Stage 3: Trafalgar Criterium (28.5km)
Leigh Howard continues to dominate winning the criterium Thursday morning. He narrowly misses out on a hat-trick with Richard Lang taking the stage 4 road race with the narrowest of margins.

Leigh Howard (Jayco AIS) continued to be the dominant light in the Lakes Oil 2009 Tour of the Gippsland. He reigned supreme in the Trafalgar criterium taking victory ahead of Joel Pearson (Savings and Loans) and Richard Lang (Titans-Race).

Howard bided his time and was in a safe and commanding position in the peloton as the riders battled for the sprint points at the end of every second lap from lap six in the 30 lap course. Mitchell Pearson (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) won the first sprint with Bobridge (Jayco AIS) taking the second at the conclusion of lap 8. Bobridge again showed dominant control taking the third sprint at the end of lap 10. Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklift) took maximum points at the conclusion of lap 12. New Zealander, Brett Tivers (Oex-Team Enterprise) got himself maximum points after lap 14.

From there onwards, three riders were off the front gunning for points and maybe stage glory. Brett Tivers, Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) and Malcolm Rudolph (Budget Forklift) had an awesome battle amongst themselves. Tivers again took control winning lap 16 with Brooks second and Rudolph third. Lap 18 and 20, Rudolph won both sprints with Tivers and Brooks in second and third respectively. Lap 22 and Lap 24 saw Tivers take over yet again with Rudolph and Brooks filling up second and third.

Soon thereafter, on lap 25 they were caught and it was Fly V Australia’s Scott Davis who took victory at the conclusion of lap 26 with Luke Davison and Jack Bobridge sealing second and third. With four laps to go it was on for young and old as the pace picked up dramatically.

Howard was in a beautiful position at this stage being led out by Michael Matthews, Jack Bobridge and Luke Davison. From there, it was a formality as Howard took the criterium, his second win in as many days and secured an 18 second lead over Fly V Australia’s David Kemp. Jayco VIS rider Jonathan Lovelock filled out the podium, 23 seconds down in the general classification.

Brett Tivers with his dominant sprint performance took over the sprinters jersey and was named the most aggressive rider.

Stage 3 Results
1 Leigh Howard (Jayco AIS) 0:37:34
2 Joel Pearson (Savings & Loans)
3 Richard Lang (Titans - Race)
4 Kyle Marwood (Praties Cycling Team)
5 Cody Stevenson (Team Budget Forklift)
6 Russell Gill (Team Skins)
7 Scott Davis (Fly V Australia Pro Cycling Team)
8 Thomas Robinson (Lawson Homes Cycling Team)
9 Miles Watson (Titans - Race)
10 Jack Bobridge (Jayco AIS)
11 Steven Rankine (DM Drafting Cycling Team)
12 David Pell (Savings & Loans)
13 Jeremy Hills (Praties Cycling Team)
14 Tobias Boylan (Dixon Homes Cycling Team)
15 Daniel Barry (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
16 Stuart Grimsey (Loy Yang Power Team)
17 David Kemp (Fly V Australia Pro Cycling Team)
18 Michael Stallard (Savings & Loans)
19 Jonathan Lovelock (Jayco/VIS)
20 Daniel Braunsteins (Drapac Porsche)

Stage 4: Trafalgar - Walhalla (75.3km)

Leigh Howard narrowly missed out on a hat-trick of wins claiming second place by only a few centimeters as 19 year old Richard Lang took stage victory. The young rider from Sydney finished ahead of Howard with Brett Tivers in third place.

Stage 4 was an undulating stage to Walhalla with six small mountain passes and four intermediate sprint checkpoints. The first sprint was won by Malcolm Rudolph (Budget Forklifts) with William Dickeson (Savings and Loans) and Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia) filling the minor placings. The second sprint again was the same as the first with Rudolph proving too strong for Dickeson and Rolfe.

Come sprint 3, Brett Tivers showed his stripes sealing another handy 3 points in the sprint competition with David Pell (Savings and Loans) and David Kemp (Fly V Australia) securing second and third. The last sprint point was at Rawson Primary School where Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) won from Scott Davis (Fly V Australia) and Elliot Crowther (OEX – Team Enterprise).

It was a different battle in the mountains competition as a host of riders took the points over the six passes. Malcolm Rudolph took the first climb of the day over Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia) and Jack Bobridge (Jayco AIS). The second climb, which was a category four, Darren Rolfe got the maximum points with Bobridge and Dickeson grabbing second and third.

