This thread is made for posting the racing action day by day, meaning that we have a chronological row of results in here.
Edited by Croatia14 on 31-12-2016 17:41
The criterium race to open the "Australian Month" January has been cut short from 4 to 3 stages this year. But that doesn't mean that it's going to be less exciting.
Outright favourite for this years edition is for sure Caleb Ewan. The small Australian star has had his first shiny moments in the world of cycling with a win at 17 years old, in here (which was back then called Jayco Bay Cycling Classics). But a lot more guys to challenge him, the biggest threats might be Howard (VTWO) or Renshaw (Dimension Data). Full startlist:
Spoiler
Orica-Scott
1 Caleb EWAN VIC
2 Michael HEPBURN QLD
3 Luke DURBRIDGE WA
4 Damian HOWSON SA
5 Mitch DOCKER VIC
IsoWhey Sports Swiss Wellness
11 Scott SUNDERLAND WA
12 Jesse KERRISON QLD
13 Anthony GIACOPPO WA
14 Neil VAN DER PLOEG VIC
15 Sam CROME VIC
16 Cameron BAYLY SA
JLT Condor
21 Brenton JONES VIC
22 Ed CLANCY GBR
23 Jon MOULD GBR
24 Ali SLATER GBR
25 Alex FRAME NSW
26 Ian BIBBY GBR
VTWO
31 Leigh HOWARD AUS
32 Steele VON HOFF VIC
33 Nathan ELLIOTT VIC
34 Patrick LANE VIC
35 Robbie HUCKER VIC
36 Nicholas WHITE VIC
Total Rush
41 Zakkari DEMPSTER VIC
42 Samuel SPOKES NSW
43 Jake MAGEE ACT
44 Alder MARTZ USA
45 Joseph LEWIS NSW
46 Joel STRACHAN VIC
Maker Flanders
51 Paul JONES VIC
52 Nicholas NORDEN VIC
53 Dylan BENSON VIC
54 Steven CUSWORTH VIC
55 Matt ROBERTSON NSW
56 Paul REDENBACH VIC
Team 7 Eleven RBP Continental
61 Jesse EWART NSW
62 Josh BERRY NSW
63 Tristan WARD NSW
64 Joel WALSH NSW
65 Alexander EVANS VIC
66 Julian THOMSON VIC
GTR
71 Koen DE KORT NED
72 Michael FREIBERG WA
73 Benjamin HILL ACT
74 James CUMMINGS VIC
75 Calvin WATSON VIC
76 Alistair DONOHOE VIC
​
Condor
81 Robert MCCARTHY SA
82 James GULLEN GBR
83 Edmund BRADBURY GBR
84 Mathew GIBSON GBR
Dimension Data
91 Mark RENSHAW AUS
92 Nathan HAAS AUS
93 Valens NDAYISENGA RUA
94 Ben OCONNOR AUS
Stage one takes part on the 600m ciurcuit of Ritchie Boulevard in Geelong. As already mentioned, Caleb Ewan is the strongest guy on paper with the strongest team, so he is the guy to beat for this and the next two days.
Orica - Scott tried to control the first couple of rounds to not let a too big of a gap on too many riders open. The outcome was, that 2 riders went´clear from the pack together: Steven Cusworth and Alistair Donohoe.
Their rider was over pretty quickly though, as VTWO and Orica-Scott worked very well together in controlling the pace. Dimension Data kept their legs calm playing the waiting game, until their second option Nathan Haas made an interesting move with 8 to go.
Interestingly he had Calvin Watson and Neil van der Ploeg with him, which really was a sight of danger. Orica lined up their full squad in the chase. With Ewan on the last position this task looked like a monster leadout more than a chase. They caught the trio with 3 to go, but lost Docker, Howson and Hephurn on their way. They also managed to reduce the bunch quite drastically though!
Durbridge
Ewan
Kerrison
Giacoppo
van der Ploeg
Baily
Jones
Frame
Bibby
Howard
von Hoff
Lane
Dempster
Spokes
de Kort
Watson
Renshaw
Haas
These were the remaining names in the pack, so that numbers were in the hand of IsoWhey. However, missing Sunderland they seemed to be not interested in a sprint and sent Baily up the road. Haas tried to follow but wasn't able, and also de Kort seemed to think about it.
This move got denied as well with 1.4 to go, as first Bibby and then again Durbridge chased them down. Preparing for a sprint now IsoWhey lined their likes up in a row for Giacoppo, going van der Ploeg - Kerrison - Giacoppo. Behind these in a row Renshaw - Ewan - Jones - Howard - Spokes, then wider spread the leftover Durbridge, Frame, de Kort.
Von Hoff, Lane, Watson, Dempster, Bibby, Bayly and Haas got dropped in the process, as the finale was very fast.
So 11 guys together inside 600 meters to go, where van der Ploeg was finished to hand it over to Kerrison. IsoWhey with a smoove move there as Giacoppo left out a turn to let a gap open, that suddenly Renshaws turn was to close. He either wasn't able to or interested in doing that, so he missed a turn. The victory for Kerrison?
