Stage 5 i sth eone with 2 ascends of Willunga HIll. But the finish isn't at the top, but after 18 descending and flat kilometres. That's why, the stage is classified as flat.


119km to go
To show you I've figured out how to give the new Red Bull team their new Cervélo bikes, here is a picture of Dominic Klemme, the first attacker of the day (only problem left is that the Androni's ride with different brands of bikes, one on Cube, the other on Colnago...)


110km to go
Klemme gets caught and we prepare for the Intermediate sprint. Just as the previous stages, only Matti Breschel seems to be interested in the 3 bonus seconds. He wins the sprint, and enlarges his margin in the GC to 6 seconds.


41km to go
A big group of 16 riders forms the BOTD. Best classified in the GC is Elia Viviani, being a little over 4 minutes behind in the GC. Their maximum margin is 6 minutes, when Omega Pharma - Quick Step decides to step up the pace in the peloton.
But the leading 16 arrive at the summit of Willunga Hill for the first time with a margin of 1'40. Russell Downing (Qantas) takes the 16 points, followed by Enrico Sanz (Movistar) and Gene Michael Bates (Lotto).


18km to go
5 riders of the BOTD attacked on the flat and started the 2nd ascend of Willunga Hill with a margin of 30 seconds. But thanks to hard work by Euskaltel's Eduard Prades, the 5 (Martin Kohler (BMC), Murilo Fischer (Sony Ericsson), Jesse Sergent (Radio Shack), Elia Viviani (Liquigas) and Nikolai Trussov (Katusha) get caught. The peloton is still 1'32 behind.


10km to go
At the summit of Willunga Hill, all other teams start looking at us. They want us to do the chase to catch the BOTD. Well, with Farrar and Rojas being the better sprinters, and thus having a chance of taking 10 bonus seconds, we can't use a mass sprint.
So, we decide not to do the chase, and as a result, no team does. The margin has grown to almost 3 minutes, so it's safe to increase the pace again.


Finish
A split has occurred in the leading group in the last 10km and 9 riders will fight for the stage win. But it's not the better sprinters among these 9, as Murilo Fischer, Russel Downing or Elia Viviani, that win the stage. It's the best climber among them! Euskaltel's Eduard Prades surprisingly wins the 5th stage in the Tour Down Under, taking his biggest career win so far! Martin Kohler finishes in 2nd and Viviani in 3rd.
The peloton finishes 1'57 behind Prades, and as expected Farrar wins the sprint in front of Rojas. Breschel finishes as the 5th of the peloton and stays in the GC-lead.


Results

1	Eduard Prades	Euskaltel - Euskadi	3h05'08
2	Martin Kohler	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
3	Elia Viviani	Liquigas - Cannondale	s.t.
4	Jesse Sergent	Radio Shack - Nissan	s.t.
5	Russell Downing	Qantas Airways	s.t.
6	Dominic Klemme	Red Bull - Cervélo	s.t.
7	Gene Michael Bates	Lotto - Belisol	s.t.
8	Alexander Porsev	Katusha Team	s.t.
9	Murilo Fischer	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
10	Andrew Talansky	Radio Shack - Nissan	+ 54
...
17	Tyler Farrar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	+ 1'57
18	José Joaquín Rojas	Garmin - Barracuda	s.t.
...
21	Matti Breschel	Monster Energy - Subway	s.t.

GC

1	Matti Breschel	Monster Energy - Subway	16h09'25
2	José Joaquín Rojas	Garmin - Barracuda	+ 6
3	Tyler Farrar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	s.t.
4	Leonardo Duque	Radio Shack - Nissan	+ 20
5	Cyril Gautier	Team Europcar	s.t.
6	Yohan Offredo	FDJ	s.t.
7	Martijn Maaskant	Monster Energy - Subway	s.t.
8	Maxime Monfort	Lotto - Belisol	s.t.
9	Martin Elmiger	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
10	Sébastien Rosseler	Monster Energy - Subway	+ 56

Points

1	Matti Breschel	Monster Energy - Subway	6	28
2	Daniele Colli	Liquigas - Cannondale	0	18
3	Elia Viviani	Liquigas - Cannondale	10	18
4	José Joaquín Rojas	Garmin - Barracuda	0	12
5	Tyler Farrar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	0	12

KOTM

1	Niki Terpstra	Monster Energy - Subway	0	48
2	Imanol Erviti	Euskaltel - Euskadi	0	16
3	Murilo Fischer	Sony Ericsson	16	16
4	Martin Kohler	BMC Racing Team	16	16
5	Russell Downing	Qantas Airways	16	16

Today's winner


Word from the DS
Perfect tactical racing from the team. But what are the other teams expecting? That we reel in the BOTD, and Farrar or Rojas outsprints us for the win and GC-lead??? No way...
So, only the Adelaide circuit left, including 16 bonus sconds to be awarded...

