After two consecutive wins for Caleb Ewan, Pat Shaw managed to break the dominance of the youngster in the third race at the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic. The veteran came off the youngster's wheel to take the win ahead of Daniel Fitter and Sam Spokes but fourth place for Ewan was enough to defend the overall lead.
With Caleb Ewan (Orica GreenEDGE) aiming for a hat-trick of stage wins it was Miles Scotson (Budget Forklifts), a hopeful to make the Australian Olympic team on the track, who attacked early and spent more than half the hour long race off the front.
Eventually former Australian road champion, Luke Durbridge (Orica GreenEDGE), joined him in the lead, and the pair escaped to over a half a minute in front of the chasing peloton.
But with one lap remaining the race was all back together, as the pair was hunted down, and Ewan was once again in the box seat.
In the dash to the line it was experience that won out as Pat Shaw (Avanti Isowhey), one of the elder statesmen of the domestic scene, caused the upset by taking the win ahead of Daniel Fitter (State of Matter/Maap) and Sam Spokes (Drapac Professional).
"I've been semi-pro for 10 plus years and it takes you this long to get a good win," Shaw said. "I'm sitting in the wheel, on Caleb, getting the best run anyone could dream for and it's just lucky, I got the job done. I was just saying in the last corner 'Do Not Crash'. I knew I had it, I've been working hard on that sprint".
Fourth place on the stage was enough for Caleb Ewan to defend his yellow jersey and extend his lead, and he will be hard to beat tomorrow, with 12 points going to the winner of each stage.
Elite Men Stage THREE Result
1 - Patrick SHAW (Avanti Isowhey)
2 - Daniel FITTER ( State of Matter/Maap)
3 - Samuel SPOKES (Drapac Professional)
4 - Caleb EWAN ( Orica GreenEDGE)
5 - Leigh Howard (Chain Reaction Cycling)
Elite men General Classification after stage THREE
1 - Caleb EWAN ( Orica- GreenEDGE) 31 points
2 - Patrick SHAW (Avanti Isowhey) 20 points
3 - Brenton JONES (Drapac Professional)20 points
4 - Leigh HOWARD (Chain Reaction Cycles)15 points
5 - Kazushige KUBOKI ( Novatel Geelong/Japan)13 points
Robbie Hucker (Avanti ISowhey) leads the Budget Forklifts Points Classification
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