The Tour Down Under is the first HC Stage race of the year. 19 teams are present, with Yamaha - Greenpeace making their cycling debut.

Jamie Ball is the first to attack, for Red Bull


Loosli, Ratto, Kupfernagel, Urtasun, Klier, Weissinger, and Sijmens join him, while more attacks come from Monterastelli, Ziegler, McEvoy, Malori, Engoulvent, and Te Brake


The result was that those last 2, Engoulvent and Te Brake, went clear of everyone in a 2 man break


Urtasun is at 50 seconds, with McEvoy, Malori, Monterastelli and Ziegler at a further 20 seconds, the rest having been caught.

But more attacks - Balck, Sijmens, Weissinger, Shapira, Ratto, Clarke, Ball and Capecchi. A little later, Kupfernagel and Loosli attack aswell.


Te Brake takes the first intermediate sprint from Engoulvent


Urtasun is 3rd ahead of a group of 22


30km later is the 2nd sprint, and theres been more developments, but no new attackers I dont think.

Weissinger takes the sprint

He is just ahead, and set to be caught, by a chase group of Clarke, Ziegler, Cpaecchi, Engoulvent, and Ball

Behind them is a further chase group of Sijmens, Ratto, Te Brake, Urtasun, Loosli and Balck


We then have another group, of Kupfernagel, Malori, McEvoy, Shapira and Monterastelli


While 3 and half minutes behidn Weissinger is the Vespa-Caffrey's controlled peloton


With 55km to go, Kopp launches an attack from the peloton


And he makes his way up to the chasing group, who have still been unable to catch the front 6


Vespa seem to have the chase under control, but at last they get some support, with Quicksilver and a single 100% Me rider


With 1km until the top of the only climb of the day, its only the front 6 of the break left, with a small gap. Brice Feillu attacks to try and catch them, and take the points


But although the break splits, Feillu - aswell as Bellis and Sulzberger who attack behind him - cant catch the front 3 of Ball, Capecchi and Weissinger. So South African Jamie Ball will take the jersey after Stage 1


Thats the end of the break though, and many find themselves dumped off the back of the peloton as the pace remains high


Outside 5km to go, theres a crash with about 4/5 riders down. The most notable are Dumoulin and Westling


And now we have the sprint, with just the 1 train, Ladagnous is leading Van Heerden, Cavendish, Vantomme, Davis, Casper and Steegmans


Van Heerden jumps immediately, so into the lead he goes


Bettini and Bellis are also doing their best, but the winner will come from the Van Heerden train


A lot of sprinters are nowhere to be seen and here's why, they are part of a secondary train, that has failed, and is a long way back.


Croket is there, then a little gap, behind the Milka Kazakh Nepomnyachsniy: Guillen, Hutarovich, Rowe, Cucinotta, Ciolek, Vaitkus, Feillu, Brown


Up front, into the final kilometre, Cavendish and Vantomme make their moves


Davis is looking for a way through, but Steegmans and Casper seem to have been too far back in the train today


Into the lead moves Cavendish


And Mark Cavendish wins the stage!


Vantomme 2nd, Van Heerden 3rd, Davis 4th, then Steegmans, and Casper, with a gap to Bellis, Bettini, Saramotins and Arashiro.