The cyclists were greeted with another category four climb with Rolfe again taking the honours ahead of Bobridge and Charles Howlett (Cycle City). The first category three climb came around with Cameron Jennings (Budget Forklifts) taking the 5 points from Adam Semple (Jayco AIS) and Jonathan Lovelock (Jayco VIS).

Brendan Brooks won the 5th climb of the day, a category four with Scott Davis (Fly V Australia) and Elliot Crowther (OEX – Team Enterprise) sealing second and third. On the last mountain of the day, a category three climb, Savings and Loans rider, Timothy Roe, showed his climbing prowess gathering the 5 points ahead of Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri Avanti) and Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia).

The final charge to the line was action packed and dramatic. 25 riders broke clear of the rest of the peloton and even though Howard only had a team mate with him, he was still the favourite to take the stage win. He was looking good and was the strongest rider there on form but that is when Richard Lang upstaged him in a shock win.

Stage 4 Results
1 Richard Lang (Titans - Race) 1:52:17
2 Leigh Howard (Jayco AIS)
3 Brett Tivers (OEX - Team Enterprise)
4 David Kemp (Fly V Australia)
5 Jai Crawford (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
6 Daniel Braunsteins (Drapac Porsche Team)
7 Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
8 Adam Semple (Jayco AIS)
9 Nathan Earle (Praties Cycling Team)
10 Michael England (Team Budget Forklifts)
11 Mitchell Pearson (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
12 Jonathan Lovelock (Jayco/VIS)
13 Timothy Roe (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
14 Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts)
15 Alastair Loutit (Suzuki-Canberra)
16 Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia)
17 Peter Braunsteins (Apollo Bicycles)
18 Marc Williams (Suzuki-Canberra)
19 David Pell (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
20 Cameron Hughes (Team Budget Forklifts)
21 Joshua Chugg (Praties Cycling Team)
22 Ben Dyball (Lakes Oil Team)
23 Deon Locke (Prime Estate Buyers Agent)
24 Steven Robb (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
25 James Langedyk (Jayco/VIS)
26 Daniel Barry (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 0:00:17
27 Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia)
28 Ben Mather (Praties Cycling Team)
29 Sam Genge (Suzuki-Canberra)
30 Mathew Marshall (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
31 Kane Walker (Team 2XU - ARC)
32 Brodie Talbot (Work Ways Team)
33 Matthew Benson (Team Skins)
34 Michael Smith (Lawson Homes Cycling Team)
35 Stuart Grimsey (Loy Yang Power Team)
36 Adam Phelan (Suzuki-Canberra)
37 David Cripps (Lawson Homes Cycling Team)
38 Andrew Roe (Team Skins)
39 Jeremy Yates (OEX - Team Enterprise)
40 James Mowatt (Cycle City) 0:00:39
41 Neil Van Der Ploeg (Loy Yang Power Team)
42 Tristan Jones (Team Skins)
43 Silas Fisher (Team 2XU - ARC)
44 James Henry (Apollo Bicycles)
45 Peter Smith (Team 2XU - ARC)
46 Jason Rigg (Praties Cycling Team)
47 Michael Gallagher (Jayco/VIS) 0:00:48
48 Damien Turner (Total Rush) 0:00:49
49 Robbie Williams (Drapac Porsche Team)
50 John Cornish (Prime Estate Buyers Agent)
51 Rhys Gillett (Cycle City)
52 Scott Liston (Loy Yang Power Team)
53 Thomas Robinson (Lawson Homes Cycling Team)
54 Nick Aitken (Team 2XU - ARC) 0:00:57
55 Angus Morton (Drapac Porsche Team)
56 Joel Stearnes (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:01:38
57 Eliot Crowther (OEX - Team Enterprise)
58 Scott Davis (Fly V Australia)
59 Lucien Keene (Team Skins)
60 Matthew Mcdonagh (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:02:08
61 Michael Stallard (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
62 Craig Mccartney (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:02:13
63 Danny Pulbrook (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 0:02:25
64 Joel Pearson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
65 Harry Rassie (Dixon Homes Cycling Team)
66 Eric Sheppard (Jayco/VIS)
67 Chris Stack (Team Skins) 0:03:35
68 William Dickeson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:03:56
69 Malcolm Rudolph (Team Budget Forklifts)
70 David Melville (Lakes Oil Team)
71 Jay Bourke (Cycle City) 0:05:15
72 Kyle Marwood (Praties Cycling Team)
73 Andrew Ward (OEX - Team Enterprise) 0:05:59
74 Peter Ladd (Team Budget Forklifts)
75 Luke Ockerby (Champion Systems/Cannodale)
76 Steven Rankine (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:06:24
77 Alexander Smyth (Jayco/VIS) 0:08:14
78 Jack Bobridge (Jayco AIS)
79 Nick Morgan (Champion Systems/Cannodale)
80 Miles Watson (Titans - Race)
81 Luke Davison (Jayco AIS)
82 Jacob Sutherland (Total Rush)
83 Luke Fetch (Loy Yang Power Team)
84 Matthew Wood (DM Drafting Cycling)
85 Charles Howlett (Cycle City)
86 Samuel Witmitz (Titans - Race)
87 Rohan Dennis (Jayco AIS)
88 Jeremy Hills (Praties Cycling Team)
89 Samuel Beveridge (Apollo Bicycles)
90 Tobias Boylan (Dixon Homes Cycling Team)
91 Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (Suzuki-Canberra)
92 James Herd (Apollo Bicycles)
93 Evan Corry (Dixon Homes Cycling Team)
94 Brendan Schultz (Titans - Race)
95 Joshua Hislop (DM Drafting Cycling)
96 William Robinson (Lawson Homes Cycling Team)
97 Michael Knoff (Total Rush)
98 Edward Bissaker (Suzuki-Canberra)
99 Kris Johnston (Lakes Oil Team)
100 Al Dempsey (OEX - Team Enterprise)
101 Thomas Hanover (OEX - Team Enterprise)
102 Benjamin Fleming (Lakes Oil Team)
103 Joel Lewis (DM Drafting Cycling)
104 Hugh Forrest (Search2Retain)
105 Thomas Donald (Search2Retain)
106 Russell Gill (Team Skins)
107 Sean Finning (Jayco/VIS)
108 Hamish Presbury (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
109 Andy Mcnab (Work Ways Team)
110 Stephen Rossendell (Champion Systems/Cannodale)
111 Cody Stevenson (Team Budget Forklifts)
112 Trevor Griffiths (Jayco/VIS)
113 Timothy White (Total Rush)
114 Timothy Walker (Champion Systems/Cannodale)
115 Chris Pryor (Fly V Australia Pro Cycling) 0:09:38
116 Matthew Clark (Cycle City) 0:10:20
117 Rob Doyle (Prime Estate Buyers Agent) 0:13:48
118 Gary Mueller (Total Rush) 0:20:08
119 Thomas Palmer (Drapac Porsche Team) 0:20:10
120 Glen Peterson (Total Rush)
121 James Ibrahim (Titans - Race) 0:27:01
122 Christopher Klem (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:29:46
123 Daniel Seagar (Lakes Oil Team)
124 Ian Johnston (Dixon Homes Cycling Team)
125 Nathan Elliott (Titans - Race)
126 Tom Benham (Work Ways Team) 0:30:20
127 Sean Turner (DM Drafting Cycling)
128 Peter Johnstone (Total Rush)
129 Angus Harding (Work Ways Team) 0:33:27

