October 11, 2009 (Ballarat, Australia) – Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin-Slipstream placed 12th in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Preface won by Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Fly V Australia. The race was held in the historic city of Ballarat, a focal point for road cycling in Australia, and Cantwell will wear now the yellow jersey at the Jayco’s opening first stage on Monday. The only other Canuck racing with Tuft is Will Routley (Jelly Belly) who did not finish. The Jayco Tours runs from October 11-17.

Preface Report
Jonathan Cantwell’s amazing run of success on the Australian road cycling circuit continued with a hair’s width victory in today’s Preface to the 2009 Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Ballarat.

The 27-year-old Queenslander has now won the opening stage of the last four Australian stage races. His last minute dash for the line gave him the tiniest of margins over Garmin Slipstream’s Chris Sutton, but it was enough to secure him the honour of wearing the yellow jersey on tomorrow’s opening stage.

“I went with 100 metres to go. It was full on up hill and with a cross wind so I couldn’t go any earlier,” a clearly elated Cantwell said after the win. “I’ve won every opening stage of all the tours in Australia I’ve ridden in this season, so I couldn’t be happier.

“We had a gut feeling the break was going to go today, so it was important we were there, and in the end we had three guys in it. We came here to make a race out of the first one and the guys rode awesomely.”

It was a clearly a satisfactory outcome for Fly V Australia team boss, Henk Vogels who earlier in the day had issued orders to his squad to ride only for Cantwell. “I am very proud. They do everything I ask them to do – it just keeps rolling along, “ Vogels said post race.

He also had some special praise for Cantwell, who he described as a character and a real scallywag, saying the winner of the 2009 tours of Atlanta and the Murray Valley had learned a lot this year. Cantwell, Sutton and the eventual third-place getter, Gene Bates (Drapac Porsche) were part of an eighteen man break that dominated the race from lap 10 of the twenty 2.2km laps round Ballarat’s main street.

The group opened up as much as a 52 second gap over the peloton but managed to remain intact as a bunch until the last 200 metres of the final climb up Sturt Street. Sutton, who has the chance to be part of the first father/son combination to win Australia’s oldest stage cycling race, said during the presentations that he was beaten by a better bike rider on he day.

“I know I was second. The team did everything we could but just got beat.” Bates was similarly complimentary, including Sutton in his praise. “I tried to kick and hold the wheel, but they were both to good for me.” The Tour proper begins tomorrow (Monday 12 October) with a 160km stage starting and finishing in Ballarat.

The 2009 Jayco Herald Sun Tour is presented by Jayco and the Herald Sun, along with the continued support from the Victorian Government. For the first time, the Honda Civic Hybrid Women’s Tour will give Australia’s elite female cyclists a chance to shine with a three day tour held in conjunction with three final three days.

Results

1. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Fly V Australia 1:05:29
2. Chris Sutton (Aus) Garmin-Slipstream
3. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche
4. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AIS
5. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) LeTua
6. David Tanner (Aus) Rock Racing
7. Michael England (Aus) Budget Forklifts
8. Ricardo Van Der Velde (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream 0:06
9. Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Rapha Condor
10. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Jelly Belly
11. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Fly V Australia
12. Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin-Slipstream 0:11
13. Richard Lang (Aus) Budget Forklifts 0:13
14. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:17
15. Philip Zajicek (Aus) Fly V Australia
16. Richie Porte (Aus) Jayco Australia National
17. Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porsche 0:25
18. Matthew Wilson (Aus) Jayco Australia National
19. Jason Rigg (Aus) Praties 1:24
20. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Jayco AIS 1:34
21. William Clarke (Aus) Praties
22. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
23. Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan
24. Lars Pria (Rom) LeTua
25. Jeremy Yates (NZl) LeTua
26. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Jayco Australia National
27. Nick Aitken (Aus) Jayco Australia National
28. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly
29. Jonny Clarke (Aus) Jelly Belly
30. Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
31. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan
32. Tom Peterson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
33. Peter Latham (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling
34. Joe Lewis (Aus) Drapac Porsche
35. Joel Pearson (Aus) Savings & Loans
36. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan
37. Trent Lowe (Aus) Garmin-Slipstream
38. Aaron Kemps (Aus) Rock Racing
39. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Budget Forklifts
40. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin-Slipstream
41. Malcolm Rudolph (Aus) Budget Forklifts
42. Darren Rolfe (Aus) Fly V Australia
43. Leigh Howard (Aus) Jayco AIS
44. Simon Richardson (GBr) Rapha Condor 2:18
44. Kristian House (GBr) Rapha Condor
46. Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling
47. Paul Mach (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 3:02
48. John Anderson (Aus) Budget Forklifts
49. Mitchell Pearson (Aus) Prime Estate
50. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Prime Estate
DNF Patrick Shaw (Aus) Jayco Australia National
DNF Rhys Pollock (Aus) Drapac Porsche
DNF Andrew Roe (Aus) Savings & Loans
DNF William Dickeson (Aus) Savings & Loans
DNF Stephen Cunningham (Aus) Savings & Loans
DNF Peter Ladd (Aus) Budget Forklifts
DNF Blair Windsor (Aus) Budget Forklifts
DNF Tom Southam (GBr) Rapha Condor
DNF Ben Greenwood (GBr) Rapha Condor
DNF Dean Downing (GBr) Rapha Condor
DNF Mathew Cronshaw (GBr) Rapha Condor
DNF Benjamin Day (Aus) Fly V Australia
DNF Benjamin King (Aus) Fly V Australia
DNF David Kemp (Aus) Fly V Australia
DNF Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan
DNF Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) Aisan
DNF Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan
DNF Mitsuhiro Matsumura (Jpn) Aisan
DNF David Mccann (Irl) Prime Estate
DNF John Cornish (Aus) Prime Estate
DNF Brett Tivers (NZl) Prime Estate
DNF Luke Fetch (Aus) Prime Estate
DNF Peter Smith (Aus) Prime Estate
DNF Nic Sanderson (Aus) Rock Racing
DNF Ivan Dominguez (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Justin Williams (USA) Rock Racing
DNF Nathan Earle (Aus) Praties
DNF Joshua Chugg (Aus) Praties
DNF Benjamin Grenda (Aus) Praties
DNF Dylan Newell (Aus) Praties
DNF Kyle Marwood (Aus) Praties
DNF Thomas Nankervis (Aus) Jayco Australia National
DNF Zak Dempster (Aus) Drapac Porsche
DNF Dean Windsor (Aus) Drapac Porsche
DNF Peter Mcdonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche
DNF Herz Serge (Ger) LeTua
DNF Ji Wen Low (Sin) LeTua
DNF Mohd Hafiz Rozli (Mas) LeTua
DNF Adrian Why Kit Chuah (Mas) LeTua
DNF Omer Kem (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
DNF Cody O’reilly (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
DNF Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Will Routley (Can) Jelly Belly
DNF Matthew Rice (Aus) Jelly Belly
DNF Mathew Crane (USA) Jelly Belly
DNF Adam Semple (Aus) Jayco AIS
DNF Glenn O’s hea (Aus) Jayco AIS
DNF Jai Crawford (Aus) Savings & Loans
DNF Tim Roe (Aus) Savings & Loans
DNF David Pell (Aus) Savings & Loans
DNF Sean Sullivan (Aus) Jayco Australia National