Lone wolf upstages teams to take lead

WHILE it was Ryan Cavanagh (NSWIS) who furiously drove the breakaway group into Penguin to take line honours on stage three of the Tour of Tasmania, it was James Whelan who stole the show.

Whelan attacked constantly throughout to earn the king of the mountain, most aggressive rider, young rider and the leader’s jersey.

He formed part of a six-rider breakaway that worked together to string out and blunt the peloton’s attack over the 108.9km course that wound its way through some of Tasmania’s most brutal climbs.

Solo entrant into the Tour of Tasmania, Whelan (Hawthorn Cycling Club) dominated the podium, taking four of a possible five jerseys on offer as the peloton rolled into Penguin.

“Being a solo entrant, it was always going to be a challenge, but there are tactical advantages to being by yourself. Obviously you can be outnumbered, but I guess if you have the right legs and luck comes your way you can do pretty well,” he said.

“It was one of the biggest wins of my career. We got into the early break with a few good riders and the make-up of the group worked out well, and we stayed away for most of the day, by about 1 minute 10 seconds for the entire day.”

Pete Livingstone, of Mobius Future Racing, held on to his green sprint jersey after teammate Dylan Sunderland picked up points for him.

“I started with four jerseys and I’m now down to one, so I am going to give it everything to hold on to it,” Livingstone said.

Stage four is a criterium from 10.30am. Leaderboard: 1. James Whelan 8:24.49. 2. Lionel Mawditt (InForm Tineli) +16 seconds. 3. Angus Lyons (Mobius Future Racing) +27 seconds. 4. Ian Talbot (Team Ultra Racing) +27 seconds.

— JAMES BRESNEHAN