Not surely, cause Turbo Durbo found a second engine and came across, taking over the chase. But 20 meter in 450 meters road? Well, now he had Ewan on his wheel, with Renshaw and Giacoppo having to fight their way back into the large "train".
The engine room of Orica managed to to the stunning job and reach Kerrison again, spot on for the final sprint at 200 to go where Brenton Jones launched it from the backwheel of Ewan. Renshaw in his wheel as he broke into the train using his strength and elbows, then Howard, Spokes, Frame, Giacoppo. De Kort weaving across the road on the other side to find some speed.
Jones pulled strong, but wasn't able to hold off the counteracceleration of the lightening fast Orica star. Caleb, not even contested in his wheel, took a very fast one of his legs and won it with ease! Behind him Howard, who came strong from Renshaws wheel, and then Spokes, who used his slipstream well. 4&5 the fading Jones and Renshaw, who just went out of gas towards the finishing line. Minor places for Frame, Giacoppo, de Kort, Durbridge, Kerrison.
1. Ewan 12
2. Howard 10
3. Spokes 8
4. Jones 7
5. Renshaw 6
6. Frame 5
7. Giacoppo 4
8. de Kort 3
9. Durbridge 2
10. Kerrison 1
Well, his team clearly makes their move to attempt so! A break, lead by Bibby, O'Connor, Robertson and Freiberg, never managed to come away too far. Orica with just dominant riding, despite nobody willing to help after that showing of yesterday. Still, Durbridge not even needed to use before the final kilometers.
This time, nobody tried to attack late, besides a half-hearted attempt by Howes. That all meant a steady pace and thus several riders left on the final kilometer. VTWO & IsoWhey tried to set up trains for Howard/Giacoppo, but at the end it was nobody challenging the four men left from Orica.
Without Howson it was Dockers turn first, before Hephurn took over. Durbridge, on the final 500 meters, then lead it out for Ewan and made everyone's legs burn. The young man started his sprint again from 200 out, this time with Renshaw and Howard in the first wheels. However, it was again Brenton Jones who managed to go a high pace, with Steele von Hoff as second VTWO rider in his wheel.
He went past Howard and even Renshaw, but still lacked one and a half bikelengths to yesterdays winner, who was also the dominant person today: Caleb Ewan! Brenton to finish second, right in front of the VTWO duo Howard and von Hoff. Giacoppo came in 5th managing to overtake a rather Disappointed Renshaw, who clearly lacked some teammates in the final.
Stage
1. Ewan 12
2. Jones 10
3. Howard 8
4. von Hoff 7
5. Giacoppo 6
6. Renshaw 5
7. de Kort 4
8. Dempster 3
9. McCarthy 2
10. Lane 1
GC
1. Ewan 24
2. Howard 18
3. Jones 17
4. Renshaw 11
5. Giacoppo 10
6. Spokes 8
7. von Hoff 7
8. de Kort 7
9. Frame 5
10. Dempster 3
11. Durbridge 2
12. McCarthy 2
13. Kerrison 1
14. Lane 1
Orica and Ewan have been dominant so far. Can they continue their run on the third and final day in Williamstown to make it a clean sweep?
Well, one team showed right from the start that they really want a win here: IsoWhey. They have clearly been the most active team around, and now they broke free with 2 riders. Crome buried himself to create a gap for Cameron Bayly and several other guys. Ian Bibby, Hucker, Redenbach (again), Donohoe and Ndayisenga.
Although Crome dropped off pretty early, his effort was not spare of a result. The group worked well together and set up some big time pace, but so did Orica in the pack. However, it took them the loss of Docker and Howson to take back most of the break. Still Bibby, Donohoe and Bayly up the road at the 15k to go mark, where VTWO initiated a move. And that was very dangerous, as it did set up Leigh Howard in a chase with his teammate Lane, Dempster, Gibson and also van der Ploeg for IsoWhey.
The quartet did a pretty strong move to reach the group ahead with 6 to go, 15 seconds ahead of the pack. Soon it was Lane, Bibby and Donohoe going backwards, while the peloton lost Hephurn. It was 2 against 5 now, with Haas and Durbridge chasing on the final 3 kilometers on Bayly, Dempster, Gibson, van der Ploeg, Howard 8 seconds ahead.
On the next couple of meters also Bayly and Dempster were done, leaving Howard to take the majority of turns. However, just as the couple really was about to make the junction for the very reduced pack, there was another move with 1,5. Surely an interesting one, as former Kittel lead-out Koen de Kort put in a huge dig to ride everyone off his wheel. Besides Renshaw. He streamed past Howard, who was dead and gone by that. Van der Ploeg and Gibson to hang on a little longer, but you surely saw them struggling with 500 left and 25 meters between those and Frame, leading in Jones, Ewan, von Hoff, Sunderland and Kerrison.
Renshaw didn't take a single turn since the attack but has a grin on his teeth that suggest some pain, but is it real or a good pokerface? No matter what, de Kort just went full gas from the front, still leading with 300 to go. Further back Brenton had to ride a very long one out from there, to have a shot at the win still. But now he's the perfect leadout for Ewan, who streams past him with ease and coming in touch with Renshaw.
