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Saleh makes it four stage wins in Mildura as Pearson takes out tour. |
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Gippslander Joel Pearson notched the most emphatic triumph of his impressive career with a hard-fought victory in the Elgas Tour of the Murray River today.Pearson, 27, won the eight-day tour by 11 seconds from Canberra veteran Stuart Shaw, 32, with the amazing New Zealander Gordon McCauley, 38, a further second back in third place.
For the red-haired Pearson, who gained and lost the tour’s purple jersey three times throughout the 902km race, it was his best result since winning the 262km Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic last October.
Four months ago, he underwent a serious hip operation which threatened to derail his 2010 season but, after a slow start to the current Scody Cup series in the Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland early last month, he gradually rode into peak form and was given marvellous backing by his Genesys team-mates throughout the 14 stages of the gruelling tour.
 Final GC podium (l-r): Stuart Shaw (2nd), Joel Pearson (1st), and Gordon McCauley (3rd).
“This is my biggest enjoyment because it was such a hard-fought, tough battle from start to finish,” Pearson said.“The likes of Stewie Shaw and Gordon McCauley threw everything at me over the last couple of days but I managed to hang on, mainly through the help of my Genesys team.”
The final stage, a 66km criterium raced on Mildura’s riverfront, was won by the incredibly nimble Malaysian Harrif Saleh who narrowly defeated young New South Welshmen Scott Law (Virgin Blue RBS Morgans) and Alex Carver (Jayco Skins).Saleh won four tour stages and will be a front-line rider for Malaysia in the road race at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games next month.
 Harrif Saleh (Malaysian National Team) takes his fourth stage of the tour on the final day in Mildura.
In addition to his third placing, he also won the tour’s king of the mountains championship and the Merbein Bendigo Community Bank most aggressive rider award.
The tour, held for the 15th time, was supported by Tourism Victoria and six municipalties – Campaspe, Murray, Swan Hill, Balranald, Yarriambiack and Mildura. |
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Record field to contest the 2010 Elgas Tour of the Murray River |
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A record field of 131 cyclists from all Australian states, New Zealand and Malaysia will contest the 15th Elgas Tour of the Murray River from August 29 to September 5.South Australian Rohan Dennis, winner of the recent GMHBA Tour of Geelong , and Ballarat’s Patrick Shaw, who triumphed in the Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland earlier this month, head the entries.  Tour of Geelong winner Rohan Dennis will again be a rider to watch on the 2010 Elgas Tour of the Murray River. “This response is a tremendous boost for the Murray tour’s eight-day concept, criss-crossing the Victorian-New South Wales border,” he said.“The race has attracted a terrific array of young talent, combined with some experienced older riders. An enthralling contest is in the pipeline.”  The team from Jayco Skins will be looking to add to their building portfolio on the 2010 Elgas Tour of the Murray River. Total prizemoney for the series is $130,000, with Shaw holding a handy lead after the first two rounds.There are 22 teams in the Murray Tour, which will cover 902kms and embrace six municipalities – Campaspe, Murray, Swan Hill, Balranald, Yarriambiack and Mildura. The Tourism Victoria-backed tour will start with a 155km road race from Echuca to Rochester, via 10 Campaspe Shire towns, on Sunday, August 29, and end with a 66km criterium on Mildura’s riverfront on Sunday, September 5. Swan Hill Rural City Council will host five of the 14 stages this year – criteriums in Swan Hill , Lake Boga and Robinvale and road races which take in Nyah West, Nyah and Manangatang. |
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