Well done...good decision to not chase the breakaway....good luck for the last one.
Your equipment looks really nice in the screens..

Great team! Very good situation for Breschel, but he has to watch Rojas in the last stage. Good luck!

Breschel has to hang on.

Here we go! Last stage of the Tour Down Under and the question is: Can Matti Breschel stay in the orange leader jersey, or does José Joaquin Rojas or Tyler Farrar win the stage and overtake him in the GC?


57km to go
The 6th stage with start and finish in Adelaide starts the same way as all the other stages. A few riders try to form a breakaway, but everything (thanks to our team) gets togeher before the first Intermediate sprint.
And just as in the previous stages, only Matti Breschel is interested in the 3 bonus seconds, and wins the sprint. Don't Farrar and Rojas know that they will losse the Tour Down Under because of the Intermediate sprint, or are they that confident for the mass sprint???


22km to go
2 riders go in the attack after the Intermediate sprint. Red Bull's Michael Schär and Katusha's Alexander Porsev. 22 kilometres before the finish, climbing the horrible steep and high Montafiore Hill for the penultimate time, they have a margin of 35 seconds over a threesome with Dominique Rollin (FDJ), Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) and Matthew Hayman (Qantas).
The peloton follows at 1'41 and of course our riders don't help in the chase. The domestiques of Garmin and Omega Pharma have to do the work.


7km to go
The two leading group merge, and shortly after Porsev and Rollin got dropped. 3 riders attack out of the peloton, namely George Hincapie (BMC), Nikolas Maes (Lotto) and Niki Terpstra. Yes, we do everything to disrupt the chase .
Hayman is desperate to make the home soil-tour for himself and his team a succes, and attacks again. Flecha follows at 8 seconds, the group with Hincapie, Maes, Schär and Terpstra at 20 seconds and the peloton at '44. Still, everything is possible.


1500m to go
The leading group can't make it untill the finish and gets caught with 1500 metres to go. In the outside of the corner, Mirco Lorenzetto (Androni) is the first one who starts his sprint. Matti Breschel is already 10 kilometres in the wheel of Tyler Farrar.


300metres to go
The punch from Lorenzetto is stronger than Tyler Farrar must have expected. With only 300 metres to go, the Italian is still in the lead, followed by Farrar and Breschel. Farrar has to win the stage, but then even a 3rd place is enough for the Dane.


Finish
Mirco Lorenzetto proves to be our secret helper by winning the stage. A great punch by him. Farrar finishes in 2nd and Breschel in 3rd. This means, Matti Breschel wins the 2013 Santos Tour Down Under!!


Results

1	Mirco Lorenzetto	Androni Giocattoli	2h00'27
2	Tyler Farrar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	s.t.
3	Matti Breschel	Monster Energy - Subway	s.t.
4	Mathieu Drujon	FDJ	s.t.
5	Denis Galimzyanov	Katusha Team	s.t.
6	Koldo Fernández	Euskaltel - Euskadi	s.t.
7	Leonardo Duque	Radio Shack - Nissan	s.t.
8	Aidis Kruopis	Qantas Airways	s.t.
9	Sébastien Turgot	Team Europcar	s.t.
10	William Bonnet	FDJ	s.t.

Today's winner


GC

1	Matti Breschel	Monster Energy - Subway	18h09'45
2	Tyler Farrar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	+ 7
3	José Joaquín Rojas	Garmin - Barracuda	+ 13
4	Leonardo Duque	Radio Shack - Nissan	+ 27
5	Cyril Gautier	Team Europcar	s.t.
6	Yohan Offredo	FDJ	s.t.
7	Martijn Maaskant	Monster Energy - Subway	s.t.
8	Maxime Monfort	Lotto - Belisol	s.t.
9	Martin Elmiger	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
10	Sébastien Rosseler	Monster Energy - Subway	+ 1'03

Points

1	Matti Breschel	Monster Energy - Subway	10	38
2	Tyler Farrar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	6	18
3	Daniele Colli	Liquigas - Cannondale	0	18
4	Elia Viviani	Liquigas - Cannondale	0	18
5	Michael Schär	Red Bull - Cervélo	6	14

