Whilst Xavier was in the break away, Rod & Marcus played the team role back in the peleton and helped control the pace so that the breakaway was never going to be caught.
Meanwhile in the breakaway, Xavier & two others continued to keep pressure on right up to the finish. The sprint saw Xavier take line honours and now most likely sees him move in "A" grade.Below is the write up from the Footscray website:
Carrying on sizzling form from the National Ironman Series, 31 yo Point Cook resident Xavier Coppock blitzed the field to take a strong in in B-Grade's race today. Coppock, fresh from competing in Western Australia, made his intentions clear when he pressured the 32 riders in the bunch straight out of the box, causing quite a few riders to be unceremoniously dropped in the early stages of the race. Coppock, who has spent the last 12 months focusing on Ironman triathlons in preparation for the upcoming New Zealand race, then attacked again and was out on his own for quite a while, which was dangerous enough, but once he was joined by the powerhouse that is the big Darren Henneken and the wily and experienced Phil Tehan and Drew McDonald, the peleton did its best to work hard and bring back the break; but with two experienced time triallers in Coppock and Henneken riding at a tempo that no-one could match, it was "game over" for the chasers. Towards the end of the race, McDonald drifted back into the peleton, and in the mad rush into the final straight he and another rider crashed and both fell heavily; riders dodging left and right in an effort not to join the fallen. In the end, Coppock took the win, well clear of the valiant Tehan and Henneken, taking the strongest of possible wins.
It has been a strong start to the year for MTR-Racing, things are looking very positive for this new and exciting team.
Also, a few more announcements to be made in the upcoming wee
ks.
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