Brentjens adds a third win to his tally

Happy stage winner Bart Brentjens ©Crocodile Trophy/R Stanger

There was no escape from the brutality of the Crocodile Trophy as racing resumed today with mud-splattered Bart Brentjens emerging as stage winner. 151 kilometres of scorched earth awaited the racers after yesterdays stage was neutralised out of respect for Dutch rider Weit Heuker.

Keen to get things started, Mike Mulkins attacked the front group in a solo attack. As reward for his efforts he was allowed to sit in the wind for 100 kilometres on his own. It took a heavy toll, as after the lead group caught him, they quickly spat him out as things wound up for a sprint finish. While Brentjens used his decades of experience to snatch the win over Huber there were no time gains. So with the same finish time of 4:53:56, Huber remains in the lead. Although their finish times were the same, their races were clearly different.

Brentjens explained his hard day in the saddle: “I worked a lot today. After 25 kilometres I did most of the work alone as the others were not strong enough so I pushed until a group of eight formed. I am very tired because of the wind, the heat and the dust.”

Huber, on the other hand, intentionally had a quieter day than his main rival. “I knew exactly what to expect from last year. I decided in the morning to roll home and just try to save energy as I don’t like long straight roads.”

With Huber and Brentjens closely marking each other, today’s third and fourth place-getters are sure to keep us guessing until the final time trial. Phillipe Ludescher and Cory Wallace tried for the stage win today, and will no doubt continue to do so.

Despite some mechanical mishaps, Cairns local Abby McLennan had great team assistance to get over the line in 6:14:42, and is maintaining her leading position in her race.

Tomorrow sees the riders face classic Croc conditions: 142km into the wind on corrugated roads deep with sand and bulldust. Will we see Brentjens stick it in the gutter to force a break, or will the race favour an opportunist who is willing to gamble it all in a solo break?