HARD RIDE: Region offers windy welcome for world-class cyclists

JONATHAN Cantwell is waiting to see if windy Warrnambool lives up to its reputation.The wait is almost over for the Queensland cyclist as the 2009 Jayco Herald Sun Tour rolls into the city today.Cantwell is aware there's a fair chance the weather for stage two from Colac to Warrnambool won't be kind."It's going to be tough if it plays out the same way as what the rumours say," he said. "There's a few climbs in there and it looks really lumpy. It's going to be quite a tough circuit."Fingers crossed that in the front bunch are myself and the others from the Fly V team when we come into Warrnambool."Cantwell has become accustomed to the front bunch in this year's Tour, finishing first in the preface on Sunday by only centimetres and crossing the line third in yesterday's 149-kilometre stage one in Ballarat in another tight finish."I'm always happy to be on the podium but it would've been nice to get a win again," he told The Standard. Renowned for sprinting, the 27-year-old had his sights firmly set on the three sprints yesterday.He finished in the points in all three, handing him the green jersey.He is third overall in the general classification, with Jaan Kirsipuu in the yellow jersey.Kirsipuu, a four-time Tour de France stage winner, was the lone LeTua team rider within the 41-man break that halved the list of Tour contenders on day one."I am used to being alone, even when I was with the big teams," the 40-year-old said."I did not have my best legs today, especially at the beginning because I have no racing for three weeks. But as the stage went on, it started to feel a bit better."Cantwell said he also felt good coming into the last two kilometres of the stage but explained the wind, roundabouts, left-handers and right-handers made it difficult.His Fly V Australia team has been in devastating form and has been touted as one of the teams to beat in the Tour.It was dealt a blow yesterday when a leading contender to be etched onto the tour's honour roll, Bernard Sulzberger, took a tumble in the first 20km of the stage.He went to hospital with deep abrasions and lacerations to his left side.Cantwell ruled his teammate, fresh from a Tour of Tasmania victory, out for the rest of the race ? something he believed wouldn't impact too much on Fly V, which has recently returned from a stint in the United States."Pressure to us is second nature," he admitted. "We've got high expectations of ourselves."We've got a lot of cards to play and unfortunately we lost one of those cards but the whole team is structured around versatility."Today's stage starts in Colac at 10.30am.It finishes at Flagstaff Hill about 2.30pm.While 105 cyclists were supposed to arrive in the city, the group has been reduced to 95 after yesterday's series of crashes. with AAP