Stage 4 General Classification
1 Leigh Howard (Jayco AIS) 5:15:59
2 Timothy Roe (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:00:19
3 David Kemp (Fly V Australia) 0:00:21
4 Jonathan Lovelock (Jayco/VIS) 0:00:29
5 Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia) 0:00:39
6 Michael England (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:00:40
7 Adam Semple (Jayco AIS) 0:00:47
8 Jai Crawford (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:00:53
9 Ben Mather (Praties Cycling Team) 0:01:06
10 Brett Tivers (OEX - Team Enterprise) 0:02:14
11 Richard Lang (Titans - Race) 0:02:22
12 Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 0:02:24
13 Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:02:29
14 David Pell (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:02:32
15 Nathan Earle (Praties Cycling Team) 0:02:33
16 Mitchell Pearson (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 0:02:34
17 Daniel Braunsteins (Drapac Porsche Team) 0:02:37
18 Cameron Hughes (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:02:39
19 Deon Locke (Prime Estate Buyers Agent) 0:02:42
20 Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia) 0:02:45
21 Marc Williams (Suzuki-Canberra)
22 Alastair Loutit (Suzuki-Canberra) 0:02:48
23 Steven Robb (Savings & Loans Cycling Team)
24 Kane Walker (Team 2XU - ARC) 0:02:55
25 Adam Phelan (Suzuki-Canberra) 0:02:56
26 Daniel Barry (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
27 Stuart Grimsey (Loy Yang Power Team)
28 Jeremy Yates (OEX - Team Enterprise)
29 Ben Dyball (Lakes Oil Team) 0:03:01
30 Michael Smith (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:03:05
31 David Cripps (Lawson Homes Cycling Team)
32 Jason Rigg (Praties Cycling Team) 0:03:17
33 Mathew Marshall (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 0:03:18
34 Neil Van Der Ploeg (Loy Yang Power Team) 0:03:25
35 Silas Fisher (Team 2XU - ARC) 0:03:27
36 Damien Turner (Total Rush) 0:03:37
37 John Cornish (Prime Estate Buyers Agent)
38 Rhys Gillett (Cycle City)
39 Michael Gallagher (Jayco/VIS) 0:03:45
40 Robbie Williams (Drapac Porsche Team) 0:03:50
41 Scott Davis (Fly V Australia) 0:04:10
42 Eliot Crowther (OEX - Team Enterprise) 0:04:31
43 Matthew Mcdonagh (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:05:05
44 Sam Genge (Suzuki-Canberra) 0:05:31
45 Craig Mccartney (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:06:07
46 Malcolm Rudolph (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:06:13
47 Tristan Jones (Team Skins) 0:07:16
48 James Langedyk (Jayco/VIS) 0:07:47
49 Kyle Marwood (Praties Cycling Team) 0:07:50
50 Matthew Benson (Team Skins) 0:08:05
51 Thomas Robinson (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:08:29
52 Peter Smith (Team 2XU - ARC) 0:08:36
53 James Henry (Apollo Bicycles) 0:09:02
54 Angus Morton (Drapac Porsche Team) 0:09:03
55 Nick Aitken (Team 2XU - ARC) 0:09:05
56 Eric Sheppard (Jayco/VIS) 0:09:15
57 Michael Stallard (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:09:56
58 Joel Pearson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:10:04
59 Jack Bobridge (Jayco AIS) 0:10:32
60 William Dickeson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 0:10:41
61 Russell Gill (Team Skins) 0:10:52
62 Luke Fetch (Loy Yang Power Team) 0:11:02
63 Chris Stack (Team Skins) 0:11:32
