Cameron Scott (CCACHE x Bodywrap) and Odette Lynch (Butterfields Ziptrak Racing) scored the opening victories in the stage 1 criterium of the Q Tour, which kicked off the final round of racing in the ProVelo Super League in Queensland on Friday evening.
In the women's 37-lap race on Southbank, Brisbane it was U19 rider Amelie Sanders (ARA-Skip Capital) who came second in the bunch sprint of 16 while it was third for Lauren Bates (Meridian Blue Cycling p/b 99 Bikes) on the 1km hot dog circuit.
Liam Walsh made is a one-two for the CCACHE x Bodywrap squad in the men's 49 lap race, with Scott Bowden (Tasmanian Institute of Sport) taking third in the sprint which played out among a group of seven. That break was established by the time the race had reached the 15th lap.
The Q Tour continues on Saturday with a hilly 8.6km stage 2 time trial and then a road race on the Lakeside Raceway. The finale takes place on Sunday, with a 111.7km of racing through the Moreton Bay Hinterlands for the men and 90.3km for the women, with both races ending in a hilltop finish.
The three days of racing is not just a battle for stage and the overall tour victories but there is also intense competition for the overall ProVelo Super League titles, with the top U23 riders earning a spot to race with Jayco-AlUla and Liv-AlUla-Jayco Continental team.
At the start of the tour it was a two-way competition for the men with Jack Ward (Team Brennan p/b TP32) leading the overall and U23 standings with 381 points while Zachary Marriage (Butterfields Ziptrak) was second with 338. The three U23 women within range of the top spot were Praties teammates Sophie Marr on 496 points and Talia Appleton with 423 and then Alli Anderson (Butterfields Ziptrak) with 342.
Marriage, Ward, Marr and Appleton all finished outside the criterium stage points, with the top five awarded 20 to 10 points, but Anderson's fifth place means she narrowed her considerable gap by 10 points.
