2022 Santos Festival of Cycling, Blake Quick, News, Race reports, Racing -

Blake Quick sprints to stage 2 win at the TDU Festival of Cycling

Blake Quick sprints to stage 2 win at the TDU Festival of Cycling

Australian U23 champion Blake Quick (Inform TMX Make) has added another victory to his breakout summer of cycling, winning a reduced bunch sprint on stage 2 of the Santos Festival of Cycling.

Dylan George (Garmin-Australia) took a late flyer from the peloton with 1.2 km and was only caught with 75 metres to go as Quick and other sprinters surged past. Behind Quick, Jensen Plowright (Westpac) took second while Cameron Scott (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) rounded out the podium.

George held on for seventh, while overnight leader James Whelan (BridgeLane) also finished in the lead group, maintaining his (thinned down) overall lead.

Stage 2 began in Mount Lofty and featured an early move featuring WorldTour riders Rohan Dennis (Villawood/Jumbo-Visma) and Callum Scotson (BikeExchange-Jayco). Those two would soon be caught before a six-rider break got clear to lead for much of the 113 km stage to Woodside.

Cooperation started to fail in the break with roughly 30 km to go, leaving just three riders at the front of the race: Ben Dyball (AUS II/Ukyo), Dylan Sunderland (Westpac), and Carter Bettels (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast).

At the top of the day’s final KOM, with roughly 7 km to go, the three leaders were caught by a peloton thinned by that final climb. There were several attacks in the moments that followed, including two from Richie Porte (Garmin-Australia/Ineos Grenadiers), but the race looked set to be decided in a reduced bunch kick.

George’s move was wonderfully timed, coming on a late corner with little more than a kilometre to race, and it looked like he might maintain a gap to the line. But the bunch timed the catch to perfection, giving the sprinters their chance at victory.

Quick’s victory adds to a very impressive start to the year for the 21-year-old. After winning both stages of the Bay Crits in Geelong, Quick won the U23 Australian road title before victory at the standalone criterium at the Festival of Cycling earlier this week.

The Santos Festival of Cycling is a domestic-level National Road Series event that, for the second year running, is replacing the Tour Down Under. The men’s race concludes tomorrow with the traditional summit finish atop Willunga Hill.

Stage result

GC

both stages of Bay Crits, U23 nationals, crit at Festivl

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