Patrick Shaw Takes on the Scody Cup
Australian cyclist Patrick Shaw nearly ended his cycling career at the end of the 2009 season when he failed to win any races while competing in Europe, and didn’t break through to any major teams. Since returning to Australia, Shaw has already taken 2010 victories in the Tour of Toowoomba and the Tour of Gippsland, the first of the four Tours of the Scody Cup. Shaw is back in the game and aiming to win.
“I felt it was time to try and leave the sport before I hated it, because I didn’t want to hate the sport I’d loved all my life,” explained Shaw.
The Scody Cup includes the Tours of Gippsland, Geelong, Murray and Tasmania. The Tour of Gippsland was held from Wednesday July 28th to Sunday August 1st. The Australian race included eight stages in five days – four criteriums and four road-races. Shaw became the first rider to win the Gippsland without winning any stages.
“It’s a good feeling and most importantly it’s good that I could back it up after winning Tour of Toowoomba,” said Shaw. “Some people probably thought that the Tour of Toowoomba might have been a lucky win. It was a hard tour; I’d probably rate its terrain harder than what Gippsland ended up being this year.”
Shaw finished 22 seconds ahead of Joseph Lewis and 28 seconds ahead of Rico Rogers. The winner was consistently prominent in the 160-man race, continuing to prove himself a remarkable rider since he turned professional two years ago.
Shaw, the son of classic specialist Dennis Shaw, began his career in Europe, scoring 45 top-10 finishes for an Italian trade team. Discouraged by a lack of first-place finishes, the rider returned home to Australia when he was offered a position on team Virgin Blue, run by 1978 Tour de France 12th place finisher Pat Jonker, which put him in line to make what he called the most important performance of his career so far.
“I have always had aspirations of winning one on these Scody Cup races but the opportunity has never arisen,” said Shaw. “The door opens up sometimes and you have got to make the most of your opportunities. I had great team support all week and I am really enjoying this victory.”
Shaw took over the race after the fourth stage, when he netted a second place finish, putting no fight up against the first place finisher, his Virgin Blue teammate Scott Law. The team’s one-two finish was enough to boost Shaw into first place overall, taking over from Ben Grenda, the race leader after the first three stages, with Rico Rogers, the winner of the 2nd and 3rd Stages, in 3rd place overall.
“I learned a lot during my two years in Europe even though I didn’t win a race and Pat Jonker has also been good for me with tactical planning and race fitness,” said Shaw.
The second tour in the Scody Cup is the Tour of Geelong, a five-day stage race beginning on August 11th. This race will see Pat Shaw racing against the return of Chris Jongewaard, who missed the Tour of Gippsland after spending seven months in prison due to a hit-and-run.
"In 2008 he won the Australian Cycling Grand Prix in Ballarat before we transferred that concept down to Geelong and linked it with the Tour of Geelong,” said the race director, John Craven. "He's one of the most aggressive bike riders in the country, always helping to create the race.”
31-year-old Jongewaard was a multiple national cross-country champion who entered road racing via the Scody Cup a few years ago and has extensive experience in the Geelong region, where he won the 40km elite men’s time trial in 2009. He competed in a Willunga club race and the KONA Mawson Marathon this year in preparation for his first national series of the season.
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