Konny Looser wins today’s finish sprint by one meter against Urs Huber. The stage was a classic 102 km marathon from Skybury Coffee to Wetherby Station in Mount Molloy had started with a mellow 30 km to the first feed zone and then continued with countless steep pinch climbs that forced even the likes of race leader Huber off the bike. Soren Nissen finished eight minutes behind the inseparable Swiss duo ahead of Matthias Grick (+23min) and the Czech rider Milan Damek (+27:44min).
In the women’s Sarah White once again dominated on the hills during the second half of the stage and put 11:23min into Lucy Coldwell, defending and increasing her overall lead ahead to 26 minutes of tomorrow’s last stage to Port Douglas. Skoujke Dufoer finished in third today and has a 5 hour gap behind Sarah White overall.
Arrival in Port Douglas tomorrow Saturday, 20 October
For the last stage tomorrow, all eyes will be on Huber and Looser; with only 1:10min of a gap in the general classification after seven days and 650km of racing those two made sure this race remains a thrill until the very end. For Huber it would be his fifth Crocodile Trophy victory, which would set a new record in the 24-year history of the event and has been his ‘ultimate goal for this year’s race’.
The last stage will be a 50km race from Wetherby to Port Douglas. The timing finish line is located at the bottom of the infamous Bump Track and racers are expected to arrive there from 11:00am. The whole peloton will wait together there and then ride to the official finish on Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas where they are expected to arrive between 12:30-1pm. This will be the first mass arrival in the history of the Crocodile Trophy and will be in respectful and loving memory of local cycling icon, multiple race finisher and event official, Greg Parr from Cairns. “Greg and his wife Sharmie participated and finished the Crocodile Trophy four times. Greg supported us setting up our company World Wide Sports Agency in Cairns. He was always there to help us when we needed him”, said Founder Gerhard Schönbacher today. He added, “Greg will be greatly missed by all and the last stage of the Crocodile Trophy 2018 will be called the ‘Greg Parr Stage’ in his honour.”
The official winners ceremony will be held near the Surf Life Saving Club on the beach from 2pm.
For detailed race results, please visit www.croctrophy.com/results/
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Top Results | Stage 7
Elite Men
1. 3 Konny Looser (SUI) / BiXS Pro Team / 03:45:45,1 — 27.1 km/h Elite Men (1)
2. 1 Urs Huber (SUI) / Team Bulls /03:45:45,2 +00:00:00 27.1 km/h Elite Men (2)
3. 2 Sören Nissen (LUX) / Team Stevens-LAUF / 04:08:47,4 +00:08:09 26.1 km/h Elite Men (3)
4. 6 Matthias Grick (AUT) / KTM – Wohbefinden Graz ARBÖ / 04:39:49,1 +00:23:02 24.5 km/h Elite Men (4)
5. 4 Milan Damek (CZE) / Bike World / 04:13:29,9 +00:27:44 24.1 km/h Elite Men (5)
Elite Women
1. 101 Sarah White (AUS) / Astute Financial Racing Team / 04:47:30,4 +01:01:45 21.2 km/h (19th outright)
2. 102 Lucy Coldwell (AUS) 04:58:53,5 +00:11:23 20.4 km/h Elite Women (24th outright)
3. 103 Sjoukje Dufoer (BEL) / Honeymoon Tom & Sjoukje / 05:44:01,3 +00:56:29 17.7 km/h (35th outright)
OVERALL Standings after Stage 7:
Overall Men after 7 Stages:
1. # 1 Urs Huber 25:51:37,6 — Elite Men (1)
2. #3 Konny Looser 25:52:48,0 +00:01:10 Elite Men (2)
3. #2 Sören Nissen 26:46:52,7 +00:55:15 Elite Men (3)
4. #6 Matthias Grick 27:55:09,3 +02:03:31 Elite Men (4)
5. #4 Milan Damek 28:35:19,3 +02:43:41 Elite Men (5)
Overall Women after 6 Stages:
1. #101 Sarah White 33:49:51,3 — Elite Women (10th outright)
2. #102 Lucy Coldwell 34:15:51,1 +00:00:26 Elite Women (16th outright)
3. #103 Sjoukje Dufoer 38:49:03,0 +04:59:11 Elite Women (25th outright)
Overall Amateur standings after 6 stages
Amateur Men 1 | 204 Martin Plank (AUT) 30:14:08,6
Amateur Men 2 | 250 Dominic Kleijnen (BEL) 37:21:29,6
Amateur Men 3 | 314 Michal Láník (CZE) 30:03:25,0
Amateur Men 4 | 408 Graeme Young (AUS) 35:04:15,9
Amateur Women | 125 Mona Van Nassauw (BEL) 40:35:51,9