That said, Renshaw completely lost it! Totally cooked he swung off, leaving a gap for de Kort. Gibson and van der Ploeg trying to close it in a sprint, but they could never come back. Ewan also needs a big time sprint to close the Dutchman down, but it looks like de Kort has it!
He never turned back since the attack, not even on the final 50 meters. And that might have been the decicive thing for the impressive win that broke the dominance of Orica. De Kort takes it, 2 seconds ahead of a rather strong Mathew Gibson and Neil van der Ploeg. Caleb Ewan just missed out on both by a couple of centimeters, a line 20 meters back would have brought him at least second.
Behind him von Hoff, Sunderland and Jones in front of an exhausted Renshaw. Jesse Kerrison, dropped on the final kilometer, to come next, before extended leadout Frame closed the Top 10 out on this final stage in Williamstown.
Stage
1. de Kort 12
2. Gibson 10
3. van der Ploeg 8
4. Ewan 7
5. von Hoff 6
6. Sunderland 5
7. Jones 4
8. Renshaw 3
9. Kerrison 2
10. Frame 1
On the last stage Ewan could've only been beaten by a complete sprinting failure agianst Jones or Howard, but both of that didn't happened. Trying an attack or a long sprint was brave but not enough to take on the fastest Australian.
Instead, Jones managed to secure a great second while de Kort climbed up on the podium out of nowhere. Howard losing out on that closely, while Renshaw came 5th with some very consistent riding:
GC
1. Ewan 31
3. Jones 21
3. de Kort 19
4. Howard 18
5. Renshaw 14
6. von Hoff 13
7. Giacoppo 10
8. Gibson 10
9. Spokes 8
10. van der Ploeg 8
11. Frame 6
12. Sunderland 5
13. Dempster 3
14. Durbridge 2
15. McCarthy 2
16. Kerrison 3
17. Lane 1
Thanks to all for joining the first ever Rewriting the Future coverage, I'm hoping for many more to come!
Let's quickly talk about the U23 TT first: The first really good time was set by Alastair Donohoe, who has already gone strong in the Bay Crit. And in fact only two guys ever came close to him: Michael Storer, coming 2 riders behind him, missed out by 16 seconds. But then Callum Scotson, the last rider starting here and outright favourite, was yet to arrive. Though after being in the lead at all time checks he faded towards the end. Still he managed to deliver a win by 18 seconds over Donohoe and Storer to take the gold medal.
The Elite ITT contrarily has seen a less clear competition. Very early starter Cameron Wurf managed to take over the lead early and had a good time in the lead for almost half of the race. Then it was first Canty pretty close and then very surprisingly the old maestro Peter Milostic nailing it. Both Lachlan Norris and Ben O'Connor (current 3rd) couldn't beat him, but then it was all about Michael Hephurn. And there was no stopping him, being over 30 seconds faster. Squillari not able to get into the mix, but youngster Miles Scotson. After having a Scotson already winning the U23 now the other one looks very good to win the elite competition, beating Hephurn by 7 seconds.
4 riders left, and first of those was Durbridge. Did we talk about Scotson winning? He clearly won't, as Durbridge completely hammered every time set so far by 1:04. Following Dyball with a low Top 10 performance, and then Oceanian Champion Sean Lake. But today it wasn't full his, as he falls behind Scotson onto P3. Onlikely enough for a podium spot, given the fact that the last man on the road was Rohan Dennis.
But today wasn't meant to be his day, as he already missed out on the checkpoints clearly. At the end of the day he couldn't even beat Lake's time, which means that he finished only 4th behind a podium of Lake, Scotson and new Australian ITT champion Luke Durbridge!
This years australian national championship road race took again part at the Mount Buninyong. Therefore hills specialists were the guys to watch. This year though not the battle between Orica and BMC, the later only have Scotson starting. Instead Dimension Data (Morton, Haas) and IsoWhey were the team to fear beneath Cannondale-Drapac.
It was obvious that the whole race was about making the race hard fr Orica, and their designated leaders duo Gerrans/Ewan. On that way the burnt their youngsters Haig and Power in the manner of closing down a break containing Cameron Meyer. The next bigger move was set up by Lachlan Morton, who went on the attack with a real full gas one. Canty and Hucker didn't manage to follow him, but a long stretching effort by Docker and Howson brought all those back.
The peloton, reduced to 15, went bursting on the penultimate round when McCarthy sent up and attack. Baily tried to follow, but was caught up between the leader and the Orica duo Durbridge/Gerrans, that went flying behind. No real unity in the chase behind, as nobody wanted to deliver Ewan to the line, which meant that they neutralized themselves with attacking, while at the front the 4 guys merged to a group and extended their lead.
Reaching the last round it was pretty much clear that those were winning, and Durbridge was left to the pacemaking with the 3 other guys sitting back. But on a flatter part Gerrans left a gap open, so that Durbridge had some distance between him an the group. But then Mt. Buninyong, at this point as cruel as an alpine pass, let Orica pay his tribute. Durbridge was caught and left behind by a very well together working duo Bayly/McCarthy. And not enough with that, Gerrans couldn't follow those two as well due to the steady tempo of Baily. He even dropped McCarthy right over the top, but the Bora signing came back on the descent for a sprint 1v1.
