Tour Down Under Stage 2 – Del Valle Wins

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Spain’s Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle claimed victory on Stage 2 of the Santos Tour Down Under to move within three seconds of the overall lead of South Australian, Jack Bobridge

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Tour Down Under Stage 2 – Del Valle Wins

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Twenty six year old Lobato launched a powerful surge on the uphill drag into the Adelaide Hills hamlet of Stirling to claim his eighth win as a professional. He held off South African Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEDGE) with Lobato’s Movistar team mate, Gorka Izaguirre Insausti, completing the top three.

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Movistar rider Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle takes out the southaustralia.com Stage 2 of the Santos Tour Down Under. Photo – Regallo 

“It’s a victory on a different type of terrain for me,” said Lobato who on Sunday was second in the super fast sprint finish of the People’s Choice Classic. Today he showed he also has the legs for an uphill sprint. “I’m coming here in good form, but thanks to God, I was able to deliver victory for the team,” said Lobato. “We have a great team here, we’re always at the front at every race we go to.”

“I am very content to start the season like this and I am grateful for my team,” he said. “I’ve had two years of good results, and I couldn’t start off 2015 any better.”

But even though he is now sitting second overall he admits the team has other riders with aspirations to win overall. “I am not discounting anything (but) I came here to go well on this finale (stage finish) and I’ve raced here the past two years,” he said adding that Movistar used last week for targeted training on the Stage 2 route and in particular the Stirling circuit.

The best laid plans were almost derailed however when Lobato punctured in the last 25 kilometres. “We knew that Lobato was climbing well, and that he could get up the difficulties better than the other sprinters but he used a bit of energy to chase back (after the puncture) so we were not sure going into the final sprint how he would react,” said Movistar Director Jose Luis Arrieta. “It’s a very important victory for us, and for his confidence as well.”

For Bobridge the support from the side of the road provided extra incentive, if any was needed, to dig deep for the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey. “It wasn’t an easy ride after yesterday’s,” said Bobridge who was a driving force in a four man breakaway that led to first first stage win in the Tour. “It was pretty lumpy from the word go, it wasn’t much flat today, it was super hard indeed”.

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Orica-GreenEDGE’S Cameron Myer leads the breakaway onto the last lap of the Stirling circuit. Photo – Regallo

“I take my hat off to my team-mates, they’ve been sensational,” said Bobridge of the UniSA-Australia riders. “I was following Richie Porte (Team Sky) with one kilometre to go. He gapped me but luckily other riders kept me connected with the bunch.”

That meant he finished in the middle of the group of 50 odd riders who were awarded the same time as the stage winner. “I came here to look after the young guys but now I’m in the jersey and I’m one hundred percent focused on defending this ochre jersey.” Bobridge is due to make an attempt on the prestigious hour record but that is for next week. “Now it’s all for this jersey,” he said. “All the way, there were people cheering for me, it’s fantastic.”

Today’s stage travelled along a 150 kilometre course starting in the stylish Adelaide suburb of Unley before climbing to Windy Point, through Upper Sturt and onto the testing circuits through Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. The riders set off under cloudy skies and cool conditions, perfect for the 122 thousand fans who lined the roads. The stage featured a Category 2 climb in the Subaru King of the Mountain (KOM) competition and two intermediate iiNet Sprints.

The climb came at the 30 kilometre mark but the roads leading up to it were testing on the legs prompting a flurry of early attacks. Eventually the one that stuck was launched by West Australian Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEDGE) who was joined by compatriot Campbell Flakemore (BMC Racing) and Belgian Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal).

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The start of the southaustralia.com Stage 2, Unley to Stirling leg of the Santos Tour Down Under. Photo – Regallo

That result put De Gendt level on points but second on countback to overnight Bobridge at the top of the Subaru KOM standings. “It was a hard start and that’s the kind of start I like in a race,” he said. “To get away in these conditions, you have to be one of the best in the field so I knew the riders away with me would only be good riders.”

By the time the trio arrived at the 1.3 kilometre tester with a seven percent gradient they had set up a handy lead. De Gendt collected top points ahead of Flakemore and Meyer with South Australian Miles Scotson (UniSA-Australia) leading the peloton across the summit just over three minutes later.

At the first of the iiNet sprints in Verdun at the 50 kilometre mark De Gendt picked up six points and the maximum three second bonus ahead of Meyer and Flakemore. The trio’s lead hovered between three and four minutes as the race wound it’s way through the Adelaide Hills towards Stirling for the first of two laps to finish the stage. As the leaders approached the second iiNet Sprint at Mylor, 50 kilometres from the finish, their lead had been whittled down to under two minutes as Team Sky, IAM Cycling and Bobridge’s UniSA-Australia team mates upped the chase pace.

