The Corsa Dello Stivale St Clair Criterium 2016 Recap before the #SuperSeries17 Grand Finale Tomorrow!
The AV Jennings Corsa Dello Stivale St Clair Criterium race around the St Clair lagoon and wetlands is back as the 2017 Super Series Grand Finale tomorrow Sunday, 10 December 2017!As we gear up, let’s take a look back at 2016 …Elite WomenIn 2016, we kicked off with the Elite Women’s race, scorching temperatures on the road and in the peloton led to a frantic opening. Victoria Veitch of Mercedes-Benz Adelaide Blackchrome was in fine form throughout the 2016 Super Series, showing her strength again and again, launching a series of solo attacks in the opening laps.Eventually Veitch would get away, where she was joined by Maeve Moroney-Plouffe (SASI) and the USG Women’s Racing Team duo of Chelsea Parbs and Alana Haansbergen. Plouffe took out both the first and second intermediate sprints to seize the lead in the Super Series sprinters competition from Jess Mundy.With the temperature rising to 37 degrees, the heat took its toll on the breakaway, and with two laps remaining it was Victoria Veitch and Maeve Moroney-Plouffe who were left to battle it out for the stage win. The pair were head to head going into the final bend, where it was Plouffe who would come through to narrowly take the win.Veitch and Plouffe have been dominant figures in the 2017 Series. Veitch sits third in General Classification (GC) on 110 points and second in the Masters Classification with Plouffe fourth in GC on 104 points and first in the Young Rider Classification, it will be interesting to see if Veitch can use her wealth of experience to even the score against young gun, Plouffe.Breanna Hargraves sits first in GC on 123 points and currently holds the Sprint and Masters Classification lead with 2016 overall Series winner Jessica Mundy sitting in second place on 111 points.Elite MenIn the Elite Men’s race, the attacks started from the gun. Liam Nolan was the first to get away, taking two Lightsview riders with him, however the trip wasn’t given much rope by the peloton.Midway through the race a breakaway formed and set about riding a steady tempo, with the pace being driven by Leo Simmonds, Josh Harrison, Harry Carpenter, and Chris Harper. Attempts were made from within the peloton, most notably by Thomas Alford (Van D’am Racing pb Butterfields) and Chris Luxton (Lightsview), however the pace of the break and the heat of the day thwarted their attempts.The breakaway managed to stay away until the end of the race, where Harry Carpenter showed his breakaway companions a clean set of wheels, sneaking away on the final lap to take a solo win.Heading into the Grand Finale, Olympic Silver Medallist and Dual World Champion, Sam Welsford is clear to take out the GC on 124 points. Second and third place however, is another story with riders from Mitchelton/Scott pb CA, Lightsview, Focus Attaquer and IsoWheySports Swiss Wellness all in the running its game on!Elite MastersAs temperatures continued to soar, the Master’s Men’s peloton stayed together, conserving energy in the opening laps. It wouldn’t be long before a series of sustained attacks from Matthew Dorian (Lighsview) saw a break established that contained Power On’s Tony McLoughlin, former Melbourne to Warrnambool winner and Cycling Australia Endurance Track Coach, Tim Decker (Bike Station), and former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jay Sweet.The quartet worked well together, and fought off all the challenges the hungry peloton threw at them. Coming into the final bend it was Decker leading the group out, however he was narrowly beaten home by the fast charging Jay Sweet.Decker riding for Lightsview leads the 2017 Masters GC with 143 points over teammate Cameron Spears on 126 points and Keystone Cycling’s Phil Dixon on 123 points.The Corsa Dello Stivale Criterium is a hugely spectator friendly location where you will be able to catch the action no matter where you are. Play on the St Clair playground, enjoy a coffee from Bean There Drank That Coffee, grab a sausage from the South Coast Cycling Club BBQ or have fun with the Triple M activation team who will be handing out some cool freebies!
| Schedule | Classification |
| 9:00 am | Category 2 Masters |
| 9:50 am | Category 2 Women |
| 10:40 am | Category 2 Men |
| 11:40 am | Category 1 Masters |
| 12:40 pm | Category 1 Elite Women |
| 01:45 pm | Category 1 Elite Men |
| 3:00 pm | Overall Series Presentations |
Make sure you check out the #SuperSeries17 website for all the details www.cyclingsuperseries.com.au.