A moment long the even bigger surprise was in the air, as Bayly sprinted from the front. But on a normal day it was all about McCarthy here. And so was today, thought everyone. The CT climber stood a hard fight though, and at the end it was pretty close. But on the final Jay McCarthy had an advantage of half a bike-length on Cameron Bayly. Third went to TT champ Durbridge, while the final top5s were taken by Ewan and Hansen.
Our 145km Hostworks Stage 1 begins in Unley, a regular host town of the Tour Down Under and ends in Lyndoch, one fo the oldest towns in South Australia, famous for its wines. It has a downhill finish and should suit the powerful sprinters, so the focus will be squarely on the top two in the People's Choice Classic - Caleb Ewan and Sam Bennett. Other favourites include Bennett's teammate, World Champion Peter Sagan, and Sky's Danny van Poppel.
The Race
The race kicked off and the break was formed with a lot of fuss - there are jerseys up for grabs! Following on from his attempt in the People's Choice Classic, Will Clarke (CDT) instigated the move that stuck, joined by fan favourite Hansen (LTS), Callum Scotson (UNA) and South African champion Janse van Rensburg (DDD).
The first and only Subaru King of the Mountains sprint (category two) was after just 28km, and was won by a canny late move by the experienced Hansen, which would put him in the jersey for stage 2. The iiNet sprint points were won by Clarke and Hansen, but the man who got the most points out of them was the former. They were caught in due time with 16km left, with Clarke kicking out to survive another kilometre and earn himself the Most Competitive rider award for the stage.
Orica-Scott and Bora-Hansgrohe had been doing the majority of the work but on the false flats around Williamstown with 12km left it was Sky who attempted a takeover. The deceptive incline and the scorching heat hurt some riders but not many were dropped - Renshaw and Arndt were the biggest names out of position from the sprint field, whilst Robert Gesink was seen being shepherded by his Lotto NL teammates near the back of the pack. All the GC riders would stay together by the end of the day, though.
However, the Stormtroopers again had to give in to the trains of Orica and Bora (though Stannard placed van Poppel in Ewan's wheel) who took up position on either side of the road and began the drag race to the flamme rouge. They were neck and neck until the corner as they entered Lyndoch, when young Robert Power made an error which let the Bora train shoot ahead. Roger Kluge managed to swerve out with Ewan in his wheel and drop him off behind Bennett, but the advantage was certainly with Bora. Behind Ewan was still Danny van Poppel, with Enger, Theuns, Bonifazio and Bevin behind him, then a more spread out bunch. This stayed, more or less, until Peter Sagan hit the front with 500m - more than he'd have liked - to go.
Sam Bennett was at full gas just trying to keep up, and it was apparent - to the viewers, not those behind - that he'd not be able to sprint. In fact, with 420m to go he left a gap to Sagan, and Ewan realised he'd have to go long to catch the World Champion. Most of the riders on his wheel followed him and launched at various times, whilst Bennett tried to get in behind. Chief among them were Bonifazio and van Poppel, whilst Enger, who was fifth wheel, didn't quite have the power on a downhill/flat finish. Ewan had shut the gap to a bike length with 200m to go but started to fade, whilst the Slovak up front still wasn't! van Poppel was next to have a crack as other riders spread across the road to fight for the podium.
The young Dutchman came closer and closer btu was still behind with 100m to go, though he'd come up beside Sagan. They came closer and closer, van Poppel was running out of road but Sagan ran out of puff and in the last 15m Danny van Poppel overhauled the World Champion and crossed the line victorious. They had half a bike's gap to 3rd, which was taken by Bonifazio, followed by Theuns, Planckaert, a resurging Renshaw and Bennett, Ewan, Bevin and Enger to round out the top 10. That was also the eventual GC order, except Will Clarke slotted into 6th, bumping the Norwegain of AG2R into 11th.
Sagan would wear the red iiNet Sprint Jersey tomorrow (he was still behind van Poppel), with Adam Hansen in the blue polka dot Subaru KoM jersey, Niccolo Bonifazio in the white jersey (whilst Danny van Poppel lead the rankings) and stage winner Danny van Poppel in, of course, the Ochre jersey.
Today the breakaway had a long day out in the saddle. Ben O'connor was in there, going with Lucas Hamilton, Mads Pedersen and Vegard Laengen. The trio however was never going to win, as BMC and Orica really hammered the peloton. At least the Uni-SA rider came out with the mountains jersey of the day.
Racing really began when all went together into the final two rising sections of the day. We had some immediate attacks, in first line it was Orica sending their young domestique Robert Power up the road. With him Jan Bakelants and also Michael Woods. But the group didn't work too well together, as Power pretty early sat back behind those two.
