Tour Down Under: Stage win for Greipel

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André Greipel today added a fifteenth stage win to his Santos Tour Down Under tally  on stage 4 whilst overnight leader Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) came under pressure but remains in the lead overall.

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It took him longer than he hoped but André Greipel today added a fifteenth stage win to his Santos Tour Down Under tally with victory in the Bupa Stage 4 into Victor Harbor while overnight leader Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) came under pressure but remains in the lead overall.

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Lotto Belisol leader André Greipel wins Bupa Stage 4 in Victor Harbor. Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo 

Evans went into the stage with a 12 second lead over compatriot and rival Simon Gerrans but at the end of the day that had been whittled down to seven seconds due to a concerted assault by the Orica-GreenEDGE team.

Precious seconds were on offer early in today’s stage that departed from the cosmopolitan Adelaide suburb of Unley and headed out through the Adelaide Hills to the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula for a 149 kilometre stage with 115 thousand fans treated to some sensational racing action.

The first Adam Internet intemediate sprint was contested at Echunga, 25km into the stage which meant the pace was on from the start with the contenders anxious to claw back time on Evans.

Gerrans was set up superbly by his team mates and claimed the maximum three seconds to close his deficit on Evans to nine seconds. His Orica-GreenEDGE team mate, Matt Goss, was second ahead of Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) who claimed a one second bonus.

“Today it went pretty well with the time bonus I was after,” said Gerrans. “Our plan was to chase the first breakaway if it was within reach before the first intermediate sprint, and if not, we’d target the second.

“We eventually managed to do both,” said Gerrans. I’m pretty happy with that.”

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 Orica-GreenEDGE rider Simon Gerrans gets the sprint points at Echunga. Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo 

After the furore of the early pace Frenchman Axel Domant (AG2R – La Mondiale) and Australian Cameron Wurf (Cannondale) eventually rode clear and at one stage were more than four minutes ahead of the peloton.

The only Skoda King of the Mountain climb of the day was at at the 96 kilometre mark at Myponga where Domant took ten points ahead of Wurf. Not long after Australian Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol) led the chasing group across to add four points to his tally and hold onto the green polka-dot jersey for another day.

Crosswinds and an energetic chase split the peloton with around 40 riders, including the main overall contenders, riding into the front group. The fact the second Adam Internet sprint of the day at Yankalilla, 30 kilometres from the finish, was fast approaching also added intensity to the pace with Orica-GreenEDGE hoping Gerrans would score another bonus.

He did, but not the mamimum because Garmin-Sharp steered Haas through to steal the three seconds. Gerrans had to settle for second place and two seconds while Italian Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) grabbed a one second bonus.

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Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) in the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey on the road. Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo 

Bike trouble struck for Evans just before the sprint but after a bike change, and with assistance from his team mates, he rejoined the leaders.

“It’s been a nervous day with the wind and Orica really took control of the race putting the whole team (on the front) for the intermediate sprints,” said Evans. “The first one didn’t go favourably for me and the second one was even worse.

“Looking at the numbers, we have four stages favourable to Orica and two for me, so numbers-wise it’s not in my advantage but of course Willunga will be important,” said Evans of tomorrow’s Queen stage that ends atop Old Willunga Hill. “Certainly if Orica keep going for the intermediate sprints they can eat away at seven seconds pretty quickly.

“It’s certainly not my area of expertise and Simon is good in the sprints and has a very, very good team for that…. but we’ll see what happens on the way to Willunga. With the finish line at the top I think everyone is going to be looking at Willunga of course, and it goes back into my area of racing and experience.

“Of course to win the race I’m going to have to do something pretty special there.”

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The peloton climbs the freeway out of Adelaide. Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo  

Gerrans tried to grab more seconds on Evans at the finish but just missed out placing fourth across the line.

“It would have been great to finish one place higher and get more time bonus but a flat bunch sprint finish isn’t my speciality,” said Gerrans. “With two stages to go, the race for the overall win remains wide open. The race is far from won.”

Meantime Greipel, who was pipped for the win in Sunday’s People’s Choice Classic and was second again in the San Remo Pasta Stage 1, had earmarked today as his and he was piloted to the finishing straight by the Lotto-Belisol express. Right behind him was team mate Jurgen Roelandts from Belgium with Italian Elia Viviani (Cannondale) third.

