Crocodile Trophy
Croc reaches the coast
Media Release / 26.10.2010
Corrugated roads and thick bulldust filled holes made the track for today's 142km sprint to the coast of Cooktown.Leading an early attack against the peloton into a strong headwind and deep corrugations was Allan Oras (15) who was soon joined by fellow Estonian and sprinter Jaan Kirispuu (26) who took to pushing the wind for his friend, increasing their lead at the front by nearly 3mins. Following their lead, the pair were joined by Mike Mulkins (3) and Phillipp Ludescher (14) after breaking away from the pack to join the fight at the front.
Oras's pace proved too strong as the hill continued to steepen, fragmenting the group, dropping Kirisupuu, then Mulkins and finally Ludescher as it steepened to a point of 30% - leaving Oras to fight alone. As its numbers strengthened, the pursuit group increased its pace, eventually entering into a frenzied vertical sprint to be the next to reach the summit of Grassy Hill. Unable to be reeled in, Oras maintained his strong pace and crossed the line in 4:41:24 with worker Cory Wallace pushing on to reach the top next in 4:46:17. Race leader Urs Huber crossed third in 4:46:40 with Bart Brentjens unable to chase his rival down on the incline, crossing a fraction later in 4:47:09.
Oras said of the win "This is the most beautiful view I've ever seen and this is the most beautiful win I've ever had. I'm loving Australia from the very first stage (of the Crocodile Trophy) ... I've never been to the other side of the ocean before and it is a gift to be able to ride here and I'm so thankful to Jaan (Kirispuu) for helping me in the middle section. I'm very happy.". Cairns local Abby McLennan (91) from team 'Rattle n Hum' maintained her domination of the race reaching the top of the climb lead by team mate Brendon once again. Brandon, typically not a hill climber said, "This is great, what a climb!". Abby said of the stage " That was a long way, but the road up was much better than last year's when it was only gravel, the new paving made it much better, and what a view".
Wednesday's stage tracks further south with many steep climbs bridging the 124km gap between Cooktown and Ayton. A formidable lead up to Thursday's final trial - 38km's of steep climbs towards the race finale at the beach of Cape tribulation.See All Event Posts
