Tour de France hero Chris Froome has won the 63rd Herald Sun Tour.
The Team Sky leader took the overall lead from teammate Peter Kennaugh after claiming the fourth and final stage of the race with a scintillating display of climbing up the hairpin bends of Arthurs Seat.
Forced to chase down a dangerous Joseph Cooper (Avanti Isowhey Sports) late in the race to protect his team’s grip on the general classification, Froome eventually put in an attack of his own that was never going to be caught.
Cooper, the 2015 New Zealand road race champion, had started the day just 55 seconds down and in tenth place overall, but when Froome upped the cadence on the final climb, he was unable to follow and was soon swallowed by the peloton.
Froome eventually crossed the line 17 seconds ahead of Damien Howson (Orica-GreenEdge) with Jonathon Clarke (United Healthcare) at 21 seconds in third place.
Kennaugh, who had led the race since day two, finished seventh at 32 seconds, enough to keep him on the podium and give Team Sky a memorable one-two on general classification.
Local riders Howson at 1:01, Jack Bobridge (Trek-Segafredo) at 1:04 and Jack Haig (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1:14 rounded out the top five.
While it might appear that Team Sky dominated the race, a quick glance at the individual stage winners highlights a surprising diversity.
The prologue was won by Tasmania’s Will Clarke (Drapac), Stage 1 went to Kennaugh who hails from the Isle of Mann, and Stage 2 went to Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge), the brightest sprinting prospect this country has seen since Robbie McEwan.
Stage 3 went to a red-headed bloke with a beard, American John Murphy (United Healthcare), and the final stage went to Kenyan-born Froome.
That’s enough variety to keep the race interesting while Froome’s masterclass of climbing was the icing on the cake.
But Froome’s display on Arthurs Seat was not to everyone’s taste. Post race there were a few quiet rumbles about him selfishly stealing the leader’s jersey from his friend and teammate Kennaugh. They were soon drowned out, though, by those singing his praises.
And to think that UCI president Brian Cookson was disappointed that Froome chose to ride in this race and not the Tour Down Under. The Tour Down Under is of course a World Tour event while the Herald Sun Tour is ranked a lowly 2.1 on the UCI’s scale of importance.
It is understandable that the UCI want the world’s best riders in the world’s most highly rated races, but it is just not possible for all elite riders to be ready for all of the top ranked events all of the time. Each has his own goals for the year and as such each has his own individual program.
For a rider like Froome, who aims to peak in July for the Tour de France, racing big events in January (such as the Tour Down Under) just doesn’t make any sense.
Alberto Contador, one of Froome’s main Grand Tour rivals, has yet to push a pedal in anger this year, while Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali have only taken part in the Tour de San Luis, a race that has a UCI rating of 2.1, the same as the Herald Sun Tour.
For the record they finished third and fourteenth respectively on general classification, still someway off finding their best form.
What Cookson and his buddies at the UCI have to realise is that pro-cycling is so much more than just their precious World Tour.
The Herald Sun Tour may not be the most prestigious race in the world, hell, it isn’t even Australia’s most prestigious race anymore, but what it offers to riders and fans is integral to the continued success of the sport.
As I stated in my article on Saturday, it is grassroots racing at its best, a proving ground for young riders and developing teams to test themselves against elite riders such as Froome and Kennaugh and world-class outfits like Team Sky.
But not only that, the race is very marketable. The parcours is always interesting. Visually it can be stunning. Those who watched the coverage of Stage 1 as the race weaved its way to Healesville will struggle to find a more beautiful location for a bike race.
The battle between local riders and the internationals is always intense. Teams like Avanti Isowhey are never shy in taking it up to more highly fancied opposition and drama is never far away. That sort of thing is so easy to promote.
Sports fans love a contest and that is what they get with the Herald Sun Tour.
That is why the hairpin bends of Arthurs Seat are packed tight with screaming supporters. That is why the start and finishing areas are crowded with curious onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of a famed international or acknowledge a local boy having a crack at the big time.
Sometimes the results can be predictable, Caleb Ewan winning a sprint for instance as he did in Stage 2. Sometimes the results can be unpredictable, like when some bloke with a beard upstages the hottest new talent in cycling! But there is always a contest.
In the Herald Sun Tour and races like it, that contest is made all the more special because it often becomes a David and Goliath type battle. Oftentimes Goliath wins, but sometimes he doesn’t.
