Canberra cyclist Stuart Shaw predicted big things for the Canberra Tour yesterday after claiming the event's final stage for a third time. Shaw led the Tour's second stage, a hilly 133km from Stromlo Forest Park to Corin Forest and back again, from the start to finish 37seconds ahead of teammate Peter McDonald. Michael England finished third.Shaw, who will now pack his bags and head to France for a race in three weeks' time, said it was great to see the Canberra Tour back after organisational issues scuttled last year's event. He hoped to see its numbers increase from this year's 420 riders in the future.''This race is great because it's such an honest race,'' he said.''I'd love to see the Tour grow bigger. To get some road closure to make the road safer is the next step.''I'm sure all the hotels and tourist industry would love to see a big tour here and I don't see any reason why their can't be 1500 to 2000 people coming to this race.'' While the sunny weather was just what race organisers had ordered, thumbtacks thrown along the course on Saturday night were an unfortunate obstacle.

Luckily, race leaders were unaffected by the stunt. Shaw's convincing stage win was not enough to beat 24-year-old Tasmanian William Clarke, of the Praties cycling team, from taking the overall victory.Going into yesterday's stage well behind Clarke, Drapac Porsche teammates Shaw and Thomas Palmer attacked from the gates of Stromlo Forest Park.

The 31-year-old from Tuggeranong and Palmer were joined by their teammate and national champion Peter McDonald near Corin Forest before Shaw attacked again to open up a 30-second gap and held out to the finish.

For more, pick up a copy of Today's Canberra Times.