 1 | |
9 | Sam Davis (Aus) Plan B Racing Team | 1 |

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
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
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Nathan Haas blog: Unbound, the pro-ification of gravel
Australian weighs whether the 'spirit of gravel' is being ruined -
National championships to feature in WorldTour relegation fight
BikeExchange-Jayco tied with Lotto Soudal in 19th, Israel-Premier Tech 20th -
Wiles ends season, refocuses on iliac artery endofibrosis post-surgery recovery
'I was happy to figure out what was holding me back and hoping to come back stronger' says Trek-Segafredo rider -
Brunel ends his career with UAE Team Emirates at 23
Frenchman's 'other pursuits' to include Ironman