Tour Down Under: Surprise win for Ewan

Australian Caleb Ewan surprised his rivals on an uphill finish to open his 2018 account and take over the race lead on the second stage of the Santos Tour Down Under.

Tour Down Under: Surprise win for Ewan

Related: Greipel wins stage 1

Australian Caleb Ewan surprised his rivals on an uphill finish to open his 2018 account and take over the race lead on the second stage of the Santos Tour Down Under.

The 23 year old timed his attack to perfection at the end of a 147 kilometre stage that, unlike previous years, had a large group still in contention when the race arrived in Stirling for the last time to climb to the finish line.

Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo

“It was a super tough finish and the team backed me one hundred percent even after two losses and even on a course that didn’t suit me that well,” said Ewan who placed second yesterday and was third in Sunday’s People’s Choice Classic. Ewan’s Mitchelton Scott team mate, Daryl Impey, was second across the line with Australian Jay McCarthy (Bora hansgrohe) third. Ewan won four stages of last year’s event and two in 2016 but his team director Matt White agreed today wasn’t one he was expected to win.

“This (uphill) sprint doesn’t normally suit a sprinter so he showed his form,” said White. “We didn’t say anything before the race, but he actually got sick after nationals and he’s had a rough last week. “To do that today against those guys was a very impressive effort (and) the lead-out he got today was impressive. The winner’s time of 4.03.55 was half an hour slower than expected for this stage and and that helped Ewan.”

“I hid pretty well in the field and I had done that circuit before so I knew when I had to be at the front. One who didn’t benefit was the overnight leader Andrew Greipel (Lotto Soudal) who fell off the pace and crossed the line in 104th place, 7.21 behind the stage winner. I heard on the radio that Greipel was dropped on the climb,” said Ewan who had been second overall heading into today’s stage. “I’m so happy to be in the lead as well as winning this stage.”

Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo

Ewan has a ten second leading margin over Impey with three time and current world champion Peter Sagan (Bora hansgrohe), who was fourth today, third overall at 12 seconds.

Ewan also leads the #seesouthaustralia Young Rider classification and the southaustralia.com Sprint classification. Today’s stage began in the cosmopolitan suburb of Unley with the race convoy travelling 14 kilometres through Adelaide under neutralised conditions before the flag dropped for the official start of racing. When it did it was a case of ‘déjà vu’.

The Subaru King of the Mountain points were on offer a mere 13 kilometres in to the stage which prompted the same three riders who instigated yesterday’s early break to attack again, this time with Spain’s Jaime Castrillo (Movistar Team) in tow. At the Tea Tree Gully category two climb South African Nicolas Dlamini (Team Dimension Data) added the maximum ten points to his tally crossing first ahead of Australian Will Clarke (Education First-Drapac) with Castrillo third. UniSA-Australia national team rider Scott Bowden was fourth.

Soon after the climb Dlamini, safely in possession of the Subaru King of the Mountain jersey for another day, abandoned the breakaway group and dropped back to the peloton.

“I felt it was nice to wear the KOM jersey so I just went out with the target of the mountain,” said Dlamini. “I knew Will Clarke would always keep trying so I looked out for him and he did exactly the same thing as yesterday. “He started attacking but I saw it coming and I was prepared to take him on,” explained Dlamini. “The KOM jersey is becoming a goal for me at this race. Hopefully I’ll get some more points and retain the jersey.”

Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo

Meantime the trio in front rode out to a lead of more than six minutes. In Oakbank, 50 kilometres into the stage, the first of two southaustralia.com sprint for the day was contested and it was Clarke who won the points ahead of Castrillo and Bowden. As the leaders approached the second sprint of the day the pace in the peloton picked with Bahrain Merida putting in a chase effort that pegged the lead back to 4.20.
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Clarke again claimed the maximum points when the lead trio contested the second southaustralia.com sprint of the day at Mylor with Bowden second and Castrillo third. Clarke and Bowden called it quits in front soon after and slowed to wait for the bunch leaving Castrillo to ride on alone. The reigning Under 23 Spanish time trial champion headed alone under the arch at Stirling to start the first of three laps of the finishing circuit.

The bunch came through just under four minutes later with overnight race leader Greipel sitting safely towards the front protected by his Lotto Soudal team mates while BMC Pro Racing and Bahrain Merida were also in force at the front making sure there favoured riders were where they needed to be to avoid any strife. By the time the 21-year-old leader crossed under the arch a second time his lead had been slashed to 1.22 as Bahrain Merida powered the chase in a bid to set up Portugal’s Domenico Pozzovivo.

Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo

Once the lead was within a minute the bunch backed off to keep Castrillo within striking distance whilst discouraging other attacks. 20 kilometres from home the pace in the peloton hit top gear and Castrillo was reeled in. Castrillo was awarded the southaustralia.com Most Competitive Rider of the day honours for his solo efforts.

