Clarke Wins Jayco Herald Sun Tour Overall
12 février 2014
“Everyone is happy with the week of racing here and the win,” said Clarke. “The guys did a great job and worked really hard for me this week. We were confident going in to today’s stage that we would be able to defend the overall, but like in any bike race, anything can happen. We were up for the challenge, and it was a shame that we didn’t get a chance to do that.”
“It’s unfortunate for the organisers that the last stage was cancelled today, but we are still really happy to have won the overall here,” Clark added. “I’m looking forward to having this win on my palmarès.”
A great show of teamwork throughout the week saw Clarke claw his way back up the overall and into the leader’s jersey after he lost time to GC threat Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) on stage one in Ballarat. Clarke spent a gruelling day in the breakaway on stage two to claim the stage win and a comfortable margin atop the overall classification. The team looked forward to defending that lead all the way to finish line at Arthur’s Seat today.
The Jayco Herald Sun Tour victory is ORICA-GreenEDGE’s second general classification win on home soil, following last month’s Santos Tour Down Under win. It is also the third time in as many weeks that the GreenEDGE family has won the team classification (Tour Down Under, Ladies Tour of Qatar, Herald Sun Tour). The Australian outfit is once again buoyed by the exemplary teamwork that paved the way to this victory.
It is the first time in the 61 year history of this event that a stage has been cancelled under such circumstances. Emergency services crews on hand at the race were called away to fire threatened areas of the region, and couldn’t guarantee the safety of the event if it went ahead. With up to 6,000 spectators expected to line the roads to Arthur’s Seat for today’s stage, the safety of the crowds and the riders was the priority.
