Aust, cyclist likely to win Dulux tour

Press, 5 November 1977, Page 56

Aust, cyclist likely to win Dulux tour

From RAY CAIRNS in Palmerston North

Victory in the Dulux seven-day cycle race is almost certain to go to the young Australian, Phil Anderson.

The 19-year-old Victorian, whose love of big gears and of attacking has had him likened to Tino Tabak and Fedor den Hartog, made over-all victory all but his own yesterday.

The winning and the losing of the tour was accomplished, as expected, in the second shortest of the tour’s stages, the 75km hop from Wanganui to Palmerston North. But it was not done by the favoured Blair Stockwell or Paul Jesson (both Canterbury) or Steve Cox (Waikato). Instead, the activity was initiated by Anderson and the Aucklanders, Roger Sumich and Keith Lucas. Soon to join them was Jack Swart (Waikato). Swart had already made his mark on the eighteenth tour by winning the stage from New Plymouth to Wanganui. It was his fourth stage victory, easily a record for one tour.

He is poised to accomplish even greater feats after moving into second place, thanks to the afternoon breakaway, winning by 4min 58sec. This has left Anderson a clear tour leader by 4min lOsec. Sw’art is 48sec clear of Stockwell, with Jesson and Cox a further Ils and 26s distant respectively. However Swart now trails the king of the mountains section five points from Anderson, although between them, these two have the tour and mountains section in safe keeping, Paekakariki still looms menacingly ahead.

New Zealand’s most publicised climb surely comes too late for anyone to do anything about Anderson’s awesome lead but Swart — whose demise has been forecast since the tour started last Sunday —- still has second place to worry about. Although Swart is doing well in the mountains section, Stockwell has probably climbed them better than anyone and has a tremendous record of achievement in the final stage to Wellington. A big effort can be expected from Stockwell, let alone Jesson and Cox, in their bids to improve their over-all placings in the final 154 km.

In the stage to Wanganui, an entirely-overseas bunch took off, consisting of the Englishman, Adrian Collard, the Canadian, John Warnock, and the Australians, Ramon Cardosi, Arch and Morris Sansonetti, and Mark Spangaro. Although Collard and

Warnock eventually found things too hard, the other four stayed with the prestige group of Stockwell, Jesson, Anderson, Cox. and Swart when they caught them soon after Waverley. Swart won the stage, as he has done every time he has been with the leading and Jesson, finishing very fast, just edged Stockwell out of second. When the whips were cracking at the beginning of the afternoon stage, the Canterbury pair and Cox were not there. Steadily and remorselessly, the lead stretched out while only Stockwell and Cox attempted to do anything about it. Their misfortune was that about 20 riders were sitting quietly in there with them.

The attitude of this large group was of no use to Stockwell and Cox but it was understandable. They were the well-placed riders. The rest were many minutes down and it was up to the leader to do all the necessary activity.

Trevor Foley (Stratford) and the second-placed Australian, Jim Phillipson, had lost all interest, for example. They missed the morning break and the lOmin winning margin of the first nine had put them out of the tour.

They still hold sixth and seventh places respectively but they are now 15min 24s and 16min 23s down. That is the measure of the way this moderately strong field has blown apart since the first stage.