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UniSA-Australia rider Jack Bobridge still wears the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey Photo – Regallo

De Gendt again grabbed the maximum sprint points spot with Meyer second and Flakemore third.

“At the team meeting this morning, we decided to ride GC for (Australian) Adam Hansen,” said De Gendt. “Four years ago I also broke clear with (eventual overall winner) Cameron Meyer and I’ve done it with him at other races too. He was the strongest today”.

“In the intermediate sprints I wanted to take some seconds, not for myself but for taking them away from potential rivals for Hansen,” explained De Gendt. Once the trio reached Stirling the peloton uped the pace reeling them in before the final 20 kilometre circuit.

Australian Calvin Watson (Trek Factory Racing) and Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing) then tried to escape but it wasn’t to be and they were soon back in the bunch. Thursday’s 143 kilometre Thomas Foods Stage 3 is expected to shake up the race as the riders depart the inner-city suburb of Norwood, head out through the Adelaide Hills orchards and vineyards to a hilltop finish in Paracombe.

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UniSA-Australia rider Miles Scotson leads the chasing peloton. Photo – Regallo

In Summary
Stage winner – Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Movistar)
Santos Tour Down Under race leader – Jack Bobridge (UniSA-Australia)
iiNet Sprint leader – Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Movistar)
Subaru King of the Mountain leader – Jack Bobridge (UniSA-Australia)
Virgin Australia Leading Team – Movistar
Cycle Instead Young Rider – Niccolo Bonifazio (Lamptre-Merida)
Europcar Most Competitive Rider – Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal)