KOTM

1	Niki Terpstra	Monster Energy - Subway	0	48
2	Michael Schär	Red Bull - Cervélo	32	32
3	Alexander Porsev	Katusha Team	24	24
4	Murilo Fischer	Sony Ericsson	0	16
5	Martin Kohler	BMC Racing Team	0	16

U25

1	Jonathon McEvoy	Qantas Airways	18h11'40
2	Elia Viviani	Liquigas - Cannondale	+ 14
3	Coen Vermeltfoort	Monster Energy - Subway	+ 52
4	Adrien Petit	Team Europcar	+ 58
5	Aurélien Duval	Team Europcar	+ 1'24

Teams

1	Monster Energy - Subway	54h30'36
2	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	+ 1'24
3	Qantas Airways	+ 2'27
4	Team Europcar	+ 2'36
5	Sony Ericsson	+ 3'16

Overall winner


Word from the DS
Did we dominate the Tour Down Under? No! Were we the smartest team? Absolutely!
Thanks to one stage win and collecting bonus seconds in Intemediate sprints, Matti Breschel wins the GC (and the points ranking). Niki Terpstra wins the KOTM-ranking, for the 3rd year in a row that a Monster Energy-rider wins it (2 previous year Bobridge). And not to forget Maaskant and Rosseler with a 7th and 10th place in the GC!

Smart played...well done.

Good result

Great result from Breschel.

Great result from Breschel, hope he will do so good in classic races too

Wonderfuly done!

Nice win for Monster!

That's quite a way to kick off the new season!

FUCKING YEAH! Muhahaha! Breschel is gonne roll you all in 2013! This is how it's gonna be in 2013! Breschel wins everything! Danish Dynamite!

Brilliant all round Tour Down Under for Breschel, Well Done

Breshel 8(banana) Nice TDU

@ all: Thanks a lot. Shortly coming up: Giro della Calabria.

Next stop in our third season is the province of Regio Calabria, in the south of Italy. The 3 day stage race features some interesting stages, all of them hilly. Last year, Enrico Gasparotto managed to be faster than 3 Monster Energy-riders.


Startlist



Our team


The favourites
*** Grega Bole (Lampre), Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago), Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil).
** Marc De Maar, Leonardo Bertagnolli (Lampre), Xavier Florencio (Nespresso).
* Tadej Valjavec (Astana), Santa Anza (Vacansoleil), Pietro Caucchiolo (Lampre).

Our goals
With a very strong Lampre-team present in Calabria, it will be difficult to get a place in the Top 3. So we'll aim for the top 5.

Stage 1
The first stage starts in Melito. After about 155 flat kilometres along the coast, the last 7 are ascending with maximum gradients of 9% and the finish awaits in Catanzano at an altitude of 461 metres after 162 kilometres.


A group of 12 riders takes a maximum margin to the peloton of 6'30. Most known names are Maarten Tjallingii (Pisanellastoria), Paolo Tiralongo (Astana), Matteo Pelucchi (Nespresso), Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini) and good-old Stefano Garzelli (Acqua et Sapone).
Lampre is doing the chase in the peloton, but possibly due to the extreme hard wind (69km/h!) they can't close the gap before the final climb starts. The leading group still has a margin of 2 minutes, but that margin fades rapidly. Nespresso's Matteo Pelucchi manages to slowly ride away from his companions and is heading towards the stage win.
3 riders can attack out of the peloton: Grega Bole (Lampre), Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago) and Marc De Maar. They start to overtake the members of the breakaway one by one, but Pelucchi stays out of reach. The 24-year-old Lombardian wins the first stage of the Giro della Calabria, with a margin of '20 to Eddy Ratti (Colnago, who was also part of the BOTD) and Bole. Pozzovivo (5th) and De Maar (7th) finish at '26.


Results

1	Matteo Pelucchi	Nespresso - Algarve	3h36'28
2	Eddy Ratti	Colnago - CSF Inox	+ 20
3	Grega Bole	Lampre - Generali	s.t.
4	Ramunas Navardauskas	ISD - Lampre Continental	+ 26
5	Domenico Pozzovivo	Colnago - CSF Inox	s.t.
6	Daniel Vestergaard	Onfone	s.t.
7	Marc De Maar	Monster Energy - Subway	s.t.
8	Robert Radosz	Bank BGZ	s.t.
9	Pietro Caucchioli	Lampre - Generali	s.t.
10	Uros Murn	Adria Mobil	s.t.

Today's winner

Good stage..

Lovely story 3 fucking seasons !!

Stage 2
The 2nd stage is the queen's stage. The 183km long route between Soveranto and Vibo Valento features a very hilly first part, with lost of short steep climbs, and, after a flat middle part, some climbing in the last 30 kilometres.


