Bay Cycling Classic

05-01-2010 21:06:24

TRUE to his word, Chris Sutton won the 2010 Bay Cycling Classic in Williamstown yesterday, 21 years after his father Gary took out the 1989 criterium series.

Baden Cooke won the stage by a bike length from Greg Henderson, dashing the Mazda rider's hopes of claiming the series for himself and securing his teammate's overall victory.

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Graeme Brown was unable to recapture the yellow jersey he wore for two stages after failing to make a crucial five-man break that formed mid-race and stayed away.

"It was a hard race today, one of the hardest I've done," Sutton said.

"I'm just over the moon that I can stand on top ahead of bike riders such as Brownie and Baden Cooke, Greg Henderson (and) Robbie McEwen. It's such a top-class field. Everyone's here."

Brown blamed another ProTour rider, who he refused to name, for thwarting his shot at the overall title just after the break formed.

"I was 30m behind for quite a period of time," Brown said.

"I jumped and just as I jumped across one guy dropped off the back and, whether he meant it or not, he went really, really slowly around the corner and I couldn't go around. "It's a bit of a shame but it's over now."

It is believed Mathew Hayman (Mazda) was the rider who dropped off the back of the break to slow the chase group, which Brown was leading, to help teammate Henderson.

But it was Hayman who made an official complaint to chief commissaire Doug Armstrong post-race. Hayman alleged that Brown slung off his jersey along the back straight of the Hobsons Bay circuit.

Armstrong confirmed the incident, which he didn't see, had been investigated and no action had been taken due to a lack of "sufficient" information.

Brown has been on the giving and receiving end of fiery tongue-lashings during the four day series and said it felt like it was him against the Pro's throughout the classic, which marked its 21st anniversary this year.

Brown dropped to third on the overall classification yesterday and slipped to second in the sprint tally.

Nineteen year old Tom Scully, who won stage three on Monday, won the first and second intermediate sprints from Brown and Cooke, respectively, to guarantee the green jersey.

Drapac Porsche's Joseph Lewis was part of the breakaway that at one point had about a 45 second lead on the chasing group.

But he lost his fourth place stage result and ended the race with a 'Did Not Finish' next to his name.

Armstrong said Lewis did not take a lap out following a mechanical, hence the ruling.

Sutton, 25, will begin his season as a domestique with new ProTour outfit Team Sky at the upcoming Tour Down Under

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