Quick takes the sprint in attacking Bay Crits

Quick by name and quick by nature. Blake Quick (Inform TMX MAKE) wins the opening stage of the men's Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits.

Blake Quick wins during the Mens Elite Lexus of Blackburn 2022 Bay Crits on January 8, 2022, at Eastern Garden, Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Con Chronis) Source: Bay Crits

Watch the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits, streaming live on SBS On Demand and the SBS Cycling Central Facebook page from 1355 AEDT for the final stage from Geelong.

In warm, slightly windy conditions in Geelong the hour-long men’s race saw WorldTour veteran Simon Clarke (All Stars) attack at the midway point surging into the lead, taking a bunch of riders with him to form a genuine breakaway that included Zack Gilmore (ARA Pro racing) 19-year-old Henry Dietze (Giant Racing) and Elliot Schultz (Inform TMX MAKE).

However, the peloton reeled them in and on the final corner Brisbane’s Blake Quick, led home by teammate Brenton Jones, rode over the top of the big names to grab the opening stage. Craig Wiggins (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) and Jensen Plowright (Lexus of Blackburn) filled the placings. Quick acknowledged the efforts of his teammate Jones, a former Bay Crits champion, who he had helped to a trio of wins at the recent National Road Series event on the Sunshine Coast.

“BJ was only meant to race the second day," said Quick, "then last night he ended up getting the call up to come in and then he said he wanted to thank me for helping out a few weekends ago on the Sunny Coast – he did an unreal job I can’t thank him and the boys enough. He gave me the lead out from heaven, I hardly even had to sprint really.

Quick is a member of Inform TMX MAKE, a squad that has built a reputation of superb performances in the Australian summer in recent years.

"Yeah, it’s unreal and it breeds like that winning culture," said Quick. "It’s so good to have two guys just alternate and then it just breeds such good culture in the team because it doesn’t matter who it is we just want to win."

Watch the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits, streaming live on SBS On Demand and the SBS Cycling Central Facebook page from 1355 AEDT for the final stage from Geelong.