Caribou Publications

First race in the Scody Cup Series

FULL FINAL RESULTS

LAKES OIL

Tour of Gippsland

August 1 - 5, 2012

Patrick Shaw

First race in the Scody Cup Series

COACHING CHIEF GIVES BIG TICK-UP

TO SCODY CUP

Australian cycling supremo Shayne Bannan has given effusive endorsement to the Scody Cup, the country's premier domestic road racing series.

Bannan, newly appointed director of Australia's pioneering GreenEDGE international cycling team, described the Scody cup as a wonderful stepping stone for young riders pursuing overseas careers.

"The Scody Cup and National road series is where the build-up starts," Bannon, Cycling Australia's former national coaching director, said.

"You've only got to look at Richie Porte. ( 2008 Tour of Tasmania winner currently riding the Tour de France in Alberto Contador's Saxo Bank team.

"He's a great example and you could name a whole list of them. The Scody Cup is like a production line."

Bannan, speaking from the Tour de France where he is working on finalizing the line-up which hopefully will lead to Australia fielding a team in the world's greatest bike race, said he expected the 2011 Scody Cup to unearth several more promising riders who would eventually find their way into the GreenEDGE project.

"GreenEDGE is not only about getting a team in the Tour de France," he said. "It's about value-adding to Australian cycling and we will be looking at younger riders from this year's Scody Cup."

The 24-day, four-event Scody Cup, founded in 1996, kicks off with the Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland from July 27-31.

Scody Cup director John Craven said there were many stand-outs in recent times of how the series contributed to the development of future champions.

West Australian Cameron Meyer, winner of the 2007 Tour of Tasmania, has since won four titles at world track championships in Denmark and Holland, three gold medals at the 2010 New Delhi commonwealth Games, two national road time trial championships and the 2011 Tour Down Under.

South Australian Jack Bobridge, third placegetter as a 17-year-old in the individual pursuit at last year's New Delhi Commonwealth Games and this year broke the world record in the 4000metres individual pursuit in Holland where he also claimed two gold medals.

As an unknown 17-year-old, Canberra's Michael Matthews stunned rivals to win the Balranald criterium stage of the Tour of the Murray River in 2007. Matthews snared the world under 23 road championship in Geelong last October.

Geelong's Leigh Howard won the 2008 Scody Cup and Tour of the Murray River and the '09 Tour of Gippsland. Howard's subsequent achievements include the 2010 and '11 world madison championships, and the '09 world omnium title. He won the 2009 Tour of Slovakia and the points classification in the Tour of Japan in 2009.

Tasmania's Wesley Sulzberger emerged as a future star with victory in the 2006 Tour of Gippsland and Scody Cup. Sulzberger finished second in the world under 23 road championship later that year and rode the Tour de France in 2009 and last year, for the French FDG contingent. From Flowery Gully in Northern Tasmania, Sulzberger's brother Bernard also won the Tour of Gippsland in 2008, and in 2009 triumphed in America's longest stage race - the 17-day Superweek.

The Sulzbergers' mate Matthew Goss won a stage of the 2006 Tour of Tasmania and this year rocketed to international prominence with an incredible victory in one of Europe's grand classics - the 206km Milan-San Remo, the world's longest one-day race. Goss is presently riding the Tour de France and is a vital cog in Mark Cavendish's bid to annex the green jersey sprint title.

Another Tasmanian, Hadspen's Richie Porte, won the gruelling 2008 Tour od Tasmania and last year led the Tour of Italy for three days, and was awarded the Giro's leading young rider jersey.

Bernard Sulzberger, who also won the 2009 national criterium championship in Sydney and is currently racing for the Fly V team in the United States, perhaps best sums up riders' appreciation of the Scody Cup.

"Overall, the Scody Cup series taught me to work on three aspects of my riding career: sprinting, criterium racing and climbing," he said.

"These three areas helped me turn professional.

"The Scody Cup is a great series for up-and-coming riders because it covers a lot of different terrain, with decent-sized climbs in the Tour of Gippsland and crits added for the faster spinter guys.

"There can be a lot of cross winds in the Tour of the Murray which teaches the young guys how to ride echelons.

"The Tour of Tasmania is definitely the hardest, with steep, long climbs, crits, sprints and changes in weather which can be quite dramatic from sun to snow."

The five-day Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland will commence with the 33km PBE Real Estate criterium in Wonthaggi at 11 am on Wednesday, July 27.

After visiting San Remo, Warragul, Moe, Morwell, Maffra, Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance and Metung, the tour will end with the 44km Credit Collect Criterium at the Riviera Properties Finale in Paynesville at 12.30pm on Sunday, July 31.

The Scody Cup is prodly backed by Tourism Victoria, Events Tasmania and 20 municipal councils.

Details of course click on link below.

THE COURSE

( June 3, 2011 )

(2012 Course yet to be advised)

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