October 16, 2008 (Inverloch, Australia) – CSC Saxo Bank continued their domination of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour on stage four to the top of Mount Buller as Stuart O’Grady surrendered the leader’s yellow to his teammate Lars Bak.

Chris Jongewaard from the Panasonic team won the stage as the only survivor of a breakaway group of nine that attacked as soon as racing got underway on the 115km journey from Alexandra.

With 14 riders within one minute of the overall lead the stage is set for a fascinating individual time trial stage tomorrow through the Yarra Valley that looks set to determine this year’s winner.

Jongewaard’s breakaway companions were swallowed up by the main contenders in the tour on the slopes of the 15 kilometre Mount Buller climb but the South Australian held onto a 45 second advantage over Christopher Froome (Barloworld) in second place and Bak in third, a further 13 seconds behind.

The main peloton allowed the leading group a maximum advantage of four minutes until they hit the steep gradients of the final climb where Froome’s teammate Marco Corti begun the hostilities in an effort to put O’Grady under pressure.

With the peloton splitting under the effort of the attacks in the final kilometres O’Grady gave his Danish teammate the all clear to chase glory.

“With three or four kilometres to go he (O’Grady) said he was not feeling super-duper”, Bak said. “He said if they go, you go with them.

“But still he’s not that far behind. He’s a good time triallist but I’m also a good time trialler so let’s see. I put the hammer down in the last one and a half k (kilometre) and it was enough to take the jersey.”

Former yellow jersey wearer, Stuart O’Grady is now in second place overall at four seconds behind his teammate and was content with his efforts. “I limited my loses pretty well today and Lars has got the jersey so it’s worked out alright,” O’Grady said.

Once again CSC Saxo Bank’s teamwork was a feature of the stage with Bak stating “I must say we had tremendous teamwork again. Bradley McGee, Lasse Bochmann and Matt Goss they were riding really, really good.”

The Kenya born Froome was one of the animators of the day in taking second place and has moved to fourth overall at just 17 seconds behind.

Ben Day from Toyota-United conceded time to Bak but is still in contention for overall honours heading into the time trial at 20 seconds behind in fifth place overall.

Bak will start the time trial with the advantage of being the last rider out of the start house but knows with such small time differences among the top 10 overall the race is a long way from being over.

“Nothing is settled yet,” the race leader said. “I have the advantage that I can get the split times. But Ben Day is a good time trailer, Stuart is a good time trailer. You can have a puncture, you can be unlucky, you can have a bad day. I’ll just ride hard and then we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a good day. I hope I stay in yellow.”

The Dane will leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of yellow saying he would ride the time trial course a couple of times in the morning and do at least a 35 to 40 minute warm-up for stage five’s 16km race against the clock.

Matt Goss (CSC Saxo Bank) maintained his lead in the Budget Forklift sprint points classification.

The Cyclismo Bendigo King of the Mountains jersey stayed with Matt Wilson (Team Type-1).

The Make it Happen in Provincial Victoria U23 category leader’s jersey was taken by Marco Corit (Barloworld) on a count back as he is on equal time with Wes Sulzberger (South-Australia.com-AIS).

Chris Jongewaard was awarded the Volvo most aggressive rider on the stage.

Results

1. Chris Jongeward (Aus) Panasonic 3:03:25 (37.750 km/h)
2. Christopher Froome (GBr) Barloworld 0:45
3. Lars Bak (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank 0:58
4. William Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 1:04
5. Jeremy Yates (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 1:06
6. Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche
7. Richie Porte (Aus) Praties 1:08
8. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1 1:11
9. Will Walker (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
10. Benjamin Day (Aus) Toyota-United 1:18
11. Will Routley (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada
12. Glen Chadwick (Nzl) Team Type 1 1:20
13. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank 1:22
14. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 1:24
15. Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld
16. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly 1:30
17. Dominique Rollin (Can) Toyota-United 1:40
18. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche 1:51
19. Jack Bobridge (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS
20. Tim Roe (Aus) Savings & Loans 1:57
21. Adam Semple (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 2:05
22. Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 2:12
23. Michael England (Aus) Budget Forklifts 2:14
24. Ben Grieve-Johnson (Aus) Praties 2:24
25. Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porsche 2:27
26. Rob Britton (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 2:33
27. Tim Guy (Aus) Panasonic 2:43
28. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 2:52
29. Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan 3:04
30. Mark O’brien (Aus) Drapac Porsche 3:09
31. Chris Luxton (Aus) Savings & Loans 3:26
32. Andrew Randell (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 3:39
33. Daniel Braunsteins (Aus) Drapac Porsche 3:43
34. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 3:48
35. Craig McCartney (Aus) Savings & Loans 4:35
36. Ben Mather (Aus) Praties 5:25
37. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porsche 5:38
38. Matthew Goss (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank
39. Peter Herzig (Aus) Panasonic
40. Cameron Hughes (Aus) Budget Forklifts 6:18
41. Chris Jory (Aus) Panasonic
42. David Kemp (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 9:04
43. Daniel Furmston (Aus) Praties
44. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Budget Forklifts
45. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan 9:14
46. Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld 10:24
47. Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
48. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS
49. Jason Hegert (Aus) Panasonic
50. David Pell (Aus) Savings & Loans
51. Richard England (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
52. Jonny Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United
53. Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan
54. Daniel Holt (USA) Team Type 1 11:19
55. Shawn Milne (USA) Team Type 1
56. Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld
57. Anthony Chapman (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 13:25
58. Peter Ladd (Aus) Budget Forklifts
59. Jack Anderson (Aus) Budget Forklifts
60. Ben King (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS
61. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan
62. Scott Lyttle (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand
63. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1
64. Nic Sanderson (Aus) Jelly Belly
65. Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porsche
66. Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly
67. Jonathon Lovelock (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia
68. Will Dickeson (Aus) Savings & Loans
69. Joel Pearson (Aus) Savings & Loans
70. Caleb Manion (Aus) Toyota-United
71. Heath Blackgrove (Nzl) Toyota-United
72. Lasse Bochman (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank
73. Malcolm Rudolph (Aus) Budget Forklifts
74. Dylan Newell (Aus) Praties
75. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Panasonic
76. Emile Abraham (Tri) Team Type 1
77. Nicholas Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly
78. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan 13:39
79. Dale Scarfe (Aus) Panasonic 13:53
80. Leigh Howard (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 14:02
81. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United
82. Bruno Langlois (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada
83. Jason Rigg (Aus) Praties 15:22
84. Gordon McCauley (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 17:09
85. Bradley McGee (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank
86. Eric Boily (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada
87. Jason Allen (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 23:31

