Tour reaches gruelling finish

The Tour of Gippsland will conclude with a gruelling 4.7km ascent of Mount Baw Baw Tourist Rd today.

With the tour forming part of the National Road Series, the unrelenting ascent will be the ultimate test for the riders as they climb the mountain, and will no doubt play a part in deciding the tour’s winner.

NRS rankings leader Ayden Toovey (Bennelong SwissWellness) will look to solidify his hold on the top, while Nick White (Oliver’s Real Food Racing) and Raphael Freienstein (Inform-Make) will be eager to make up ground.

Toovey’s teammate Tristan Ward (Bennelong SwissWellness), who was the biggest mover on the rankings after claiming Amy’s Otway Tour in emphatic style, will also be one to watch.

Defending champion Sam Welsford (Australian Cycling Academy) will miss the Tour due to Australian Team commitments at the Oceania Track Championships in Adelaide. However, his firepower will be matched by Commonwealth Games road race gold medallist and dual criterium national champion Steele Von Hoff (Bennelong SwissWellness).

Keep an eye out for 2018 Para road world champion Alistair Dohonoe (Mobius BridgeLane) and Sascha BondarenkoEdwards (Drapac Cycling), who claimed the Tour’s final stage honours in 2017.

NRS women’s rankings leader Grace Brown (Holden Team Gusto) will miss the Tour following her appearance at last week’s UCI Road Worlds Championships with the Australian team. While Ashlee Ankudinoff (Specialized Women’s Racing), who sits second overall, heads to Adelaide to contest the Oceania Track Championships.

This opens the door for young rider’s leader Jemma Eastwood (Holden Team Gusto), who also sits fourth overall, and Georgia Whitehouse (Sydney Uni Staminade) to move up the rankings.

Jessica Pratt (Splatt Lawyers Racing) and Emily Roper will be two to keep an eye on during the Tour, in addition to exciting Australian-based Chilean rider Catalina Soto (Holden Team Gusto), who returns after her UCI Road Worlds Championships campaign.

Today’s climb to the peak of Baw Baw follows a Kermesse on the iconic Phillip Island race circuit that was completed on Saturday, and criterium stages in Traralgon and Sale.

Craig Wiggins will be another young rider to look out for, having crossed the line first in Saturday’s kermesse around the Phillip Island racing circuit.

Sunday’s criterium at Traralgon saw Raphael Freienstein and Theodore Yates move to the series lead after finishing thrid and first respectively.

Freienstein took a comfortable lead in the sprint classification ahead of yesterday’s criterium in Sale.

Blake Quick led the young rider classification.

The Bennelong SwissWellness Cycling Team took the Traralgon stage win and led from the Drapac Development team overall.

Emily Roper crossed the line first in the women’s event, and finished the second stage in second place in the general classification.

Stage two winner Shannon McCurley moved to third, while Jaime Gunning moved to the lead following a third place finish in the criterium.

Roper and Gunning led the sprint classification, with the latter also the leading young rider.

The Sydney Uni-Staminade team won the Traralgon stage to move to third on the teams classification.

The Splatt Lawyers Racing entered the Sale criterium in the lead.

Baw Baw Shire mayor Joe Gauci said climbing the final 4.7km uphill trial will be a challenging and rewarding feat for competitors through one of Victoria’s most pristine alpine environments.

“There is certainly a growing appetite in our community for more diverse and engaging cycling opportunities,” he said.

“We look forward to continuing our work with the local cycling community to enhance existing events and bring more larger-scale rojects to the region.

“We’re so pleased to support the Tour of Gippsland, which combines cycling, the great outdoors and one of the regions most famous natural assets - the Mount Baw Baw Alpine resort.”

For more event information visit the website www.tourofgippsland.com.