However, they managed to pull out 10 seconds to the peloton, where it was up to BMC to work in the chase. Only Dennis and Caruso left though for that, and Damiano was cooked pretty close when we hit the 1.5 to go mark. This was the initial point to let the stage go loose, cause Dennis launched a huge attack by Porte. All eyes on Gerrans, but the maestro wasn't able to follow Porte. He wasn't even close to do so! But nobody else was, so Porte made it on his own.
Still a couple of seconds to pass to the front, but he made the junction with ease within the next 700 meters and immediately pushed forward. Woods in huge trouble by that, and also Bakelandts couldn't hold the wheel. However, Power seemed to have saved a bit and stayed on the backwheel while gritting his teeth until the 300 meter mark.
The peloton, or how you want to call something that is lead by Peter Sagan chasing hard, was already 15 seconds away. There is no doubt on who is the strongest today! An elite group in behind chasing though at this point: Sagan, McCarthy, Dennis, Kelderman, Gesink, Slagter, Visconti, Sanchez, Machado, Enger. The names of Gerrans, Henao and Ulissi missing the most here!
At the front Porte pulled harder, but couldn't really shake the young fella of his wheel. Pwer often looked like he was suffering, but came back even better and with 100 to go they were on par with each other. Surely he can't contest king Porte in this stage though!?
No he can't. On the final 50 meters he wasn't up to another acceleration by Porte, who took a huge step towards a TDU victory. Power in 2nd with 2 seconds of a gap, is he the Orica leader now? In third place the group sprinted, cause Bakelants and Woods have been sucked up. McCarthy lead the group in ahead of a very strong Sondre Enger, who came unlucky 4th. Another second behind Sanchez in 5th, ahead of Slagter and Visconti; then Sagan. Another 2 seconds to Kelderman, Gesink, Dennis, Bakelants and a strong coming back Bystrom with his captain Machado.
Woods a little bit further down, and then a bigger gap of 28 seconds to the "main group" of about 30 riders, including the likes of Gerrans,- Henao, Pantano, Vakoc, Brambilla, G.Izagirre and many more contenders. Ulissi on a horrible day finished far down, same for some minor contenders like Geschke.
Late attackers may make this a hard day for the favourized sprinters. Is it Bora vs. Ewan again with another laughing third?
Well, at least it was Orica and Bora controlling again, but also some Sky guys for Stage 1 winner van Poppel up there. They were after a small breakaway, containing Arashiro, Hansen and Soler.
The breakaway competed for the climbing points, but at the end they split them up in a manner that they couldn't grab the polka dot jersey. Instead, they were even sucked up before the circuit leading into Victor Harbor again. This whole work might have not been really perfect though, as it allowed some further attacks trying to use the bumps in the profile. Names to mention here were again Sanchez, Izagirre and Anthony Roux, but they all only caused an increased pace. On the penultimate climb, Gerrans just took a hard turn, many riders fell away! Most notably van Poppel, but also Bennett, Bonifazio, Swift, Renshaw.
The teammate of the later however, Lachlan Morton, decided to go for it then on the last lap. But a huge effort of Ewan's final man Impey as well as GC man Bakelants brought everything back together. Even a late push by Valgren got egalized by the Giant sprint-train, which looked the strongest here: Geschke lead Kelderman out on the final straight, where Arndt waited on his backwheel. Lined up after him all the hungry sprinters men, most notably Sagan and Ewan as direct companions. So a duel showdown in Victor Harbor with an X-factor? Yes please!
Arndt tried to wait for as long as possible, but he was too late. Sagan came a little bit earlier out of his slipstream, so that the German payed for his rather slow leadout. But he missed the small Tasmanian in his thoughts. Manxing with the wind Caleb Ewan streamed past the World Champion and already was about to check around and celebrate. But then Sondre Enger came through from his wheel, overspeeded the local hero and raised his arms over the finishing line. What a shocker!
Caleb only in second again, Sagan in third. Further down the likes of Battaglin and Goncalves to close out the Top5, that looked quite surprising on a stage like this:
No changes to the top-positions in the GC. Sagan stays in green, Hamilton in polka-dot, Power in white. The TC continues to lie on the shoulders of Katusha.
Another day, another try for Ewan and Sagan. The stage is pretty bumpy, so most likely the last chance for Sagan. But is the race controllable with just BMC, Orica and Bora working? It should be on paper...
First up the road was polka-dot Lucas Hamilton again, one really active guy this tour and having a jersey on their shoulders is great for Uni-SA. With him Feng, Venter, Bak, de Vreese and Laengen.
They all could grab a couple of points her and there, but at the aftermaths they got caught a long way oput. A special shoutout to Bora's Austrians Mühlberger and Pöstlberger, who did a fantastic job. However, just after hitting Charlestown Jasha Sütterlin tried something for the so far very quiet team Movistar. On the climb after Lobbethal some guys joined him, firstly Koen de Kort, but then also Simon Geschke, Dries Deveneyns and dangerously Sven-Erik Bystrom, who was not too far behind in the overall standings at this point.
