WARRNAMBOOL cyclist Matt Lane says the chance to ride alongside his younger brother Sam in a National Road Series event is spurring him on in Tour of the Great South Coast.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Pat’s Veg teammates will tackle the tour’s fourth and fifth stages today — a 40-kilometre Portland foreshore criterium and 96km Heywood to Casterton road race.
Matt sits 29th in general classification standings after two days, 27 seconds behind Avanti’s Brenton Jones. Sam is 28 seconds adrift in 59th spot.
Camperdown’s Dylan Hately and Mortlake’s Darcy Woolley are also 28 seconds off the pace.
But Matt said Pat’s Veg’s main aim was to notch stage wins rather than overall tour results given the team was small and in its infancy.
Matt said Sam had impressed in the five-day tour’s first three stages.
“I’ve been happy with him,” he said.
“He is going well and is developing as a good rider at the moment. It’s the first race we have done together as a team.”
Matt wants to overcome the “hard” Portland criterium this morning before pushing for a strong result in the road race this afternoon.
“It is pretty hilly, with rolling climbs,” he said.
“I like the punchy climbs — small and sharp.”
Matt, who has fine-tuned his cycling during European stints, said yesterday’s 136km road race from Mount Gambier to Port MacDonnell was “chilled”.
“Not much happened. It was controlled by the big teams — Budget (Forklifts) and Avanti,” he said.
Matt grabbed third place in one of the King of the Mountain climbs in stage two on Wednesday.
He said the 65km Blue Lake road race suited his riding style.
“I got away in the breakaway and didn’t know there was a time bonus for King of the Mountain and I got third, so that moved me up a bit,” he said.
“Everyone is pretty close still so anything can happen (in the next three days).”
Warragul-based Jones will take a four-second lead into stage four today after winning stage three yesterday.
Jones won the Mount Gambier to Port MacDonnell road race from Charter Mason Drapac duo Shannon Johnson and Raphael Freinstein in three hours, 13 minutes and 26 seconds.
Budget Forklifts’ Jesse Kerrison, who collected the yellow leader’s jersey on day one, sits second on general classification behind Jones.
Johnson is 12 seconds off the pace in third entering today’s fourth and fifth stages.
Stage five is a 96km Heywood to Casterton road race.
justine.mc@fairfaxmedia.com.au