“I tried to pick up some points in the intermediate sprints (but) to arrive to the finish for the win was almost impossible,” said Castrillo. “ It was a nice experience to ride at the front of the peloton in a race like the Tour Down Under. It was a nice day for me. “There is a lot of quality riders here, so I am going to be slowly gaining the experience to race at this level,” he said.

Bahrain Merida lead the Wilson Parking Winning Team rankings.

The beachside suburb of Glenelg will be in the spotlight for the start of the Big Screen Video Stage 3 that travels through the Fleurieu Peninsula and McLaren Vale. The riders will take on Pennys Hill Road for the Subaru King of the Mountain points before heading onto the finishing circuit around Victor Harbor.

Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo
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STAGE 2
1 *EWAN Caleb MTS 04:03:55
2 IMPEY Daryl MTS @ same time
3 MCCARTHY Jay BOH @ same time
4 SAGAN Peter BOH @ same time
5 HAAS Nathan TKA @ same time
6 VIVIANI Elia QST @ same time
7 IZAGUIRRE Gorka TBM @ same time
8 POZZOVIVO Domenico TBM @ same time
9 SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon AST @ same time
10 BARBERO CUESTA Carlos MOV @ same time
11 *LATOUR Pierre Roger ALM @ same time
12 ROUX Anthony FDJ @ same time
13 ULISSI Diego UAD @ same time
14 MORENO Daniel EFD @ same time
15 DENNIS Rohan BMC @ same time
16 ROE Timothy AUS @ same time
17 *CONSONNI Simone UAD @ same time
18 IZAGUIRRE Jon TBM @ same time
19 FARIA DA COSTA Rui UAD @ same time
20 GESINK Robert TLJ @ same time
21 DEVENYNS Dries QST @ same time
22 PORTE Richie BMC @ same time
23 SLAGTER Tom-Jelte DDD @ same time
24 *GUERREIRO Ruben TFS @ same time
25 *BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY @ same time
26 *SOLER Marc MOV @ same time
27 *OOMEN Sam SUN @ same time
28 VALGREN Michael AST @ same time
29 PREIDLER Georg FDJ @ same time
30 *MAS Enric QST @ same time
31 *DAVIES Scott DDD @ same time
32 MEYER Cameron MTS @ same time
33 BENNETT George TLJ @ same time
34 EARLE Nathan AUS @ same time
35 CHEREL Mikael ALM @ same time
36 *HAMILTON Chris SUN @ same time
37 CANTY Brendan EFD @ same time
38 BAK Lars Ytting LTS @ same time
39 *RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan TKA @ same time
40 TEUNISSEN Mike SUN @ same time
41 CAPECCHI Eros QST @ same time
42 *EG Niklas TFS @ same time
43 FERNANDEZ Ruben MOV @ same time
44 *DOULL Owain SKY @ same time
45 GASTAUER Ben ALM @ same time
46 DIDIER Laurent TFS @ same time
47 *O CONNOR Ben DDD @ same time
48 MORTON Lachlan DDD @ same time
49 PUCCIO Salvatore SKY 11
50 DE VREESE Laurens AST 13
51 HANSEN Adam LTS @ same time
52 CLARKE William EFD @ same time
53 ZAKHAROV Artyom AST 16
54 WYNANTS Maarten TLJ 27
55 MORI Manuele UAD 32
56 VANDENBERGH Stijn ALM @ same time
57 BEPPU Fumiyuki TFS @ same time
58 GERRANS Simon BMC @ same time
59 *BOHLI Tom BMC @ same time
60 *SCOTSON Miles BMC @ same time
61 OLIVEIRA Nelson MOV @ same time
62 SUTTERLIN Jasha MOV 40
63 OLIVIER Daan TLJ @ same time
64 DE KORT Koen TFS 50
65 MACHADO Tiago TKA 54
66 BEVIN Patrick BMC @ same time
67 LEEZER Tom TLJ 58
68 VON HOFF Steele AUS 01:03
69 CLARKE Simon EFD 01:04
70 *MATOS Nuno MOV @ same time
71 BATTAGLIN Enrico TLJ 01:13
72 ARNDT Nikias SUN 01:15
73 HAYMAN Mathew MTS 01:42
74 BAUER Jack MTS @ same time
75 DEMPSTER Zakkari AUS 01:46
76 MARCATO Marco UAD 01:49
77 BONO Matteo UAD @ same time
78 SCULLY Thomas EFD 02:09
79 WYSS Danilo BMC 02:18
80 OSS Daniel BOH 02:43
81 MORKOV Michael QST @ same time
82 AGNOLI Valerio TBM 02:46
83 ARASHIRO Yukiya TBM @ same time
84 LAMMERTINK Maurits TKA 03:03
85 HOWSON Damien MTS 03:21
86 *EDMONDSON Alexander MTS @ same time
87 GONÇALVES Jose TKA 03:26
88 HAGA Chad SUN 03:28
89 DE GENDT Thomas LTS 03:46
90 KOCHETKOV Pavel TKA @ same time
91 MONTAGUTI Matteo ALM @ same time
92 *PETERS Nans ALM @ same time
93 GATTO Oscar AST @ same time
94 VENTER Jaco DDD 05:15
95 *PORTER Alexander AUS 05:37
96 *MINALI Riccardo AST @ same time
97 KENNAUGH Peter BOH 05:51
98 *STORER Michael SUN 06:01
99 DOCKER Mitchell EFD @ same time
100 *KORSAETH Truls AST @ same time
101 *LAWLESS Christopher SKY 07:21
102 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz SKY @ same time
103 SABATINI Fabio QST @ same time
104 GREIPEL Andre LTS @ same time
105 RENSHAW Mark DDD @ same time
106 *DENZ Nico ALM @ same time
107 *SCHMIDT Mads Wurtz TKA 08:31
108 SIEBERG Marcel LTS 09:55
109 WAGNER Robert TLJ @ same time
110 DUCHESNE Antoine FDJ @ same time
111 *CASTRILLO ZAPATER Jaime MOV @ same time
112 SELIG Rudiger BOH @ same time
113 *DLAMINI Nicholas DDD @ same time
114 *SENECHAL Florian QST @ same time
115 LADAGNOUS Matthieu FDJ @ same time
116 DEBUSSCHERE Jens LTS @ same time
117 *PEDERSEN Mads TFS @ same time
118 *OWEN Logan EFD 11:09
119 BODNAR Maciej BOH @ same time
120 *BAUHAUS Phil SUN 14:49
121 *FRAME Alex TFS @ same time
122 BOARO Manuele TBM @ same time
123 MORABITO Steve FDJ @ same time
124 *BOWDEN Scott AUS @ same time
125 BENNETT Sam BOH @ same time
126 FERRARI Roberto UAD 19:26
127 NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas TBM 24:11:00
128 CIMOLAI Davide FDJ @ same time
129 *WELSFORD Sam AUS @ same time
130 *DIBBEN Jonathan SKY @ same time