64 Rohan Dennis (Jayco AIS) 0:11:42
65 Peter Braunsteins (Apollo Bicycles) 0:12:38
66 Joel Stearnes (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:13:24
67 Jacob Sutherland (Total Rush) 0:13:28
68 Peter Ladd (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:14:05
69 Harry Rassie (Dixon Homes Cycling Team) 0:14:20
70 David Melville (Lakes Oil Team) 0:15:42
71 Joshua Chugg (Praties Cycling Team) 0:15:49
72 Cody Stevenson (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:15:54
73 James Mowatt (Cycle City) 0:16:00
74 Samuel Witmitz (Titans - Race) 0:16:02
75 Alexander Smyth (Jayco/VIS)
76 Charles Howlett (Cycle City) 0:16:10
77 William Robinson (Lawson Homes Cycling Team) 0:16:11
78 Brodie Talbot (Work Ways Team) 0:16:27
79 Chris Pryor (Fly V Australia) 0:17:53
80 Thomas Hanover (OEX - Team Enterprise) 0:18:23
81 Danny Pulbrook (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 0:18:39
82 Lucien Keene (Team Skins) 0:19:24
83 Andrew Ward (OEX - Team Enterprise) 0:19:57
84 Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (Suzuki-Canberra) 0:20:13
85 Edward Bissaker (Suzuki-Canberra)
86 Sean Finning (Jayco/VIS) 0:20:16
87 Andrew Roe (Team Skins) 0:20:49
88 Luke Ockerby (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 0:21:36
89 Samuel Beveridge (Apollo Bicycles) 0:22:19
90 Matthew Wood (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:22:21
91 Brendan Schultz (Titans - Race) 0:22:47
92 Andy Mcnab (Work Ways Team) 0:23:00
93 Jeremy Hills (Praties Cycling Team) 0:23:28
94 Tobias Boylan (Dixon Homes Cycling Team)
95 Hamish Presbury (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti)
96 James Herd (Apollo Bicycles) 0:23:37
97 Stephen Rossendell (Champion Systems/Cannodale)
98 Rob Doyle (Prime Estate Buyers Agent) 0:24:32
99 Evan Corry (Dixon Homes Cycling Team) 0:27:13
100 Hugh Forrest (Search2Retain) 0:27:35
101 Kris Johnston (Lakes Oil Team) 0:27:39
102 Timothy Walker (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 0:27:50
103 Benjamin Fleming (Lakes Oil Team) 0:27:54
104 Nick Morgan (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 0:28:32
105 Al Dempsey (OEX - Team Enterprise)
106 Michael Knoff (Total Rush)
107 Luke Davison (Jayco AIS) 0:28:38
108 Joshua Hislop (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:29:22
109 Steven Rankine (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:30:07
110 Scott Liston (Loy Yang Power Team) 0:31:41
111 Joel Lewis (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:35:04
112 Thomas Palmer (Drapac Porsche Team) 0:35:24
113 Trevor Griffiths (Jayco/VIS) 0:35:48
114 James Ibrahim (Titans - Race) 0:36:30
115 Miles Watson (Titans - Race) 0:37:15
116 Timothy White (Total Rush) 0:38:39
117 Thomas Donald (Search2Retain) 0:38:40
118 Matthew Clark (Cycle City) 0:39:09
119 Sean Turner (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:39:18
120 Jay Bourke (Cycle City) 0:41:33
121 Gary Mueller (Total Rush) 0:47:01
122 Nathan Elliott (Titans - Race) 0:55:02
123 Christopher Klem (DM Drafting Cycling) 0:55:17
124 Angus Harding (Work Ways Team) 0:55:18
125 Glen Peterson (Total Rush) 0:58:58
126 Peter Johnstone (Total Rush) 1:06:36
127 Daniel Seagar (Lakes Oil Team) 1:16:12
128 Ian Johnston (Dixon Homes Cycling Team) 1:17:27
129 Tom Benham (Work Ways Team) 1:19:27

