I woke up this morning and right away jumped on Twitter to check out the final stage and classification of the Santos Tour Down Under. It was no surprise that Andre Greipel won the sprint, but what surprised me, was that was his 100th career win! It also didn't surprise me that Andy Schleck didn't finish well, but what did surprise me was that he DNF. He had a flat tire and then couldn't make it back to the pack! Wow!! For someone who has come in 2nd in the Tour de France multiple times, that is just strange to me: that he couldn't make it back up to the peleton. I know he has a massive injury last season, but it still doesn't sit right with me. Something is wrong. Of course, no one at RSLT will admit this...
Even though Schleck was no where to be found after the race (he ended up going back to the hotel), RSLT did walk away with the Best Team classification! I'm not sure if was just because he wasn't allowed to be on stage with his team since he abandoned, but I find it sad Andy didn't show support for his teammates. Along with Best Team, RSLT riders Ben Hermans and Tiago Machado, both ended up in the Top 10 GC at 5th and 9th respectively. I believe that these two riders, along with a few others, are going to be the future of this team. Maybe not this year, with Cancellara and Voigt still racing, but watch for Hermans and Machado in the next few months and years.
RSLT Earn Top Team Honors
Straight from the gun it was a battle of seconds. Ben Hermans started the race in third place but bonus seconds along the way were up for grabs and sprinter Geraint Thomas (Sky) made sure he took them when the opportunity arose. RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK didn’t walk away empty handed, however. The team racing Down Under earned the general classification Teams award with consistent racing and hard work from the riders every day.
Team director José Azevedo assessed the team’s performance: “We tried to protect the bonification points along the way as we knew we didn’t have a chance in the final sprint. Right from the beginning we sent a rider in the break but Sky was always at the front. And Thomas earned four seconds along the way and got onto the podium. So we come away with fifth and ninth on GC plus the team classification. The team did good work all week. They worked hard and were very motivated. I think this looks good for future races.”
The final sprint in Adelaide City was won by Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol), marking his 14-th win at the Tour Down Under and 100-th career victory. The overall went to 23-year old Tom-Jelte Slagter (Blanco) in his first stage race and WorldTour win.
Stage six was a 90km/56mi, 20-lap circuit in Adelaide. Only four seconds separated Hermans in third from Thomas in fifth. An early attack by RSLT’s Laurent Didier was part of the plan to deny Thomas the chance to sprint for the bonus seconds. Teammate Jens Voigt joined to break to add some fire power, but the seven riders never held enough time to make the break stick with Sky doing all the chasing and controlling from the main field.
Didier: “I went right at the first second. That was our plan. It was quite hard but we never got more than 15 seconds, and they caught us too soon. I did such a big effort in the beginning so it was hard to follow the rest of the race. But we did win the team classification and that is good to win, also.” Once the break was shut down, Sky put Thomas in a good position to sprint for the seconds, moving him onto the podium in Herman’s place.
Ben Hermans: “I wanted to be on the podium so whether I’m fourth or fifth doesn’t matter so much to me. I lost points along the way but I think I will get over this quickly. The team did what we could without having a sprinter here. It’s important to have climbers here for the GC but it’s a pity we didn’t have a sprinter to take the seconds along the way. At the end there was a gap and I tried to close it, but I still lost some more seconds,” he said, referring to his final fifth place finish on GC.
After a tough injury last year, the Santos Tour Down Under marked a return to racing for Andy Schleck. On Saturday night he was a guest at the Legend’s Dinner. Asked if he enjoyed himself, Andy said, “I was fun to do something different. I’ve been here for two weeks, so it was good to do something other than be in the hotel every night. It was a great night that I will remember. I hope to come back again next year. I have great memories of the Tour Down Under and I hope to be here again next time.”
Azevedo kept a close eye on Schleck’s performance all week: “Andy made progress this week too,” said Azevedo. “His condition improved and I think he’s doing fine. He had bad luck with a mechanical problem today and he couldn’t come back to the group, but he’s on the right track and his will be on track to meet his goals.”
Another strong performance came from George Bennett. All week the young New Zealander showed good form and strong work ethic, making a good start for his 2013 season. Bennett: “For sure this week I was active and showed signs of getting results, but it was another miss. This year I need to work on getting a result. I hope to turn my strengths to results this year.”
The next race on the schedule is the Tour of Qatar, February 3 to 8.
Andy Schleck skips TDU Presentation after Stage 6
Andy Schleck was missing from Radioshack Leopard Trek‘s Tour Down Under-winning team’s presentation after abandoning Stage 6 and riding back to his hotel.
Schleck had a problem with his chain early in the 90km stage through the city and was unable to rejoin the peloton.
After the race his teammates were trying to contact him after they clinched the winning teams’ classification.
They were due to be presented on stage shortly after, but Schleck was nowhere to be seen.
The team’s press officer confirmed Schleck was back at the team hotel.
The 2010 Tour de France champion was in 127th place going into today’s final stage.
Source: heraldsun.com.au
I know I am very biased to RSLT, because it is my favorite team, but here are the rest of the results for the Santos Tour Down Under. And a very special congratulations to Andre Greipel for his 100th career win and Tom-Jelte Slagter's overall win!
