DRAPAC director sportif Agostino Giramondo says a near-flawless weekend capped off the team’s best fortnight of the year.
Giramondo was yesterday celebrating Dutchman Floris Goesinnen, who delivered Drapac wins in the Campolina Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic and Shipwreck Coast Classic.
The double success followed teammate Lachlan Norris winning the Tour of Tasmania the previous week.
Giramondo described 2012 as “one of our best seasons, especially the last two weeks”.
“We haven’t gone into most of the national road series events with as good a team as we could’ve put together,” he said. “We found this week was probably our strongest team, coming towards the pointy end of the season.
“We’ve had really good results, with three wins plus numerous stages as well.
“Over the last two weeks we’ve won eight races, as well as three jerseys, whether they are sprint jerseys or king of the mountains.”
But Goesinnen was the man of the moment on the weekend, emphatically proving why Drapac signed him in late 2010. He is just the fourth foreign rider to win the Melbourne to Warrnambool since it became a mass-start scratch race in 1996 and the first in seven years.
Swede Jonas Ljungblad won in 2005, while Belgium’s Bart Heirewegh (1998) and Switzerland’s Daniel Schnider (1997) also took line honours on Raglan Parade. But the Dutchman stands out because of how brazen he was.
Few breakaways get up in the Classic, such is its length and the demands on riders.
Goesinnen won pedalling with one other rider into a light headwind for 40 kilometres.
“I wasn’t thinking initially that we would go all the way to the line, but I was setting something up, for when we got caught, for the next one to go,” he said.
The 28-year-old said the Melbourne to Warrnambool win was the crowning moment of his career.
“All season everyone was talking about the Warrnambool — ‘it’s your race, you have to win it, you will win it’,” he said.
“To win it, it’s pretty cool.”
If the Melbourne to Warrnambool win was Goesinnen declaring his talent on the bike, the Shipwreck Coast Classic triumph was the exclamation point.
He was tired yesterday morning but managed to be one of five leading riders, which included teammate Rhys Pollock, with 15km remaining.
Goesinnen made his move with 5km left to finish in two hours, 35 minutes and six seconds.
Pollock also broke away to finish 50 seconds behind.
New Zealander Alexander Ray (Campolina) took third and the sprint title, while Chris Jory (GPM Wilson Racing) was the king of the mountains.