His presence catalysed some ringing alarm bells in the pack, especpially after extending the advantage to half minute after Cuddle Creek. Due to the high pace afterwards they lost Deveneyns though, and also Geschke really strluggeled on the front afterwards. Still 25 seconds coming closer to Campbelltown. Sky, BMC, Bora and AG2R already men down it were DiData and Orica to finalize the chase. LBut when Durbridge swpung off it was a significant lack of pace in behind. And due to that the trio left upfront was back to almost 40 seconds.
They started to believe now, and the Norwegpian even started to become a major danger for the GC lead. Hence Dennis and Morton were the men to finally chase hard, but they weren't able. As even Robert Power couldn't limit the damage on the final kilometer, it was clear that it's a breakaway wipn. Sven-Erik Bystrom gave it all for the time gap, so that Sütterlin and de Kort could line up behind him. Back in the peloton Valgren led the peloton in for the so-dar quiet Gatto, a strong sign of the surprisingly tough race today.
Mving to the front Bystrom took the group full gas on the final 150 meters, where Sütterlin set-up his sprint. De Kort came out of his slipstream on the final 50 meters, but was it enough to take the win?
Yes! An outstanding win for Trek-Segafredo, as Koen de Kort took a huge vistory on stage 4 ahead of Sütterlin and Bystrom at the same time. 36 seconds later Ewan lead the sprint home from the backwheel of Sagan, who was only second of the bunch once again. Enger in 6th, then Swift, Gatto, Planckaert and Haas.
Of the big favourites onky Dennis lost time, but he was a domestique for Porte only though. But we have a new leader, and that is Sven-Erik Bystrom of Katusha! Other classifiöcations didn't change today, just increasing leads on every jersey and the big climb by the Norwegian.
Spoiler
1. de Kort
2. Sütterlin
3. Bystrom
4. Ewan (+'36)
5. Sagan
6. Enger
7. Swift
8. Gatto
9. Planckaert
10. Haas
BikeExchange Stage 5 - McLaren Vale - Willunga Hill
The Stage
Bystrom suddenly the hunted man in the peloton. Is Porte still the favourite? Or can Orica strike back? Where will Sagan end up? Questions after questions...
The Tour Down Under has seen a lot of unsuccessful breaks so far, so no surprise that not too many riders tried their luck in the break. The combination was pretty much uncontested, so that a 5 man group went clear: Gibbons, Venter, C.Scotson, Eiking, de la Parte.
Katusha and BMC, with the help of Orica, decently in control though. Within reach of the first Willunga Hill crossing we reached the under a minute mark, when from the peloton O'Connor and Morton set their way up out. And as they went clear with about 15 seconds, Didier, Vakoc and Storer set up a new group together. With them again two Dimension Data riders: Haas and van Rensburg. As two guys drop from the first group we suddenly have six DD riders up the road, with a now hard chasing peloton.
But Venter, Janse and Gibbons do a great job to burn themselves out on the road. They all paid the price of losing contact, but like this they kept the group close to a minute ahead, when we came nearer to the second Willunga climb. As O'Connor took over the pacemaking, it was only Callum assisting him into Willung, which they reached 45 seconds ahead of the pack. Now Lachlan Morton took over for Nathan Haas, with Vakoc, Didier, Storer, Eiking and de la Parte in his wheel.
In the peloton now Katusha was pretty happy with how the first climb went. But sooner than hoped for only the portuguese duo Goncalves and Machado was there for Bystrom. BMC then, on a different tactic, tried to use that and sent Dennis up the road with Kelderman with him.
Looking back at the front we had Peter Vakoc really looking fresh, even when Morton hammered the pace into the hill. Only Storer and Vakoc able to follow the last man of the "Willunga train" of DD.
Meanwhile in the pack Goncalves also puts in a big dig in to pull the duo back in contension. Still 35 secondss for DiData, when they reached the duo back. However, Goncalves really thinned stuff out, and the likes of Ulissi, Gerrans and Sanchez were already mnissing.
With 2.5 kilometers to go also Storer was done, but also Haas didn't look too comfortable. Was the pace of his super-domestique too high for him? But then it looked like a complete cracker. Nathan blew up big time, not even able to hold his bottle anymore. This fell out of his hand and just inside the spokes of Petr Vakoc, who struggeled to stay on his bike and then lost that battle. He was able to stand up quickly though and ride past Haas, not spare of some angry words there. But now he was already well in sight for the peloton, and Morton was gone up the road.
Focussing back on the peloton: Or what was left of it! As soon as Goncalves showed some weekness it was Porte in attack mode. One portuguese swung off, but Machado was there to up the pace. And he did that in a huge manner. Several riders fell off (Sagan, Dennis, Enger,...), so that there weren't too many left in there: Machado, Bystrom, Power, Kelderman, McCarthy, Slagter, Visconti, Cink, Bakelants, Soler, Brambilla, Gesink, Pantano, Meintjes. Though the later couple was shortly goon too.
The Portuguese powered it really up the road, so that near to the flamme rouge we had Morton only 18 seconds ahead of Porte, 26 ahead of the group. Every other rider, including Vakoc, was eaten up be these groups. Out of the leader's group 1 by 1 the riders fell away: Brambilla, Bakelants, then Visconti with his rather strong helper Cink, Kelderman. So Machado still strong enough to deliver Bystrom to 900 meter to go, 6 seconds behind Porte and 19 behind Morton.
