Rhys Pollock happy with the overall victory at the Tour De Taiwan 2012
Rhys Pollock claimed his first overall victory of the 2012 season at the Tour De Taiwan. It was clearly the biggest victory of his career yet as he leaded the peloton throughout the week.
He claimed the top overall spot after the third stage and continued his dominance until the final general classifications.
The Australian finished the race in a competitive time of 19 hours, 9 minutes and 44 seconds to occupy the top podium spot after the final general classifications.
Kam Po Wong of Hong Kong Team finished just two seconds behind at the second position with Dirk Muller, Taiji Nishitani and Anthony Giacoppo claiming the next three spots.
He was excited after the win and briefed, "I knew the rule of the last 3km but I was scared because anything can happen, [Third placed on GC] Dirk Muller could have jumped away and taken some time”.
‘I told my teammates who wanted to celebrate: 'hey, just wait until the commissaires give it all clear'. I had to take some risks as if I was a sprinter myself. Now I'm just relieved that I held on to victory", he concluded.
The 32-year-old had a terrific 2011 season. He won both stages and also claimed the overall dominance at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in the past season.
Rhys held the yellow jersey for three consecutive stages of the race but could not answer the brilliance of Jack Bobridge and Nathan Haas during the final day.
The Swiss has already achieved the targets he had for the 2012 season. He is now looking ahead to take his performance to the next level during the coming events.
Pollock made his professional debut with Team Driving Force Logistics in 2007 and also joined Marco Polo Cycling Team in 2008.
He joined Drapac Cycling Team in 2009 and started his fourth consecutive season with the team. Rhys is now targeting the first race at the Australian National Road Series scheduled next month.
He is optimistic to take his performance to the next level at the Mersey Valley Tour scheduled next month and will also target the Asian events for the later part of the season.
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