STAGE 2
1 LOBATO DEL VALLE Juan Jose MOV 03:42:24
2 IMPEY Daryl OGE @ st
3 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka MOV @ st
4 DUMOULIN Tom TGA @ st
5 EVANS Cadel BMC @ st
6 SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon AST @ st
7 PORTE Richie SKY @ st
8 BONIFAZIO Niccolo LAM @ st
9 HAAS Nathan TCG @ st
10 DUMOULIN Samuel ALM @ st
11 FERNANDEZ Ruben MOV @ st
12 MEERSMAN Gianni EQS @ st
13 GESCHKE Simon TGA @ st
14 POZZOVIVO Domenico ALM @ st
15 THOMAS Geraint SKY @ st
16 MACHADO Tiago KAT @ st
17 LAGUTIN Sergei KAT @ st
18 ROGERS Michael TCS @ st
19 DENNIS Rohan BMC @ st
20 BOBRIDGE Jack AUS @ st
21 HANSEN Adam LTS @ st
22 JEANNESSON Arnold FDJ @ st
23 HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM @ st
24 WESTRA Lieuwe AST @ st
25 BENNETT George TLJ @ st
26 MEYER Travis DPC @ st
27 BOUET Maxime EQS @ st
28 HAIG Jack AUS @ st
29 STETINA Peter BMC @ st
30 CLARKE Simon OGE @ st
31 PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlison IAM @ st
32 GRMAY Tsgabu Gebremaryam LAM @ st
33 JUUL JENSEN Christopher TCS @ st
34 HERRADA LOPEZ José MOV @ st
35 TANNER David IAM @ st
36 ROE Timothy DPC @ st
37 BERARD Julien ALM @ st
38 BAK Lars Ytting LTS @ st
39 ROY Jérémy FDJ @ st
40 CAPECCHI Eros MOV @ st
41 LINDEMAN Bertjan TLJ @ st
42 DURASEK Kristijan LAM @ st
43 MOSER Moreno TCG @ st
44 MCCONNELL Daniel TFR @ st
45 TCATEVICH Aleksei KAT @ st
46 VEIKKANEN Jussi FDJ @ st
47 HANSEN Jesper TCS @ st
48 MORI Manuele LAM @ st
49 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David EQS 25
50 POWER Robert AUS @ st
51 REYNES MIMO Vicente IAM 28
52 DOCKX Gert LTS 32
53 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo MOV @ st
54 ROULSTON Hayden TFR @ st
55 HESJEDAL Ryder TCG 34
56 VILLELLA Davide TCG @ st
57 DURBRIDGE Luke OGE @ st
58 SCHÄR Michael BMC @ st
59 CLARKE William DPC @ st
60 CATALDO Dario AST @ st
61 HAYMAN Mathew OGE 46
62 ELMIGER Martin IAM 49
63 MEYER Cameron OGE @ st
64 HANSEN Lasse Norman TCG 52
65 VELITS Martin EQS @ st
66 CARUSO Giampaolo KAT 57
67 KADRI Blel ALM 01:07
68 DIDIER Laurent TFR @ st
69 KENNAUGH Peter SKY @ st
70 PINEAU Cédric FDJ @ st
71 DE KORT Koen TGA @ st
72 WYSS Danilo BMC @ st
73 ZAUGG Oliver TCS @ st
74 BOOM Lars AST @ st
75 HAGA Chad TGA 01:21
76 STANNARD Ian SKY 01:26
77 PUCCIO Salvatore SKY @ st
78 CHAVANEL Sébastien FDJ @ st
79 CLEMENT Stef IAM 01:33
80 MALACARNE Davide AST @ st
81 ROOSEN Timo TLJ 01:36
82 BELKOV Maxim KAT @ st
83 KEIZER Martijn TLJ @ st
84 LE GAC Olivier FDJ @ st
85 BAUER Jack TCG 01:57
86 HOWES Alex TCG 02:09
87 DE VREESE Laurens AST 03:00
88 DILLIER Silvan BMC 03:16
89 TIMMER Albert TGA 03:32
90 LAMPAERT Yves EQS 03:52
91 SERRY Pieter EQS @ st
92 BOARO Manuele TCS 04:10
93 KOHLER Martin DPC @ st
94 VON HOFF Steele AUS @ st
95 CRADDOCK Lawson TGA @ st
96 ROWE Luke SKY @ st
97 ISAYCHEV Vladimir KAT @ st
98 CIMOLAI Davide LAM @ st
99 TLEUBAYEV Ruslan AST 04:46
100 HEPBURN Michael OGE 05:48
101 BEWLEY Sam OGE @ st
102 BRUTT Pavel TCS @ st
103 RIBLON Christophe ALM @ st
104 HENDERSON Greg LTS @ st
105 RENSHAW Mark EQS @ st
106 BROWN Graeme DPC @ st
107 BONO Matteo LAM @ st
108 ALAFACI Eugenio TFR @ st
109 FLENS Rick TLJ @ st
110 EDMONDSON Alexander AUS @ st
111 VAN DER PLOEG Neil AUS @ st
112 WATSON Calvin TFR @ st
113 FLAKEMORE Campbell BMC @ st
114 KLUGE Roger IAM @ st
115 FERRARI Roberto LAM 09:59
116 MANZIN Lorrenzo FDJ 10:12
117 COLEDAN Marco TFR 11:39
118 DE GENDT Thomas LTS 13:43
119 DE HAES Kenny LTS @ st
120 SCOTSON Miles AUS @ st
121 KERBY Jordan DPC @ st
122 DOMONT Axel ALM @ st
123 SANZ Enrique MOV @ st
124 NIZZOLO Giacomo TFR @ st
125 VALLEE Boris LTS @ st
126 TJALLINGII Maarten TLJ @ st
127 GOUGEARD Alexis ALM @ st
128 SELIG Rudiger KAT @ st
129 KITTEL Marcel TGA @ st
130 SUTTON Christopher SKY @ st
131 WIPPERT Wouter DPC 19:36
132 MARKUS Barry TLJ