As Bystrom took over, it weer Power, McCarthy, Slagter, Soler and Gesink in one line. The first to stop the hide and seek in there was Soler, who did put a big attack in. Robert Power, on his very own record hill, went with him immediately, and jumped of his backwheel to a powerful counterattack. Slagter, McCarthy and Gesink happy with Bystroms pace.
With 300 meters to go it was 8 seconds only to Porte for Morton, still doable. But right behind Porte there was Robert Power, and the young gun showed the more experienced one how to do it. He streamed past Porte up Old Willy and even came close to Morton. In fact, he just broke Morton's heart on the final 50 meter to celebrate the biggest win of his young career. Chapeau Robert. Lachlan in third, as Porte even overtook him as well. The duo came in 4 seconds down on Power.
Now the clock counts back: Soler in with 11 down, then Slagter with 18 ahead of McCarthy with 20. Bystrom and Gesink another second behind, before Machado came in @27. Ondrej Cink, in his first race as a professional cyclist, with a fantastic job to bring his captain Visconti home in 10th. It looks like plenty of potential left for the medium aged Czech.
An Australian day though up Willunga Hill, and thus a hometown hero story in the overall standings:
Jerseys
Points: Sagan
KOM: Venter
Youth: Power (Bystrom)
Team: Katusha
Still the last day can catalysate different scenarios that might mean a bonus second or tour. Our leader can't just sleep right now, as the opposition might chase for the missing second(s) somewhere.
Edited by Croatia14 on 21-01-2017 22:03
The last stage is traditionally a sprinters party. And so should be the time of today, but one man has a mission: Richie Porte needs to find one bonification second to attack Robert Power's ochre jersey. 2 intermediate sprints were up for grabs, so BMC rode a hard-core tactic. Just letting nobody go. So there really was no break until the first passage. There we had several intersts: BMC leading out Porte with Dennis and Scotson. Sagan to secure his points jersey and Orica to prevent Porte from taking those.
Thus they kind of allianced with Sagan: 2 times BMC tried their best, but two times Orica rode a leadout for 3 Bora guys to take the first 3 places and with it the intermediate sprints. Clever tactics: Sagan secured green, Kolar and Selig took the bonifications that make Robert Power win the Tour Down Under if he doesn't crash. Ewan gave up on the jersey, but instead they had the bonifications out of their way.
Then a group settled for a short day out: Feng, Scully, Bevin and Cam Meyer tried their best, but too many teams were interested in a sprint. The break was caught and all set up for a sprint with Bora in control, leading with Selig - Sagan - Bennett. Behind him all the guys lined up, when suddenly a Katusha guy attacked. They had a great tour so far, and somebody tried to extended even more. Sven Erik Bystrom, set up by routinier Vicioso, made his move under the kite, and Selig wasn't strong enough to pull him back, and Sagan didn't completely want to that "early".
The only way out was other teams involving, but they all seemed to rely on Bora. Remember that if the Norwegian wins this stage he'll win the Tour Down Under. What a cinderella story that would be! Bystrom extended his lead onto 650 meters to go, where Ewan suddenly decided to make a move. The small local gave up his own chances of winning a stage here for trying to pull back the flying sunweb guy. And he indeed did put on the pressure strong enough to almost catch him. Sagan really struggled to follow Ewan's wheel, that might have been the cause for his low-effort chase.
Well, when Ewan swung off Sagan did it almost with him, so Bennett was left alone with a long one. Van Poppel in his wheel, really keen on making it two, just kept healthy in the slipstream, while Enger went around him from behind. Bennett not looking too fast at this point 150 away from the line. In this strong man's sprint also some more guys like Kump, Sütterlin.
When shortly after that van Poppel went out of the slipstream Planckaert was on his wheel. But the Dutchman couldn't overtake Sam Bennett. He seemed to have played the perfect trick, as the Irishman still has his reserves to go quite significantly faster though. In his slipstream, or more accurately in his line 2 bike lengths behind him, the German duo of Sütterlin and Arndt.
Enger faded on the right, and the guys on his side, Renshaw and de Bie, couldn't either stand the pace. Some more wind there? Well, possibly. But back to the main action Bennett had only one opponent left: Baptiste Planckaert. But the Wallonian couldn't completely turn Katusha's luck around today, and second is still a really good result for the Wallonian CT big thing of last year.
Instead Sam Bennett takes a very well deserved victory for Bora, who worked hard all week. Behind Planckaert it was Arndt on the final step of the podium, ahead of Kump and Sütterlin.
Jerseys
Points: Sagan
KOM: Venter
Youth: Power (Bystrom)
Team: Katusha
At the end of the tour no changes in any classifications. BMC, Bora and Orica the expected main protagonists here, but on top of that some stunning Tour for Katusha. Any other rider surely has welcomed decent stage results, such as Van Poppel, Soler and Sütterlin. But the stars of the show surely were the two young guns Power and Bystrom, who really gritted their teeth against the experienced Porte and managed to deny him the glory again. Another unlucky second, this time with a margin as close as it could get by a future guy, who just turned future into present.