“I was always confident that I’d win something here. In the inaugural criterium in Adelaide and in stage 1, I just made mistakes but that can happen in sprinting,” said Greipel.

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Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo 

“Before today’s stage, I thought this would be the first day for a sprint,” said the German champion who in 2012 also won the stage into Victor Harbor and holds the event record for the most stage wins. “Coming first and second says enough of the great work our team Lotto-Belisol has done today.

“It was nervous all along, Orica-GreeenEDGE had six guys at the front of the bunch but we put pressure on them after the intermediate sprint,” Greipel explained.

“I know the area of Victor Harbor pretty well. I know the last climb too. It’s quite open to the wind. The way we rode as a team makes it a well deserved win,” he said.

It was a bonus that Roelandts held on for second place.

“I was a bit nervous with 8km to go because we had all the pressure to win,” said Roelandts. “We hit that last chicane with André in perfect position and after leading him out, I sat up a bit, but when I saw no one coming around me, I restarted my sprint to finish second.

“That’s always nice for the points and the confidence, knowing the work over the winter has paid off.”

Lotto-Belisol had more reason to celebrate with Adam Hansen doing the hard yards for Greipel but still managing to hold on to the Skoda King of the Mountain category. But he admits his aim now is a high overall place (he is currently sitting in 12th place).

“To win with André is why we’re here and today was our big goal with him,” said Hansen. “I just stayed near him as much as possible during the stage and did my job when attacks went in the final hill. I closed the gap to the attackers and made sure I had my guys in a good position to lead André out.

“He’s one of the best sprinters in the world so we always believe in him to be able to win,” said Hansen.

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The two man breakaway is led by Australian Cameron Wurf (Cannondale Pro Cycling). Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo 

20 year old UniSA-Australia rider, Jack Haig, had a fabulous day in the saddle finishing with the lead group to grab the Cycle Instead Young Rider jersey.

“With all the crosswinds, it was a question of staying out of the gutter. The bunch split and I was the only young rider up there I think. Anyway the kid from FDJ [Kenny Elissonde] wasn’t so I take the jersey over from him,” explained Haig. “I have a really good chance to win this jersey tomorrow because I’m a good climber.

“This is my first Santos Tour Down Under, it’s amazing!”

The Europcar Most Competitive Rider for the stage was awarded to Wurf who says his ride was motivated by past events.

“What happened in the Giro (Tour of Italy) last year (was) every time I went into a breakaway, Elia Viviani got a good result, so he did today too.” said the former rowing champion.

“I attacked again in the final climb to get the sprint trains disorganised. I was hungry today because I was very disappointed yesterday to not get the position I wanted up to Corkscrew climb.”

“With Jens Voigt, we also have a bit of a competition running for being the rider who attacks the most,” said Wurf of the Trek Factory Racing team rider who scored yesterday’s Europcar Most Competitive Rider award.

Early this morning more than six thousand participants rode out from Unley for the Bupa Challenge Tour, a recreational ride for enthusiasts from Australia and overseas. They rode over three varying distances to the finish under the official Bupa Stage 4 finish arch in Victor Harbor.

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The Unley start of Bupa Stage 4. Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo 

Classification Results

Santos Ochre Leader – Cadel Evans (AUS | BMC Racing Team)
Adam Internet Sprint Leader – Simon Gerrans (AUS | Orica-GreenEDGE)
Skoda King of the Mountain leader – Adam Hansen (AUS | Lotto-Belisol)
Cycle Instead Young Rider leader -Jack Haig (AUS | UniSA-Australia)
Europcar Most Competitive Rider – Cameron Wurf (AUS | Cannondale)
Hindmarsh Leading Team – BMC Racing Team