1	Mark Cavendish	100% Me	3h10'27
2	Maxime Vantomme	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
3	Juan Van Heerden	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
4	Allan Davis	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
5	Gert Steegmans	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
6	Jimmy Casper	Milka	s.t.
7	Jonathan Bellis	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
8	Paolo Bettini	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
9	Aleksei Saramotins	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
10	Yukiya Arashiro	Red Bull	s.t.
11	Marcello Pavarin	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
12	Kris Boeckmans	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
13	Ben Hermans	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
14	Jonathon Clarke	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
15	Christopher Sutton	Red Bull	s.t.
16	Bjorn Selander	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
17	Andy Flickinger	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
18	Jonas Ljungblad	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
19	Staf Scheirlinckx	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
20	John-Lee Augustyn	Red Bull	s.t.
21	Simon Gerrans	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
22	Markus Eichler	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
23	Ruslan Sambris	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
24	Hassen Ben Nasser	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
25	Dainius Kairelis	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
26	Dan Holloway	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
27	Tim Kennaugh	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
28	Adam Hansen	Red Bull	s.t.
29	Marc De Maar	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
30	Aleksandar Flügel	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
31	Jack Bobridge	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
32	Jaume Rovira	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
33	Piet Rooijakkers	Team LEGO	s.t.
34	Daryl Impey	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
35	Michiel Van Aelbroeck	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
36	Andrei Kunitski	Intesa	s.t.
37	Matthieu Ladagnous	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
38	Kevin De Weert	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
39	Davide Appollonio	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
40	Grega Bole	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
41	Leigh Howard	Milka	s.t.
42	Lars Croket	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
43	Johan Coenen	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
44	Yon Bru Pascal	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
45	Brice Feillu	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
46	Daniel Lloyd	100% Me	s.t.
47	Andreas Klier	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
48	David Lelay	Intesa	s.t.
49	Eros Capecchi	Intesa	s.t.
50	Luke Rowe	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
51	Haijun Ma	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
52	Rui Costa	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
53	Daniel Martin	100% Me	s.t.
54	Cristiano Salerno	Intesa	s.t.
55	Juan Pablo Forero	Milka	s.t.
56	Frederik Willems	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
57	Matteo Carrara	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
58	Rasmus Guldhammer	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
59	Tiziano Dall'Antonia	Milka	s.t.
60	Leonardo Bertagnolli	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
61	Martijn Maaskant	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
62	Wes Sulzberger	100% Me	s.t.
63	Dimitri Claeys	Team LEGO	s.t.
64	Romain Feillu	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
65	Andrea Moletta	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
66	Sébastien Duret	Pendleton's Twicer	s.t.
67	Nicolas Roche	100% Me	s.t.
68	Jasper Stuyven	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
69	Chris Froome	100% Me	s.t.
70	Matthew Lloyd	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
71	Alessandro Proni	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
72	Amos Wolff	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
73	Grégory Rast	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
74	Tom Diggle	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
75	Bruno Lima	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
76	Romain Zingle	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
77	Marco Guillén	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
78	Dario Cataldo	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
79	Nadi Hortig	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
80	Jussi Veikkanen	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
81	Yauheni Hutarovich	Intesa	s.t.
82	Andrea Pagoto	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
83	Claudio Cucinotta	Intesa	s.t.
84	Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
85	Gerald Ciolek	Team LEGO	s.t.
86	Graeme Brown	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
87	Tomas Vaitkus	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
88	Freddy Cruz	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
89	Jesse Sergent	100% Me	s.t.
90	Luke Roberts	Team LEGO	s.t.
91	David Garbelli	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
92	Igor Abakoumov	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
93	Vojtech Hacecký	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
94	Yevgeni Nepomnyachsniy	Milka	s.t.
95	Michael Matthews	Red Bull	s.t.
96	Rubens Bertogliati	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
97	Thomas Ziegler	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
98	Michael Vanderaerden	Milka	s.t.
99	Dimitri De Fauw	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
100	Jurgen Van Loocke	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
101	Andreas Stauff	Team LEGO	s.t.
102	Kin-San Wu	Red Bull	s.t.
103	Victor Gomes Colinas	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
104	Adam Semple	Red Bull	s.t.
105	Timothy Cassidy	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
106	Fabio Montenegro	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
107	Hayden Godfrey	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
108	Alfredo Balloni	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
109	David Kopp	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.
110	René Weissinger	Team LEGO	s.t.
111	Thibaut Pinot	Intesa	s.t.
112	Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn	THE CONTROLTEAM	s.t.
113	Alberigo Passalacqua	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
114	Richie Porte	Milka	s.t.
115	Steven Burke	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
116	David Belda	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
117	Sebastian Siedler	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
118	Tom Last	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
119	Ashley Hutchinson	Yamaha - Greenpeace	s.t.
120	Shlomi Haimy	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
121	Ole Haavardsholm	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
122	Ludvig Lundberg	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
123	Sam Bennett	100% Me	s.t.
124	Jamie Ball	Red Bull	s.t.
125	Kim Michely	THE CONTROLTEAM	s.t.
126	Mattia Pozzo	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
127	James McCallum	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
128	Nico Sijmens	Pendleton's Twicer	+ 2'06
129	Andreas Stillfors	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
130	Benedetto Monterastelli	Intesa	s.t.
131	Mikayil Krasnoperov	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
132	Nicolas Brolin	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
133	Idan Shapira	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
134	Sebastian Batchelor	THE CONTROLTEAM	+ 2'34
135	Samuel Dumoulin	Team Pokerstars.com	+ 2'57
136	Jimmy Engoulvent	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
137	Nick Ingels	Team Pokerstars.com	s.t.
138	Mattias Westling	Team IKEA - Bianchi	+ 3'32
139	Sean Finning	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
140	Daniel Eliad	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
141	Fons de Romijn	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
142	Sebastian Balck	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
143	Javier Benitez	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	+ 4'24
144	Jíri Hochmann	Team LEGO	s.t.
145	Adrien Niyonshuti	THE CONTROLTEAM	s.t.
146	Felix Odebrecht	Team LEGO	+ 5'46
147	Daniele Ratto	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	+ 6'05
148	Remco Te Brake	Team Telenor-SAS	s.t.
149	Pablo Urtasun	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	s.t.
150	David Loosli	EL AL - IDF	s.t.
151	Jonathan McEvoy	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
152	Lennie Kirk	YouTube - Twitter	s.t.
153	Danilo Kupfernagel	Team IKEA - Bianchi	s.t.
154	Azizulhasni Awang	Petronas - Olympus	s.t.
155	Adrian Malori	Milka	s.t.
156	Jasper Ockeloen	Highroad-TomTom	+ 7'04
157	Saydou Sow	THE CONTROLTEAM	s.t.