Today's race is made by 8 riders, that have attacked early in the stage. The 8, including Tadej Valjavec (Astana) and Enrico Rossi (Pisanellastoria) create a maximum margin of 5'15. When the last climb starts, with 28 kilometres to go (and 8 ascending ones), they still lead by 3'13.
After 1 ascending kilometre, Stijn Devolder (Vacansoleil) attacks and he's followed by Grega Bole (Lampre). They can close the ga to the leading group and are only '36 behind at the summit (Francesco De Bonis of Amore & Vita is the first at the summit, followed by Valjavec and Bank's Blazej Janiaczyk). 1'36 behind ride Marc De Maar and Cristiano Benenati (De Rosa). The peloton follows at 2'08.
Bole and Devolder close the gap to the 8 leaders, and so does the peloton to De Maar and Benenati. Than when the road starts to ascend in the last 2 kilometres, Devolder attacks. Bole easily counters, overtakes Devolder and wins the stage. He also becomes the new GC-leader. The peloton, led by Domenico Pozzovivo, manages to catch all former breakaways except De Bonis, an dfinishes at '59.


Results

1	Grega Bole	Lampre - Generali	5h06'48
2	Stijn Devolder	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
3	Francesco De Bonis	Amore & Vita	+ 37
4	Domenico Pozzovivo	Colnago - CSF Inox	+ 59
5	Blazej Janiaczyk	Bank BGZ	s.t.
6	Tadej Valjavec	Pro Team Astana	s.t.
7	Enrico Rossi	Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti	s.t.
8	Gregor Gazvoda	Adria Mobil	s.t.
9	Massimo Giunti	ISD - Lampre Continental	s.t.
10	Marc De Maar	Monster Energy - Subway	s.t.

Today's winner


Stage 3
The last stage from Pizzo to Reggio Calabria is hilly as well, but the last 45 kilometres are flat.


A 12-man breakaway manages to stay out of reach of the peloton (to be honest, team Lampre didn't want to do the chase). Polish Pawel Sztobryn (Bank BGZ) is the strongest in the sprint and takes his first ever professional win. Michael Reihs (Onfone) finishes in 2nd and Francesco Tizzo (Pisanellastoria) in 3rd. Theo Bos wins the sprint for the 13th place at 2'35, followed by Grega Bole, who wins the GC.


Results

1	Pawel Sztobryn	Bank BGZ	4h23'27
2	Michael Reihs	Onfone	s.t.
3	Francesco Tizza	Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti	s.t.
4	Andrey Zeits	Pro Team Astana	s.t.
5	Alexander Kvachuk	ISD - Lampre Continental	s.t.
6	Frantisek Padour	PSK Whirlpool - Author	s.t.
7	Fabio Taborre	Acqua & Sapone	s.t.
8	Uros Murn	Adria Mobil	s.t.
9	Philipp Mamos	Amore & Vita	s.t.
10	Luca Mazzanti	De Rosa - Ceramica Flaminia	s.t.
...
13	Theo Bos	Monster Energy - Subway	+ 2'35

Today's winner


GC

1	Grega Bole	Lampre - Generali	13h09'10
2	Stijn Devolder	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	+ 22
3	Matteo Pelucchi	Nespresso - Algarve	+ 39
4	Marc De Maar	Monster Energy - Subway	+ 1'23
5	Maarten Tjallingii	Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti	s.t.
6	Ramunas Navardauskas	ISD - Lampre Continental	+ 1'25
7	Pietro Caucchioli	Lampre - Generali	+ 1'33
8	Leonardo Bertagnolli	Lampre - Generali	s.t.
9	Domenico Pozzovivo	Colnago - CSF Inox	s.t.
10	Stefano Garzelli	Acqua & Sapone	s.t.

Points

1	Grega Bole	Lampre - Generali	2	43
2	Matteo Pelucchi	Nespresso - Algarve	0	33
3	Uros Murn	Adria Mobil	20	32
4	Domenico Pozzovivo	Colnago - CSF Inox	0	26
5	Marc De Maar	Monster Energy - Subway	0	25

KOTM

1	Francesco De Bonis	Amore & Vita	0	18
2	Tadej Valjavec	Pro Team Astana	0	18
3	Matteo Pelucchi	Nespresso - Algarve	0	16
4	Eddy Ratti	Colnago - CSF Inox	0	12
5	Grega Bole	Lampre - Generali	0	10

Overall winner


Word from the DS
We can look back at a good Giro della Calabria. After last year´s 2nd place, Marc De Maar manages to become 4th this year in a race with succesful breakaways.