It doesn’t really matter which one triumphs because in the end the sport wins. It gets more fans, youngsters are inspired to take up cycling and those who are already knocking about on domestic teams get a chance to test themselves against the very elite.
So you see, Mr Cookson, it isn’t all about the World Tour after all.
Chris
Guest
Think its completely the Tour Down Unders fault that Froome didnt ride. Froome and the rest of the true elite only really care about the Tour de France, everything they do for the rest of the year is aimed towards being the best they can be for that. Other tours need to realise this and plan their tours accordingly.
Sean Lee
Expert
Thanks for your contribution Daran. I think what it comes down to is managing riders over what has become a very long season. Froome's goal is to peak in July. For him, winning WorldTour races in January is just not on the agenda. Having a hitout in smaller races where the challenges are perhaps not as great allows him to get valuable kilometres into his legs but not burn himself out trying to defend his gc position against the biggest names of the sport. I'd prefer to see Froome, Nibali, Contador and Quintana peaking at the Tour de France and going hammer and tong on mythical climbs like the Ventoux. If that means missng the early races then so be it. The riders are not robots. They can't peak for every WorldTour race.
Sean Lee
Expert
There is nothing better than being at the race itself, whether it is the TDU, the Bay crits, the national championships or the Suntour. You always, always, always have a close encounter with a rider and even at my age I still get a bit of a thrill out of that. Sounds like you had a very elite encounter delbeato! Well done.
Diggs
Roar Rookie
I agree that the race was great and Froome's stage win was a great moment for televised cycling in Australia. However I am torn on the whole UCI world tour thing. I agree with Cookson that it was a pity Froome did not race the Tour down under. I think the UCI has a major problem on its hand. On one hand every World Tour team should send it's best riders to every WT event. It's kind of the whole point of the WT program. What we saw from Froome wasn't because he spent an extra week at altitude, it was because he is just that much better than the other competing riders. On the other hand though pro cycling has a major flaw, teams are completely funded from sponsors who in return get little return for their millions. No ticket sale proceeds and very little if any broadcast profit sharing. So they have to race in as many events as possible, to be in essence advertising boards on wheels. So the top riders have to pick and choose the races they turn up to. As much as he is hated Tinkoff is correct, cycling has to evolve. What would have been a better advertisement for cycling in Australia, Chris Froome blitzing the field by 17 seconds by himself? Or Froome, Porte and surprise of the race Woods battling it out on Wilunga? I know what I would prefer to have watched. Sorry for long post.
delbeato
Roar Guru
If you can, make your way down to the race itself. The atmosphere is great. Also most of the riders seem to ride back towards Melbourne after the final stage and I managed to get a tow from a UHC rider, then get him lost, another tow off some Kenyan team riders and finally bumped into and had a brief chat with a lone Sky rider in Frankston at the lights. One guess who!
Sean Lee
Expert
Agree, that is disappointing, but at least we got more than just a half hour highlights package! With regards to the actual race though, I reckon the organisers have hit on a winning formula. Bookending the race between the Southbank prologue and the Arthurs Seat climb, while the middle stages tour around the state, makes for a great spectacle. The scenery around Healesville with its rain forest and tree ferns was sensational. Great scenery doesn't mean a great bike race, but it sure adds to the whole package. The race route was interesting, even the sprint stages weren't exactly flat, which makes for unpredictable racing. In all I thought the Tour went rather well. Froome's display was the icing on the cake. Long live the Sun Tour!
Geoff Parkes
Expert
Thanks Sean, excellent summary. Arthurs Seat is tailor made for it and to have 3 ascents to conclude the race was perfect. Not so perfect was the TV coverage, there's nothing worse than investing 3 or so hours in following a race then being let down at the end by poor decisions in the production van. It's not just about the winner of a stage, we can clearly see that happen, but viewers are also invested in the chasers, exactly who is where, and doing time calculations in their heads for GC positions. But all we got was shots of Froome resting on his bike and no clear idea of which riders finished where behind him, and the time gaps. Then we got a shot of Peter Kennaugh confronting Pat Shaw after the finish, obviously upset about something, but instead of zeroing in on the action they cut away to, well not much at all. I don't blame the commentators, you could tell they were just as frustrated, and mentioned also that their computer had failed. They and the audience were badly let down by D-grade production.