GC

1	Mark Cavendish	100% Me	3h10'07
2	Maxime Vantomme	Highroad-TomTom	+ 8
3	Juan Van Heerden	Pendleton's Twicer	+ 12
4	René Weissinger	Team LEGO	+ 14
5	Jonathon Clarke	Yamaha - Greenpeace	+ 16
6	Thomas Ziegler	Yamaha - Greenpeace	+ 18
7	Allan Davis	Quiksilver-Kraft	+ 20
8	Gert Steegmans	Vespa-Caffrey's	s.t.
9	Jimmy Casper	Milka	s.t.
10	Jonathan Bellis	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.

Points

1	Mark Cavendish	100% Me	25
2	Maxime Vantomme	Highroad-TomTom	20
3	Juan Van Heerden	Pendleton's Twicer	16
4	Allan Davis	Quiksilver-Kraft	14
5	Gert Steegmans	Vespa-Caffrey's	12
6	Jimmy Casper	Milka	10
7	Jonathan Bellis	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	9
8	Paolo Bettini	Vespa-Caffrey's	8
9	Aleksei Saramotins	Team Pokerstars.com	7
10	Yukiya Arashiro	Red Bull	6

KoM

1	Jamie Ball	Red Bull	5
2	Eros Capecchi	Intesa	3
3	Rene Weissinger	Team LEGO	1

Young Rider

1	Mark Cavendish	100% Me	3h10'27
2	Maxime Vantomme	Highroad-TomTom	+ 8
3	Juan Van Heerden	Pendleton's Twicer	+ 12
4	Jonathan Bellis	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	+ 20
5	Marcello Pavarin	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
6	Kris Boeckmans	Highroad-TomTom	s.t.
7	Ben Hermans	Wiggle - San Pellegrino	s.t.
8	Bjorn Selander	Quiksilver-Kraft	s.t.
9	John-Lee Augustyn	Red Bull	s.t.
10	Hassen Ben Nasser	Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X	s.t.