RESULTS
1 GREIPEL Andre, Lotto Belisol Team 03:33:07
2 ROELANDTS Jurgen, Lotto Belisol Team
3 VIVIANI Elia, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
4 GERRANS Simon, Orica GreenEDGE
5 HAAS Nathan, Garmin – Sharp
6 IMPEY Daryl, Orica GreenEDGE
7 BOUET Maxime, AG2R La Mondiale
8 TRUSOV Nikolay, Tinkoff-Saxo
9 ROUX Anthony, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
10 GAVAZZI Francesco, Astana Pro Team
11 VON HOFF Steele, Garmin – Sharp
12 CANTWELL Jonathan, Drapac Professional Cycling
13 EVANS Cadel, BMC Racing Team
14 BAKELANTS Jan, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
15 GESINK Robert, Belkin Pro Cycling Team
16 THOMAS Geraint, Team Sky
17 CLEMENT Stef, Belkin Pro Cycling Team
18 BOOKWALTER Brent, BMC Racing Team
19 GESCHKE Simon, Team Giant-Shimano
20 SUTHERLAND Rory, Tinkoff-Saxo
21 PAUWELS Serge, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
22 WYSS Danilo, BMC Racing Team
23 PORTE Richie, Team Sky
24 QUEMENEUR Perrig, Team Europcar
25 VORGANOV Eduard, Team Katusha
26 HANSEN Adam, Lotto Belisol Team
27 SøRENSEN Nicki, Tinkoff-Saxo
28 DIDIER Laurent, Trek Factory Racing
29 HAIG Jack, UniSA-Australia
30 PLAZA MOLINA Rubén, Movistar Team
31 MORI Manuele, Lampre – Merida
32 BAUER Jack, Garmin – Sharp
33 BROECKX Stig, Lotto Belisol Team
34 ULISSI Diego, Lampre – Merida
35 FAIRLY Caleb, Garmin – Sharp
36 DOMONT Axel, AG2R La Mondiale
37 SILIN Egor, Team Katusha
38 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher, Tinkoff-Saxo
39 SULZBERGER Bernard, Drapac Professional Cycling
40 HERMANS Ben, BMC Racing Team
41 DEBUSSCHERE Jens, Lotto Belisol Team
42 BERARD Julien, AG2R La Mondiale
43 BONNET William, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
44 VERONA QUINTANILLA Carlos, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
45 HUCKER Robbie, Drapac Professional Cycling
46 KOCHETKOV Pavel, Team Katusha
47 DEIGNAN Philip, Team Sky
48 WURF Cameron, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
49 LAPTHORNE Darren, Drapac Professional Cycling
50 SCHLECK Fränk, Trek Factory Racing
51 BOBRIDGE Jack, Belkin Pro Cycling Team
52 AGNOLI Valerio, Astana Pro Team
53 DEKKER Thomas, Garmin – Sharp
54 MORABITO Steve, BMC Racing Team
55 EARLE Nathan, Team Sky
56 MEYER Travis, Drapac Professional Cycling 00:19
57 MOINARD Amaël, BMC Racing Team
58 STANNARD Ian, Team Sky 00:29
59 SIEBERG Marcel, Lotto Belisol Team 00:39
60 HAYMAN Mathew, Orica GreenEDGE 00:41
61 MATTHEWS Michael, Orica GreenEDGE 00:52
62 DURBRIDGE Luke, Orica GreenEDGE 00:56
63 DENNIS Rohan, Garmin – Sharp 02:28
64 THURAU Bjorn, Team Europcar 13:55
65 FROHLINGER Johannes, Team Giant-Shimano
66 ZABEL Rick, BMC Racing Team
67 ARNDT Nikias, Team Giant-Shimano
68 RENSHAW Mark, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
69 BROWN Graeme, Belkin Pro Cycling Team
70 TURGOT Sébastien, AG2R La Mondiale
71 SOUPE Geoffrey, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
72 KITTEL Marcel, Team Giant-Shimano
73 TRENTIN Matteo, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
74 LECUISINIER Pierre-Henri, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
75 WATSON Calvin, Trek Factory Racing
76 MOHORIC Matej, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
77 CLARKE Simon, Orica GreenEDGE
78 GOSS Matthew, Orica GreenEDGE
79 VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael, Tinkoff-Saxo
80 VOIGT Jens, Trek Factory Racing
81 ALAPHILIPPE Julian, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
82 ELISSONDE Kenny, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
83 HUPOND Thierry, Team Giant-Shimano
84 TANKINK Bram, Belkin Pro Cycling Team
85 DE KORT Koen, Team Giant-Shimano
86 KOLAR Michael, Tinkoff-Saxo
87 MCCARTHY Jay, Tinkoff-Saxo
88 LINFIELD Bradley, UniSA-Australia
89 GRIVKO Andriy, Astana Pro Team
90 VAN POPPEL Danny, Trek Factory Racing
91 MORTON Lachlan, Garmin – Sharp
92 BOIVIN Guillaume, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
93 BELKOV Maxim, Team Katusha
94 GUARNIERI Jacopo, Astana Pro Team
95 EWAN Caleb, UniSA-Australia
96 ERVITI OLLO Imanol, Movistar Team
97 VAN POPPEL Boy, Trek Factory Racing
98 GUTIéRREZ PALACIOS, Jose Iván Movistar Team
99 MORENO BAZAN Javier, Movistar Team
100 LOBATO DEL VALLE, Juan Jose Movistar Team
101 FELLINE Fabio, Trek Factory Racing
102 GIACOPPO Anthony, UniSA-Australia
103 CIMOLAI Davide, Lampre – Merida
104 O’ BRIEN Mark, UniSA-Australia
105 FLENS Rick, Belkin Pro Cycling Team
106 GAUDIN Damien, AG2R La Mondiale
107 WESTRA Lieuwe, Astana Pro Team
108 GASPAROTTO Enrico, Astana Pro Team
109 PORSEV Alexander, Team Katusha
110 IGNATYEV Mikhail, Team Katusha
111 DANIEL Maxime, AG2R La Mondiale
112 VEIKKANEN Jussi, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
113 COURTEILLE Arnaud, Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr
114 BONO Matteo, Lampre – Merida
115 HUFFMAN Evan, Astana Pro Team
116 WACKERMANN Luca, Lampre – Merida
117 SULZBERGER Wesley, Drapac Professional Cycling
118 BONNAFOND Guillaume, AG2R La Mondiale
119 BETTIOL Alberto, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
120 FERRARI Roberto, Lampre – Merida
121 PETERSON Tom, Team Giant-Shimano
122 ARASHIRO Yukiya, Team Europcar
123 REZA Kevin, Team Europcar
124 KRIZEK Matthias, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
125 COUSIN Jérôme, Team Europcar
126 BENNETT George, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team
127 VAN DER PLOEG Neil, UniSA-Australia
128 ROWE Luke, Team Sky
129 CLARKE William, Drapac Professional Cycling
130 EISEL Bernhard, Team Sky
131 FLAKEMORE Campbell, UniSA-Australia
132 FENN Andrew, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
133 TULIK Angelo, Team Europcar
134 HALLER Marco, Team Katusha