Overall Sprint Classification
1 Brett Tivers (OEX - Team Enterprise) 19
2 Malcolm Rudolph (Team Budget Forklifts) 17
3 Jack Bobridge (Jayco AIS) 13
4 Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 9
5 David Pell (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 7
6 Ben Mather (Praties Cycling Team) 6
7 Leigh Howard (Jayco AIS) 6
8 David Kemp (Fly V Australia) 5
9 Adam Semple (Jayco AIS) 5
10 Michael England (Team Budget Forklifts) 5
11 Mitchell Pearson (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 5
12 Scott Davis (Fly V Australia) 5
13 William Dickeson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 4
14 Timothy Roe (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 3
15 Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia) 3
16 Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia) 3
17 Miles Watson (Titans - Race) 3
18 Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts) 3
19 James Mowatt (Cycle City) 2
20 Bradley Norton (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 2
21 Jonathan Lovelock (Jayco/VIS) 2
22 Luke Ockerby (Champion Systems/Cannodale) 2
23 Luke Davison (Jayco AIS) 2
24 Nick Aitken (Team 2XU - ARC) 2
25 Daniel Braunsteins (Drapac Porsche Team) 1
26 Richard Lang (Titans - Race) 1
27 Joel Pearson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 1
28 Eliot Crowther (OEX - Team Enterprise) 1
29 Jason Rigg (Praties Cycling Team) 1

Overall Mountains Classification
1 Hayden Brooks (Fly V Australia) 10
2 Timothy Roe (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 10
3 Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia) 8
4 Jack Bobridge (Jayco AIS) 8
5 Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts) 7
6 Brendan Brooks (Shortis Cycle & Tri-Avanti) 6
7 Jonathan Lovelock (Jayco/VIS) 5
8 Malcolm Rudolph (Team Budget Forklifts) 3
9 Adam Semple (Jayco AIS) 3
10 Marc Williams (Suzuki-Canberra) 3
11 Eliot Crowther (OEX - Team Enterprise) 3
12 Scott Davis (Fly V Australia) 2
13 Lucien Keene (Team Skins) 1
14 Charles Howlett (Cycle City) 1
15 Rohan Dennis (Jayco AIS) 1
16 William Dickeson (Savings & Loans Cycling Team) 1

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