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Shaw takes Tour of Gippsland lead
Ballarat rider Patrick Shaw has been rewarded for his consistency by taking the overall lead in the Tour of Gippsland.
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Shaw, 24, finished second behind Scott Law in the morning criterium at Newborough and was sixth in the 85km afternoon road stage from Morwell to Maffra, won by Dale Scarfe.
Those results gave Shaw a two-second overall lead ahead of NSW rider Joseph Lewis following the fourth day of racing.
Shaw was considering retirement from full-time cycling earlier this year, but Virgin Blue Fly V team manager Henk Vogels convinced him to join his team.
Previous race leader Ben Grenda slipped to third overall, five seconds behind Shaw.
Shaw credits his form to former Australian road cycling star Pat Jonker and the support of his new team.
"I learned a lot during my two years in Europe even though I didn't win a race and Pat has also been good for me with tactical planning and race fitness," he said.
"The yellow jersey (as race leader) is not weighing heavily on my shoulders - I am starting to think that I can hold on to it until Sunday."
Saturday's racing will feature a morning criterium in Bairnsdale, followed by an 88km road race from Bairnsdale to Lakes Entrance.
The tour will end with a water-front criterium in Paynesville on Sunday.
Stage 4: Newborough and Maffra.
1 Scott Law (Virgin Blue RBS Morgan) 0:58:25, 2 Patrick Shaw (Virgin Blue RBS Morgan), 3 Alex Carver (Team Jayco Skins), 4 Adiq Othman (Drapac Professional Cycling), 5 Dale Scarfe (McDonagh Blake-Witness), 6 Ben Grenda (Genesys Wealth Advisers), 7 Alexander Ray (Lakes Oil N.L.), 8 Richard Lang (Team Jayco Skins), 9 Joseph Lewis (Drapac Professional Cycling), 10 Anthony Diacoppo (Plan B Racing).
General classification:
1 Patrick Shaw (Virgin Blue RBS Morgan) 6:40:55, 2 Ben Grenda (Genesys Wealth Advisers) 0:00:02, 3 Rico Rogers (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:00:04, 4 Joseph Lewis (Drapac Professional Cycling) 0:00:05, 5 Patrick Lane (Team Jayco Skins) 0:00:07, 6 Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts) 0:00:08, 7 Lachlan Norris (Drapac Professional Cycling) 0:00:11, 8 Alex Carver (Team Jayco Skins) 0:00:15, 9 Adiq Othman (Drapac Professional Cycling) 0:00:16, 10 Gordon McCauley (AAL Hyster-Rush Racing) 0:00:17.