GC after Stage 4

1. Lars Bak (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank 12:24:35
2. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank 0:04
3. Will Routley (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 0:16
4. Christopher Froome (GBr) Barloworld 0:17
5. Benjamin Day (Aus) Toyota-United 0:20
6. Richie Porte (Aus) Praties 0:36
7. Glen Chadwick (Nzl) Team Type 1 0:37
8. Jeremy Yates (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 0:38
9. Will Walker (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 0:42
10. Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche
11. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1 0:43
12. Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld 0:56
13. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS
14. Dominique Rollin (Can) Toyota-United 0:59
15. Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porsche 1:23
16. Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 2:08
17. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly 2:43
18. Adam Semple (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 2:51
19. Andrew Randell (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 3:11
20. Rob Britton (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 3:34
21. Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porsche 3:40
22. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 4:05
23. Daniel Braunsteins (Aus) Drapac Porsche 4:09
24. Mark O’brien (Aus) Drapac Porsche 4:11
25. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 4:14
26. Chris Luxton (Aus) Savings & Loans 4:22
27. Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan 4:33
28. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porsche 6:04
29. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 9:22
30. Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan 9:40
31. Matthew Goss (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank 10:27
32. Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld 10:35
33. David Pell (Aus) Savings & Loans 10:50
34. Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld
35. Cameron Hughes (Aus) Budget Forklifts 13:07
36. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Budget Forklifts 14:09
37. Michael England (Aus) Budget Forklifts 14:57
38. William Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 16:29
39. Tim Roe (Aus) Savings & Loans 17:07
40. Craig McCartney (Aus) Savings & Loans 17:16
41. Chris Jongeward (Aus) Panasonic 17:37
42. Richard England (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 17:59
43. Ben Mather (Aus) Praties 18:08
44. Ben Grieve-Johnson (Aus) Praties 18:22
45. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Panasonic 18:30
46. Jack Bobridge (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 18:41
47. Lasse Bochman (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank 18:53
48. Patrick Shaw (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 20:44
49. Shawn Milne (USA) Team Type 1 21:39
50. Jason Hegert (Aus) Panasonic 23:07
51. Ben King (Aus) SouthAustralia:com-AIS 24:02
52. Daniel Holt (USA) Team Type 1
53. Gordon McCauley (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 24:39
54. Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porsche 25:38
55. Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan 25:46
56. Nic Sanderson (Aus) Jelly Belly 26:08
57. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan
58. Scott Lyttle (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand
59. Anthony Chapman (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand
60. Dylan Newell (Aus) Praties
61. Dale Scarfe (Aus) Panasonic 26:36
62. Leigh Howard (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 26:47
63. Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan 26:54
64. Chris Jory (Aus) Panasonic 26:55
65. Daniel Furmston (Aus) Praties 27:11
66. Jason Rigg (Aus) Praties 28:05:00
67. Jonny Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United 28:29
68. David Kemp (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 29:05
69. Jonathon Lovelock (Aus) Virgin Blue Australia 29:14
70. Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly 31:26
71. Joel Pearson (Aus) Savings & Loans 31:32
72. Emile Abraham (Tri) Team Type 1
73. Caleb Manion (Aus) Toyota-United
74. Heath Blackgrove (Nzl) Toyota-United
75. Bruno Langlois (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 32:09
76. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Toyota-United 32:29
77. Peter Herzig (Aus) Panasonic 33:20
78. Jack Anderson (Aus) Budget Forklifts 39:45
79. Bradley McGee (Aus) CSC-Saxo Bank 43:26
80. Malcolm Rudolph (Aus) Budget Forklifts 45:09
81. Tim Guy (Aus) Panasonic 46:23:00
82. Peter Ladd (Aus) Budget Forklifts 47:00
83. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1 47:04
84. Will Dickeson (Aus) Savings & Loans
85. Jason Allen (Nzl) Yes Optus Shop New Zealand 55:35
86. Eric Boily (Can) Bicycle Superstore Canada 58:17
87. Nicholas Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly 1:00:41