Crocodile Trophy
Feel the heat - Mt Mulgrave - Laura, 157km
Lisi Hager (AUT) • Translation by Juliane Wisata (AUT/AUS) / 25.10.2010
Bart Brentjens claimed stage win number three. The Dutch rider decided the sprint against Urs Huber (SUI) and Philipp Ludescher (AUT). Heroic was the performance of the Carinthian rider Christoph Sokoll: he finished despite a possible broken collar bone.Three of the eight riders, who arrived with muddy faces and a good 20 minute lead on the chaser group at the aboriginal settlement of Laura, had known since the early morning hours what was ahead of them: both Urs Huber, who leads the overall ranking by 4.19 minutes and chaser Bart Brentjens, as well as current third Mike Mulkens (BEL) knew the 151km long stage from last year. The conclusions that they drew from having a head start in terms of knowing the track, however, were completely different.
Whilst Mike Mulkens attacked right at the beginning, Huber and Brentjens tried to preserve their energy whilst riding along the endlessly long and dusty roads, which where riddled with river crossings. In the end, the tactics of the two leaders were more effective. “I kicked off the sprint a little bit too early and was quite tired also from the strong headwind and from riding ahead of the group for quite a while�, admitted Bart Brentjens. After a time of 4:53.56 the strength of the previous World and Olympic champion was still sufficient to claim the stage win. Urs Huber would have loved to do the same, however, the attack of the Swiss rider came a little too late. However, overall the current race leader was quite happy with his second place coming in just one second behind the winner. “So close, again!� said a disappointed Philipp Ludescher, who rolled across the finish line right after Huber. Because his prospects in the overall rankings are slim due to mechanical failures earlier in the race, he wants nothing more than a stage win. “I messed up the sandy corner before the finish straight and was hanging onto the wrong wheel�, said the youngest participant at this year's Crocodile Trophy.
“It's a shame. I felt strong and really thought that I could make it�, explained the an equally disappointed Mike Mulkens. After his early attack and only chased by a group of four, the 30-year old Belgian rider was caught at kilometre 100 by eight riders. In the final sprint a crash spoilt his lead position, which he had claimed about three kilometres before the finish line.See All Event Posts
