Subway Avanti back from brink

Press Release

(For immediate release)

November 2, 2010

Subway Avanti back from brink

With their “war wounds” still raw, Subway Avanti came back from the brink to win stage three of the PowerNet Tour of Southland today.

Despite being left battered and bruised from a crash which also claimed three of his team-mates yesterday, Subway Avanti’s Joe Cooper, of Wellington, snatched stage honours in Gore by a bike length from Ascot Park Hotel rider Bevan Mason, of Australia, and also secured the King of the Mountain jersey.

“It’s a pretty awesome feeling after yesterday with all the lows and now we’re on a high … we’re back in the game now,” Cooper said.

Team spokesman John McKenzie described the team camp as “like a war zone” last night and was justifiably impressed with today’s effort.

“To see how they responded after four of them hit the deck was amazing. There was disappointment but it’s about moving on from that and making a statement because they were in great form coming into this race,” he said.

“It says a lot about their professional attitude and about riding for each other.”

The team’s resolve was epitomised by NZ under-23 representative Michael Vink, of Christchurch, who dragged his injured body out of the ambulance and back onto his badly damaged bike to tackle the gruelling Bluff Hill climb, completing the trek narrowly before the cut-off time so he could start today’s stage from Invercargill to Gore.

Team-mate James Williamson, who rode the stage sporting acupuncture needles still in his neck and several stitches, was one of five riders, along with Pure Black Racing’s Mike Northey, to put in the hard yards with an early break in the 165km stretch – the longest of the six-day race.

With 60km to go the race effectively reset and, after a number of attacks, Cooper and Mason established a slight lead on the chasing bunch.

After adding the Otama hill climb to the day’s accomplishments, Cooper found the legs to hold off Mason in a sprint to the finish.

In the general classification ranks, Share the Road’s Jeremy Yates, of Hastings, retained the yellow jersey by 4sec ahead of team-mate Jack Bauer, of Nelson, with the team successfully dictating much of the race from the front of the peloton.

‘It wasn’t an easy stage … it has the potential to turn real nasty as it has for me in the past. I’ve lost the yellow jersey on this stage before so I was really nervous coming into it,” Yates said.

“But start to finish it went as planned and we never had to panic really.

“We kept it under control and even put Hayden Roulston’s team (Calder Stewart Bike NZ) on the back foot midway through the stage – Jack Bauer was able to get in a little move that got away and those boys had to rally round and step up to the chase.

“There are a lot of cards to play and we showed we’re not just a one-horse team.”

Yates admitted he was rather fond of the yellow strip.

“I like it but as long as it stays within the team I’m happy,” he said.

Benchmark Homes rider Daniel Barry, of Christchurch, successfully defended the hotly-contested Under-23 jersey, while Pure Black Racing’s Roman van Uden, of Auckland, retained the Sprint Ace.

Two stages loom tomorrow (Wednesday) with the prospect to encountering challenging conditions on the 88km coastal trek from Invercargill to Tuatapere, followed by the 101km trip to Winton.

“We’ll try and keep the moves under control, step it up for the end and try and reel back anyone that’s dangerous,” Yates said.

The heralded Calder Stewart/Bike NZ team, which features pro riders the calibre of Commonwealth Games silver medallist Roulston and Greg Henderson, went largely undetected today and remains in 6th spot in the overall team standings, over 5min adrift of Share the Road.

However, Roulston is in striking distance, just 22sec shy of Yates in the general classification.

Results:

Stage three of the PowerNet Tour of Southland, 165km from Invercargill to Gore via Edendale and Riversdale