Overall
1 *EWAN Caleb 21 MTS 07:54:00
2 IMPEY Daryl MTS 10
3 SAGAN Peter BOH 12
4 MCCARTHY Jay BOH @ same time
5 HAAS Nathan TKA 15
6 *RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan TKA @ same time
7 VIVIANI Elia QST 16
8 *CONSONNI Simone UAD @ same time
9 BARBERO CUESTA Carlos MOV @ same time
10 ROUX Anthony FDJ @ same time
11 ULISSI Diego UAD @ same time
12 GESINK Robert TLJ @ same time
13 *OOMEN Sam SUN @ same time
14 BENNETT George TLJ @ same time
15 PREIDLER Georg FDJ @ same time
16 SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon AST @ same time
17 FARIA DA COSTA Rui UAD @ same time
18 *LATOUR Pierre Roger ALM @ same time
19 IZAGUIRRE Jon TBM @ same time
20 CHEREL Mikael ALM @ same time
21 *BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY @ same time
22 SLAGTER Tom-Jelte DDD @ same time
23 *HAMILTON Chris SUN @ same time
24 FERNANDEZ Ruben MOV @ same time
25 POZZOVIVO Domenico TBM @ same time
26 PORTE Richie BMC @ same time
27 IZAGUIRRE Gorka TBM @ same time
28 *GUERREIRO Ruben TFS @ same time
29 EARLE Nathan AUS @ same time
30 CANTY Brendan EFD @ same time
31 DEVENYNS Dries QST @ same time
32 *DAVIES Scott DDD @ same time
33 *SOLER Marc MOV @ same time
34 DENNIS Rohan BMC @ same time
35 *EG Niklas TFS @ same time
36 BAK Lars Ytting LTS @ same time
37 MORENO Daniel EFD @ same time
38 VALGREN Michael AST @ same time
39 *MAS Enric QST @ same time
40 ROE Timothy AUS @ same time
41 *O CONNOR Ben DDD @ same time
42 MORTON Lachlan DDD @ same time
43 DIDIER Laurent TFS @ same time
44 MEYER Cameron MTS @ same time
45 GASTAUER Ben ALM @ same time
46 *DOULL Owain SKY @ same time
47 CAPECCHI Eros QST @ same time
48 CLARKE William EFD 17
49 PUCCIO Salvatore SKY 27
50 DE VREESE Laurens AST 29
51 HANSEN Adam LTS @ same time
52 ZAKHAROV Artyom AST 32
53 TEUNISSEN Mike SUN @ same time
54 WYNANTS Maarten TLJ 43
55 BEPPU Fumiyuki TFS 48
56 MORI Manuele UAD @ same time
57 *BOHLI Tom BMC @ same time
58 VANDENBERGH Stijn ALM @ same time
59 GERRANS Simon BMC @ same time
60 OLIVEIRA Nelson MOV @ same time
61 *SCOTSON Miles BMC @ same time
62 OLIVIER Daan TLJ 56
63 SUTTERLIN Jasha MOV @ same time
64 DE KORT Koen TFS 01:06
65 BEVIN Patrick BMC 01:10
66 MACHADO Tiago TKA @ same time
67 LEEZER Tom TLJ 01:14
68 VON HOFF Steele AUS 01:19
69 CLARKE Simon EFD 01:20
70 *MATOS Nuno MOV @ same time
71 BATTAGLIN Enrico TLJ 01:29
72 ARNDT Nikias SUN 01:59
73 DEMPSTER Zakkari AUS 02:02
74 MARCATO Marco UAD 02:05
75 BONO Matteo UAD @ same time