100th career victory for Greipel in Adelaide City
André Greipel has repaid his hardworking Lotto Belisol team once again by winning the final stage at the Santos Tour Down Under. Greipel captured his 100th professional victory along the streets of Adelaide City. As Greipel celebrated yet another win in Australia, the team of Blanco was rejoicing as Tom-Jelte Slagter safely crossed the line in the ochre jersey.
Tom-Jelte Slagter was perfectly escorted to the finish by his Blanco teammates and crossed the line as the winner of the opening round of the WorldTour in Australia. The young Dutchman captured his first professional victory earlier in the week by winning Stage 3 into Stirling and capped-off an amazing week for the third-year professional by winning the final ochre jersey.
"I've never won a race like this," said Slagter at the finish. "My first win was on Stirling and that I take the jersey now, it's really amazing. I can't believe it."
The overall victory by Slagter at the 15th edition of the Tour Down Under brought a refreshing change for the revitalised Dutch team that lost its long-serving sponsor Rabobank at the end of 2012. For Slagter, it's the start of a season which will no doubt be filled with expectation. The season however, does not start and end in January.
"It brings some pressure also for me. It's the first race of the year. I win it directly, it's still a long season and I want to keep this level but the start couldn't be better, for the team and for me.
The other big winners of the week was the team of Lotto Belisol and more specifically André Greipel - who took three wins at the WorldTour event in addition to winning the People's Choice Classic.
His win around the streets of Adelaide appeared to be a forgone conclusion entering the final few hundred metres but that was until Mark Renshaw (Blanco) hit out early. Renshaw seemed to have gotten the jump on Greipel before the 'Gorilla' unleashed his crushing blow. Renshaw would eventually finish second to the German who clinched his 100th career win while Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen rounded-out the podium with third-place.
"I don't know, I didn't count," said a surprised Greipel after being informed of his 100th professional victory. "I thought I already had 100.
"It was nearly the scenario as last year," said Greipel in response to the early acceleration of Renshaw. "He surprised me a bit but I had some power left to pass him again."
While Slagter's overall victory was never really in doubt entering today's stage, the final spot on the podium and remaining places in the top-10 were up for grabs.
Geraint Thomas, after losing the overall lead and dropping to fifth overall at the end of yesterday's stage, was on a mission. His Sky Procycling team were on the front from the first pedal strokes and ensured the team could launch him to the line at each of the two intermediate sprints.
Thomas' sprinting ability meant he picked up four-seconds and that was enough to push Ben Hermans (RadioShack Leopard) off the final podium step.
"We were disappointed yesterday but there was still one day of racing left and we still had the chance of getting third," explained Thomas after he also collected the blue Jayco Sprints jersey from the stage.
"The boys [were] just incredible again really, all I had to do was just, well, try and get passed Eddy [Boasson Hagen].
"It was a perfect day really," said Thomas.
How it happened
The final stage of the 2013 Santos Tour Down Under got underway around the streets of Adelaide City on a perfect summer day. There were no abandonments from yesterday's stage to Old Willunga Hill and all 128 riders took to the start for the final 90km circuit race.
The pace around the 4.5km course was so fast that small groups could never really establish themselves off the front. The biggest gap ballooned at around 20 seconds before the Sky-lead reeled them in for each of the intermediate sprints.
Sky's interest in pushing Thomas back up the standings was no secret. Bernhard Eisel and Ian Stannard (Sky) controlled the tempo and futile escapees while the remaining teammates waited until the final straight to launch Thomas into action. Mathew Hayman was the final man to hit out before Edvald Boasson Hagen took off with Thomas on his wheel.
Thomas took maximum points and three-seconds bonus at Jayco Sprint #1 much to the frustration of Euskaltel-Euskadi was evident. Thomas' first place across the line had just bumped him over the top of Ion Izagirre and into fifth place.
At the next sprint it was a similar situation with Hayman again one of the final men to line the bunch out. Thomas did enough to get a one-second bonus and move into third-overall on GC. That move also earned him the overall lead in the sprint classification - which he was not aware of until the finish.
Coming into the final lap Lotto Belisol was around the front but allowed Sky to do much of the early work. The British team had stepped on the gas too early and with a full contingent of Lotto riders now at the front with less than 2km remaining, the whole bunch was struggling merely to hold on.
Entering the final straight it was Greipel's teammate Greg Henderson who was about to up the speed and was caught out by a fast charging Renshaw. The Australian riding for the former Rabobank team looked like he had got the better of the German but Greipel was merely waiting to pounce.
Greipel hit-out and his win was immediately secure. Renshaw held on for another podium spot for the week with Boasson Hagen rounding out an impressive tour for Sky.
Full Results
| 1 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol | 1:52:59 | |
| 2 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | | |
| 3 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | | |
| 4 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | | |
| 5 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp | | |
| 6 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling | | |
| 7 | Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | | |
| 8 | Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | | |
| 9 | Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale | | |
| 10 | Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team |
Final general classification
| 1 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | 18:28:32 | |
| 2 | Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:17 | |
| 3 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:00:25 | |
| 4 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:00:32 | |
| 5 | Ben Hermans (Bel) RadioShack Leopard | 0:00:34 | |
| 6 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | | |
| 7 | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:00:36 | |
| 8 | Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida | | |
| 9 | Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard | 0:00:38 | |
| 10 | Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ | 0:00:41 | |