1. Joe Cooper (Subway Avanti Pro Cycling) 3h48m07s; 2. Bevan Mason (Ascot Park Hotel) at 02s; 3. Clinton Avery (Ascot Park Hotel) at 14s; 4. Greg Henderson (Calder Stewart-BikeNZ National) at 14s; 5. Tom Scully (PowerNet) at 14s; 6. Shane Archbold (PowerNet) at 14s; 7. Marc Prutton (Sycamore Print) at 14s; 8. Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes) at 14s; 9. Alexander Ray (Orca Velo Merino) at 14s; 10. Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) at 14s; 11. Douglas Rapacholi (Team Motatapu) at 14s; 12. Sam Steele (Team Motatapu) at 14s; 13. Cody Stevenson (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) at 14s; 14. Ruaraidh McLeod (The Southland Times-H&J's Outdoor World) at 14s; 15. Hayden Roulston (Calder Stewart-BikeNZ National) at 14s; 16. Jack Bauer (Share the Road) at 14s; 17. Jeremy Yates (Share the Road) at 14s; 18. Matt Wheatcroft (moxxchopper.com) at 14s; 19. Ryan Obst (Radio Sport) at 14s; 20. Kent Croote (Radio Sport) at 14s; 21. Matt Benson (Radio Sport) at 14s; 22. Alex Meenhorst (Team SVS) at 14s; 23. Samuel Witmitz (Orca Velo Merino) at 14s; 24. Gordon McCauley (Share the Road) at 14s; 25. Kevin Nicol (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) at 14s;

Overall Standings

1. Jeremy Yates (Share the Road) 5h58m05s; 2. Jack Bauer (Share the Road) at 04s; 3. Hayden Roulston (Calder Stewart-BikeNZ National) at 22s; 4. Floyd Landis (Orca Velo Merino) at 01m02s; 5. Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) at 01m10s; 6. Daniel Barry (Benchmark Homes) at 01m16s; 7. Matthew Marshall (The Southland Times-H&J's Outdoor World) at 01m21s; 8. Gordon McCauley (Share the Road) at 01m25s; 9. Justin Kerr (Share the Road) at 01m28s; 10. James McCoy (Benchmark Homes) at 01m38s; 11. Mike Northey (Pure Black Racing) at 01m48s; 12. Sergio Hernandez (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) at 01m51s; 13. Clinton Avery (Ascot Park Hotel) at 01m52s; 14. Josh Atkins (Benchmark Homes) at 01m53s; 15. Glen Chadwick (Pure Black Racing) at 01m59s; 16. Benjamin Blaugrund (moxxchopper.com) at 02m02s; 17. Michael Cupitt (Team SVS) at 02m13s; 18. Alexander Ray (Orca Velo Merino) at 02m21s; 19. Brett Dawber (Benchmark Homes) at 02m32s; 20. Alex Meenhorst (Team SVS) at 02m38s; 21. Anthony Chapman (Creation Signs-Ultimo) at 02m39s; 22. Elliot Crowther (PowerNet) at 02m44s; 23. Douglas Rapacholi (Team Motatapu) at 02m45s; 24. Kevin Nicol (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) at 02m51s; 25. Shem Rodger (Pure Black Racing) at 02m52s;

Team Overall

1. Share the Road 17h55m54s; 2. Benchmark Homes at 03m08s; 3. Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World at 04m13s; 4. Pure Black Racing at 04m37s; 5. Orca Velo Merino at 04m40s; 6. Calder Stewart-BikeNZ National at 05m29s; 7. Team SVS at 06m24s; 8. Creation Signs-Ultimo at 07m10s; 9. The Southland Times-H&J's Outdoor World at 07m32s; 10. Subway Avanti Pro Cycling at 07m40s;

Sprints

1. Roman Van Uden (Pure Black Racing) 38; 2. Karl Murray (Share the Road) 21; 3. Bevan Mason (Ascot Park Hotel) 20; 4. Mike Northey (Pure Black Racing) 19; 5. Alex Meenhorst (Team SVS) 10; 6. Clinton Avery (Ascot Park Hotel) 8; 7. James Williamson (Subway Avanti Pro Cycling) 8; 8. Glen Chadwick (Pure Black Racing) 7; 9. Michael Olheiser (Jackson Plumbing-Plumbing World) 5; 10. Andrew McNab (Orca Velo Merino) 3;

King of Mountains

1. Joe Cooper (Subway Avanti Pro Cycling) 12; 2. Josh Atkins (Benchmark Homes) 10; 3. Alex Meenhorst (Team SVS) 8; 4. Jack Bauer (Share the Road) 6; 5. Jeremy Yates (Share the Road) 6; 6. Wade Mangham (Ascot Park Hotel) 6; 7. James Williamson (Subway Avanti Pro Cycling) 6; 8. Gordon McCauley (Share the Road) 4; 9. Mike Northey (Pure Black Racing) 4; 10. Andrew McNab (Orca Velo Merino) 4;

ENDS

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