76 HAYMAN Mathew MTS 02:16
77 SCULLY Thomas EFD 02:25
78 WYSS Danilo BMC 02:34
79 BAUER Jack MTS 02:53
80 MORKOV Michael QST 02:59
81 AGNOLI Valerio TBM 03:02
82 ARASHIRO Yukiya TBM @ same time
83 LAMMERTINK Maurits TKA 03:19
84 OSS Daniel BOH 03:23
85 *EDMONDSON Alexander MTS 03:37
86 GONÇALVES Jose TKA 03:42
87 HOWSON Damien MTS 03:55
88 MONTAGUTI Matteo ALM 04:02
89 *PETERS Nans ALM @ same time
90 KOCHETKOV Pavel TKA @ same time
91 DE GENDT Thomas LTS @ same time
92 GATTO Oscar AST @ same time
93 HAGA Chad SUN 04:10
94 VENTER Jaco DDD 05:31
95 *MINALI Riccardo AST 05:53
96 *PORTER Alexander AUS @ same time
97 KENNAUGH Peter BOH 06:07
98 DOCKER Mitchell EFD 06:17
99 *KORSAETH Truls AST @ same time
100 GREIPEL Andre LTS 07:27
101 *LAWLESS Christopher SKY 07:37
102 RENSHAW Mark DDD @ same time
103 SABATINI Fabio QST @ same time
104 *DENZ Nico ALM @ same time
105 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz SKY 08:01
106 *STORER Michael SUN 08:05
107 *SCHMIDT Mads Wurtz TKA 08:47
108 *DLAMINI Nicholas DDD 10:07
109 *CASTRILLO ZAPATER Jaime MOV 10:08
110 DUCHESNE Antoine FDJ 10:11
111 SELIG Rudiger BOH @ same time
112 *PEDERSEN Mads TFS @ same time
113 SIEBERG Marcel LTS @ same time
114 DEBUSSCHERE Jens LTS @ same time
115 LADAGNOUS Matthieu FDJ @ same time
116 *SENECHAL Florian QST 11:06
117 *OWEN Logan EFD 11:25
118 WAGNER Robert TLJ 12:24
119 BODNAR Maciej BOH 13:22
120 *BOWDEN Scott AUS 15:02
121 *BAUHAUS Phil SUN 15:05
122 MORABITO Steve FDJ @ same time
123 BOARO Manuele TBM @ same time
124 *FRAME Alex TFS 15:33
125 BENNETT Sam BOH 18:41
126 FERRARI Roberto UAD 19:42
127 NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas TBM 24:27:00
128 *WELSFORD Sam AUS @ same time
129 *DIBBEN Jonathan SKY @ same time
130 CIMOLAI Davide FDJ 24:51:00

POINTS
1 *EWAN Caleb MTS 29
2 SAGAN Peter BOH 25
3 HAAS Nathan TKA 22
4 VIVIANI Elia QST 22
5 CLARKE William EFD 20
6 GREIPEL Andre LTS 15
7 IMPEY Daryl MTS 14
8 MCCARTHY Jay BOH 13
9 *CONSONNI Simone UAD 11
10 *BAUHAUS Phil SUN 10

King of the Hills
1 *DLAMINI Nicholas DDD 20
2 CLARKE William EFD 12
3 *BOWDEN Scott AUS 6
4 *CASTRILLO ZAPATER Jaime MOV 4
5 HOWSON Damien MTS 2

Young Rider
1 EWAN Caleb MTS 07:54:00
2 RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan TKA 15
3 CONSONNI Simone UAD 16
4 OOMEN Sam SUN
5 LATOUR Pierre Roger ALM
6 BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY
7 HAMILTON Chris SUN
8 GUERREIRO Ruben TFS
9 DAVIES Scott DDD
10 SOLER Marc MOV