January 21/04 11:14 am - Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under: Stage 2, Six-Days of Stuttgart

Posted by Editoress on 01/21/04
 

Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under Stage 2
Courtesy Navigators Insurance Cycling Team

The beautiful ride from Norwood to Kapunda would be a must see for any tourist or bus group visiting the greater Adelaide region of South Australia. For the riders heading out on today's second stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, the scenic cruise was camouflaged by the challenge that the steadily climbing course proposed.

Leaving the Adelaide suburb of Norwood, the peloton began the 30km ascent to Checker Hill by way of Gorge Rd. The beautiful and unique flora and fauna along the gorge climb was a pleasant distraction for many of the riders as the field maintained a comfortable tempo on the lower stages of the climb. Not content to wait for the closing meters of the 158 KM stage, veteran Patrick Jonker, riding for UniSA hit out on an early attack. Two younger companions quickly joined him, Aussie David McPartland, riding for the Australian National Team, and Dutchman Alain Van Katwijk of Bankgiroloterij. The three set a torrid pace up the climb, gaining 6 minutes by the day's only KOM, a sharp 18% 400 meter pitch at 29km.

With the gap near 10 minutes, a series of attacks by race leader Robbie McEwen sparked a high-speed chase that would rip the field in two. Strong winds forced the echelons, and the lead group split into three parts. As the groups reformed, Lotto-Domo and FDJ dominated the front group with five riders each, and the total of 38 riders had representation from all of the teams. David McKenzie and Phil Zajicek represented Navigators as the chase began to take form. The peloton hit the feed zone at 87 km, and the obligatory pause for refreshment stalled and unraveled the pursuit. Soon the time gap was going up again, and hovered around 5 minutes as the group rolled through the lush wine vineyards that have made southern Australia's wine country world famous. In spite of having numbers, neither Lotto- Domo nor FDJ took up a serious chase, and by the time momentum built in the last 30km, it was too little too late.The three leaders finished 1:40 clear, with McPartland taking the stage in front of Van Katwijk, and Jonker who had been the main horse of the bunch. Baden Cook (FDJ) edged yesterday's winner McEwen in the bunch kick for 4th. Navigators' team leader David McKenzie currently sits in 8th place on G.C., 1:51 off the lead.

Stage2: Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre to Kapunda, 157 km
1. David McPartland (Aus) Team Australia. 3:43:12
2. Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 0:01
3. Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA, s.t.
4. Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com, 1:41
5. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo
6. Antonio Fisher Murillo (Bra) Domina Vacanze
7. Allan Davis (Aus) Team Australia
8. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) Domina Vacanze
9. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance
10. Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA

30. David McKenzie (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, all s.t.
34. Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, 1:48
46. Kirk O'Bee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, 28:56
61. Jeff Louder (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
73. Siro Camponogara (Ita) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
74. Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
76. Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, all s.t.

GC
1. David McPartland (Aus) Team Australia, 4:45:21
2. Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA, at 0:03
3. Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, 0:05
4. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo, 1:51
5. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Panaria-Margres
6. Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole
7. Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
8. David McKenzie (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
9. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) Domina Vacanze
10. Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance

16. Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com
24. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance, all s.t.
36. Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, 1:58
71. Siro Camponogara (Ita) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, 29:06
72. Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
74. Kirk O'Bee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
76. Jeff Louder (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
84. Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, all s.t.


Six-Days of Stuttgart Germany
Courtesy Navigators Insurance Cycling Team

Navigators' Olympic Gold Medalist Marty Nothstein finished up the 21st running of the Stuttgart-6 (Ger) in 3rd place overall. Usually a team of just two riders, this event had a format of 3-man "pairings", which created a lot of crowd excitement, especially in the early going. The hand-offs required a bit of sorting out as the teams navigated the challenges of having an additional man to contend with. The 3rd man was at times an advantage, or a liability, depending on∑..

Throughout the 6-days, Marty and his 2 partners; Jean-Pierre Van Zyl (RSA) and Matthew Gilmore (Bel), were in the hunt for a podium spot and were the victors in the "Italian Pursuit" event (similar to the Olympic Sprint), early in the race. However, the top-2 threesomes were largely in a league by themselves, almost from the opening night, gaining a total of 5-laps on Nothstein's team by the 6th night of racing, and as many as 36-laps on other teams. In the final night's activities, the crowd was treated to a fierce battle between the 2 leading teams which were within 9-points of each other, and on the same lap. The Nothstein/Van Zyl/Gilmore squad gained an additional lap on their nearest rivals, further solidifying their place on the podium. Marty will join his Navigators teammates in Northern Italy early in February, as the team prepares for their road-racing assault on the European peloton.

2004 Stuttgart-6 Final Standings:
1. Andreas Kappes/Andreas Beikirch/Gerd Dorich (Ger), No laps down, 476
points
2. Bruno Risi/Kurt Betschart/Franco Marvulli (Sui), No laps down, 469
3. Marty Nothstein (USA)/Jean-Pierre van Zyjl (RSA)/Matthew Gilmore (Bel), +5 laps, 353