Aftermaths
Team Dimension Data with some really unlucky days, especially for captain Haas. An entertaining style earning some placements by Renshaw, a great result for Morton and the mountains jersey for Venter.
AG2R La Mondiale with another race that was initially solid, but Enger's performance turned it into a good one. Surely a promising season start.
Team Sky was very quiet, especially given their overall ambitions. The great start by van Poppel though should make up for that instead.
BMC couldn't find the overall victory they hoped for. But the team comes away with a presentation of their strength. Porte will be sad with this outcome, but he won a stage and secured many points. And the team really tried everything, it just wasn't going to be.
For the sprint stages all eyes are on colombian upcoming superstar Fernando Gaviria. He's arguably got the strongest support in Richeze and Boonen for his leadout duties, but he should also respect the speed of quite some fast Italians here, in first row Viviani, Guardini and Ruffoni. Further danger beneath the traditional problem of only 6 riders per team and aggressive racing might become the likes of Navardauskas, Haedo and van Poppel. Local supporters will put their hopes on the attackers, but who knows: Past episodes of the neighbour-race in San Luis has drawy a great plateau for future stars.
In Argentina it's kind of a tradition to have some big chances for the breakaway, hence the huge fight for the breakaway. At the end it contended Masnada, Julio, Corbalan, Montivero and Melivilo. Basically the chase was completely up to Remi Cavagna, but he alone kept the breakaway always in reach. With further assistance of the national squad of Italy it all came back together with 9 to go, when Etixx started to roll their impressive train: Serry - Declercq - Richeze - Boonen - Gaviria. Nobody even tried to contest this, instead all the teams fought for the right wheels. Viviani, this year without Mareczko clear #1, was placed on the "best" wheel by Scartezzini. Behind him Navardauskas, Guardini and Ruffoni.
It all went full gas until the flamme rouge, where Richeze really started to pick up the pace. In fact, he really put the hammer down on anybody, stretching everything out into one line until gaps opened up. With 500 left only 13 guys without a gap, and then Boonen did even more damage. Damn the legend still has it in his legs, as almost nobody could follow him. Guardini going out of the train completely cooked, same problems for Viviani. At the end it was Gaviria launched with only Navardauskas, Ruffoni, Pozzato and Juarez left. And nobody was close to keep up with the colombians' speed. 3 bike lengths at the end, so that the jury thought about rewarding a time gap to second placed Navardauskas. Boonen still had enough to find himself on the podium ahead of Pozzato and Juarez. Ruffoni at 6th, and then a time gap of 4 seconds to the "peloton".
The new leader of (almost) all classifications now is Gaviria, only the KOM belongs to Montivero. For how long might he hold on to yellow?
Same settings, different outcome? Gaviria, in the leaders jersey, was again the man to beat. 3 guys in the breakaway, Lopez, Javier and Lastra, fought out the points on the way of the breakaway. That lead to a new KOM leader, local hero Gaston Javier. However, they were no danger for the peloton.
In the same manner of yesterday, QuickStep dominated the pre-sprint throughout slightly hillier terrain. Gaviria sprinted from the fore, but this time it was Viviani on his backwheel. The Italian though wasn't able to fully match Gaviria's speed, and thus he only came second. Third for Guardini ahead of Juarez and Navardauskas.
Can Gaviria hold on to his jersey in the short TT in San Juan on stage 3? He's got 20 seconds on his side, ahead of the big favourites of today. Brändle, Boaro and Nibali the most mentioned names, but watch out for the home riders, they are pretty strong as f.e. old Argentinian Leonardo Messineo or Andrei Sartassov.
The first big thing of today was Mathias Brändle getting in the lead really early. After that it looked like a winners time: Nibali was close but the likes of Boaro were far off, until Leonardo Rosas, Argentinian ITT champion of 2016 and racing with the #1 on his back, completely crushed his time by 11 seconds. In the following some riders like Sepulveda were pretty close, but only Filippo Ganna could really contest him, thouggh was still 9 seconds away.
Of the GC riders none were near to reaching him, but Gaviria only lost 34 seconds, so that he still remains 5th overall.
After yesterday's loss it's Gaviria's turn to strike back for another win on a mostly flat stage.
Another full-american breakaway, another non successfull one: Arroyo, Anchieri, Escuela, Luchero, Campero and Melivilo couldn't succeed, as once again Etixx controlled it and launched Fernando Gaviria a strong leadout. This time though one man was really up to the challenge: Ramunas Navardauskas! The latvian stayed on his wheel for long, but at the end missed around 40 centimeters to the win. Instead Gaviria made it 3/3 to be now well in sight of the GC being second. Unlucky for him that tomorrow is a mountains day.
Minor places again for Italy and Argentina: Viviani in 3rd ahead of Juarez, and Guardini. Then Masnada, Haedo, Ruffoni, Mauro Richeze and Aguirre in the Top10. The GC stayed safe on the shoulders of Rosas; and no other classification changed their leader.