OVERALL
1 EVANS Cadel, BMC Racing Team 14:19:46
2 GERRANS Simon, Orica GreenEDGE 00:07
3 ULISSI Diego, Lampre – Merida 00:14
4 HAAS Nathan, Garmin – Sharp 00:23
5 GESINK Robert, Belkin Pro Cycling Team 00:29
6 THOMAS Geraint, Team Sky
7 IMPEY Daryl, Orica GreenEDGE 00:33
8 BOOKWALTER Brent, BMC Racing Team
9 SUTHERLAND Rory, Tinkoff-Saxo
10 PORTE Richie, Team Sky
11 HERMANS Ben, BMC Racing Team
12 HANSEN Adam, Lotto Belisol Team
13 SILIN Egor, Team Katusha
14 ROUX Anthony, Equipe Cycliste FD.fr 01:01
15 BAKELANTS Jan, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
16 DIDIER Laurent, Trek Factory Racing
17 GESCHKE Simon, Team Giant-Shimano 01:13
18 BOUET Maxime, AG2R La Mondiale 01:14
19 PLAZA MOLINA Rubén, Movistar Team 01:18
20 SCHLECK Fränk, Trek Factory Racing
2014 Santos Tour Down Under

 

Saturday 25 January – Pure Blonde Stage 5 – McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill (151.5km)
Sunday 26 January – Be Safe Be Seen, MAC Stage 6 – Adelaide (95km)

 

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