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 BOBRIDGE Jack AUS 06:41:55
2 LOBATO DEL VALLE Juan Jose MOV 3
3 WESTRA Lieuwe AST 4
4 IMPEY Daryl OGE 7
5 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka MOV 9
6 BONIFAZIO Niccolo LAM 13
7 MEERSMAN Gianni EQS @ st
8 DUMOULIN Samuel ALM @ st
9 HAAS Nathan TCG @ st
10 EVANS Cadel BMC @ st
11 GESCHKE Simon TGA @ st
12 SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon AST @ st
13 HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM @ st
14 PORTE Richie SKY @ st
15 DUMOULIN Tom TGA @ st
16 THOMAS Geraint SKY @ st
17 HANSEN Adam LTS @ st
18 HAIG Jack AUS @ st
19 TANNER David IAM @ st
20 FERNANDEZ Ruben MOV @ st
21 MACHADO Tiago KAT @ st
22 ROGERS Michael TCS @ st
23 BENNETT George TLJ @ st
24 TCATEVICH Aleksei KAT @ st
25 LAGUTIN Sergei KAT @ st
26 HERRADA LOPEZ José MOV @ st
27 JEANNESSON Arnold FDJ @ st
28 BERARD Julien ALM @ st
29 DENNIS Rohan BMC @ st
30 MEYER Travis DPC @ st
31 CLARKE Simon OGE @ st
32 CAPECCHI Eros MOV @ st
33 GRMAY Tsgabu Gebremaryam LAM @ st
34 HANSEN Jesper TCS @ st
35 BOUET Maxime EQS @ st
36 PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlison IAM @ st
37 MORI Manuele LAM @ st
38 POZZOVIVO Domenico ALM @ st
39 JUUL JENSEN Christopher TCS @ st
40 ROY Jérémy FDJ @ st
41 ROE Timothy DPC @ st
42 LINDEMAN Bertjan TLJ @ st
43 STETINA Peter BMC @ st
44 MOSER Moreno TCG @ st
45 BAK Lars Ytting LTS @ st
46 DURASEK Kristijan LAM @ st
47 VEIKKANEN Jussi FDJ @ st
48 MCCONNELL Daniel TFR @ st
49 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David EQS 38
50 POWER Robert AUS @ st
51 DURBRIDGE Luke OGE 40
52 REYNES MIMO Vicente IAM 41
53 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo MOV 45
54 ROULSTON Hayden TFR @ st
55 CATALDO Dario AST 47
56 HESJEDAL Ryder TCG @ st
57 VILLELLA Davide TCG @ st
58 MEYER Cameron OGE 58
59 HAYMAN Mathew OGE 59
60 ELMIGER Martin IAM 01:02
61 CLARKE William DPC 01:04
62 HANSEN Lasse Norman TCG 01:05
63 VELITS Martin EQS @ st
64 CARUSO Giampaolo KAT 01:10
65 ZAUGG Oliver TCS 01:20
66 PINEAU Cédric FDJ @ st
67 DIDIER Laurent TFR @ st
68 KADRI Blel ALM @ st
69 BOOM Lars AST @ st
70 WYSS Danilo BMC @ st
71 KENNAUGH Peter SKY @ st
72 HAGA Chad TGA 01:34
73 STANNARD Ian SKY 01:39
74 BELKOV Maxim KAT 01:46
75 MALACARNE Davide AST @ st
76 SCHÄR Michael BMC @ st
77 CLEMENT Stef IAM @ st
78 ROOSEN Timo TLJ 01:49
79 LE GAC Olivier FDJ @ st
80 KEIZER Martijn TLJ @ st
81 DOCKX Gert LTS 01:54
82 CHAVANEL Sébastien FDJ 02:02
83 DE KORT Koen TGA 02:19
84 HOWES Alex TCG 02:22
85 BAUER Jack TCG 02:27
86 DE VREESE Laurens AST 03:13
87 DILLIER Silvan BMC 03:29
88 SERRY Pieter EQS 04:05
89 TIMMER Albert TGA 04:10
90 VON HOFF Steele AUS 04:23
91 ISAYCHEV Vladimir KAT @ st
92 BOARO Manuele TCS @ st
93 CIMOLAI Davide LAM @ st
94 LAMPAERT Yves EQS 04:42
95 TLEUBAYEV Ruslan AST 04:59
96 ALAFACI Eugenio TFR 06:01
97 HENDERSON Greg LTS @ st
98 WATSON Calvin TFR @ st
99 EDMONDSON Alexander AUS @ st
100 KLUGE Roger IAM @ st
101 FLENS Rick TLJ @ st
102 BEWLEY Sam OGE @ st
103 VAN DER PLOEG Neil AUS @ st
104 RENSHAW Mark EQS 06:18
105 FLAKEMORE Campbell BMC 06:22
106 BONO Matteo LAM 06:47
107 PUCCIO Salvatore SKY 07:19
108 BROWN Graeme DPC 07:29
109 BRUTT Pavel TCS 08:09
110 KOHLER Martin DPC 10:03
111 ROWE Luke SKY @ st
112 MANZIN Lorrenzo FDJ 10:25
113 HEPBURN Michael OGE 11:41
114 COLEDAN Marco TFR 11:52
115 RIBLON Christophe ALM 12:12
116 DE GENDT Thomas LTS 13:50
117 SCOTSON Miles AUS 13:56
118 KITTEL Marcel TGA @ st
119 SUTTON Christopher SKY @ st
120 DOMONT Axel ALM @ st
121 SELIG Rudiger KAT @ st
122 SANZ Enrique MOV 14:13
123 DE HAES Kenny LTS 14:21
124 TJALLINGII Maarten TLJ 14:40
125 CRADDOCK Lawson TGA 15:13
126 FERRARI Roberto LAM 16:23
127 WIPPERT Wouter DPC 19:49
128 MARKUS Barry TLJ 20:01
129 NIZZOLO Giacomo TFR 20:07
130 KERBY Jordan DPC @ st
131 VALLEE Boris LTS @ st
132 GOUGEARD Alexis ALM @ st

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