Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) again proved that he is the man to beat in the Tour Down Under sprints when he took his third consecutive win in the criterium in Adelaide that traditionally brings the first WorldTour race of the year to an end, and so increased his record number of stage wins to 16. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) set another record when he finished safely in the bunch to win the race overall for a third time, maintaining his small gaps over Cadel Evans (BMC) and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) who rounded out the podium.

 

It was a day of records in the final stage of the Tour Down Under which as per tradition ended with a fast and furious criterium in the streets of Adelaide. Andre Greipel and Simon Gerrans both set new standards, with Greipel taking his 16th stage win in the history of the event and Gerrans claiming a record third overall win in the event, adding to his victories in 2006 and 2012.

 

With wins in 2012 and 2013, Greipel had already proved that he knows how to win the final stage in Adelaide after a week of hard racing but this year he was challenged by a new course for the 85,5km stage in the big South Australian city. However, that didn't dampen his aspirations and his Lotto Belisol team showed their intentions right from the beginning.

 

The Belgians did a bit of chase work throughout the day but got surprisingly much help from other teams and could mostly sit back to save themselves for the final lead-out. However, things got a bit hectic in the end when KOM leader Adam Hansen who is usually the 5th rider in the train punctured, and forced the team to change its plans.

 

When Marcel Sieberg finally hit the front with Jens Debusschere, Jurgen Roelandts and Greipel on his wheel, however, the outcome was never in doubt. While their rival teams fought for position behind the impressive Belgian lead-out machine, Greipel had an armchair ride all the way to the final few hundred metres where he could launch his phenomenal burst of speed. The Omega Pharma-Quick Step duo of Mark Renshaw and Andrew Fenn were his nearest chasers but there was no way that they would make any in-roads on the German champion who took his third consecutive win in the final stage and his second in this year's edition of the race.

 

Beforehand, most expected a battle between Greipel and quadruple Tour de France stage winner Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) who had beaten his German compatriot to the line in the opening criterium People's Choice Classic. In one of the many corners on the technical circuit, however, he lost his wheel of his lead-out man Koen De Kort who had to sprint for himself and ended up in 4th.

 

The man of the day was Gerrans who was safely protected by his Orica-GreenEDGE teammates for the entire stage. With only a 1-second lead over Cadel Evans and 5 seconds over Diego Ulissi, there was always a risk that BMC or Lampre-Merida would try to score some bonus seconds but with Gerrans being the faster sprinter they were content to let the early breakaway swallow up the seconds. As all the GC contenders finished in the main bunch without no splits opening up, the top 10 remained unchanged on the final day.

 

It was a big race for Orica-GreenEDGE as Gerrans also took a comfortable win in the points classification while the strong attack in the crosswinds on the penultimate stage had also given the team the win in the teams classification.

 

No climbs were contested today which means Australian Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) goes home with the King of the Mountain crown after amassing 28 points, including a win in the first category one climb of the race up Menglers Hill in the Barossa on Tuesday. That win ensured him overall climbing honours on a countback from Frenchman Axel Domont (AG2R - La Mondiale) who also finished on 28 points.

 

In the Young Rider competition talented 20 year old Jack Haig claimed the honours. The 2013 under 23 Australian mountain bike champion made an impression especially in the climbing stages to finish 17th overall, 2:08 off Gerrans lead, and the top ranked under 23 year old. He was 1:09 clear of his nearest rival Carlos Verona from Spain (Omega Pharma - QuickStep).

 

For the third time in this year's race, William Clarke (Drapac) was involved in the early break and his efforts were rewarded with a third most aggressive rider award.

 

With the win, Gerrans becomes the first leader of the UCI WorldTour as he enjoys a healthy lead over Evans and Ulissi. Gerrans has 114 points, Evans 88 and Ulissi 83, with the season-long series set to continue in early March at the Paris-Nice.

 

A flat and fast circuit

The Adelaide City circuit for stage 6 took the riders over 18 laps of a new 4.7 kilometre circuit around Rymill Park, out through the CBD to Victoria Square and back. Sweeping past some of Adelaide's key landmarks it provided a fitting finale to a week of first class action that attracted 766 thousand fans but the new course for the final circuit put the riders in slightly unfamiliar territory for the traditional final stage criterium.

 

With the GC being close and a lot at stake, there were plenty of nerves at the start but the riders were happy to get the race off to a rather calm start. With BMC and Lampre-Merida showing no interest in the two intermediate sprints and the sprint teams happy to let a small break go up the road, it was the first attack that was the successful one.

 

Drapac involved in the early action

Drapac were keen to be part of the action after missing out yesterday and they launched two riders up the road right from the beginning. One of those was Will Clarke who was ready again after a couple days of rest and he managed to get clear with Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Angelo Tulik (Europcar).

 

Julien Berard (Ag2r) set off in pursuit but the front group had already built up a solid gap as the peloton showed no interest in chasing. However, disaster struck already on the first lap when Tulik crashed and brought Belkov down in the process.

 

A trio is formed

While Tulik never returned to the front and ultimately abandoned the race, Belkov was passed by Berard but remained intent in getting back to the break. While Orica-GreenEDGE led the peloton, the three escapees came together to form the day's early break.

 

Philip Deignan (Sky) hit the front but didn't launch a serious chase and was mostly interested in keeping Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas protected and out of trouble. This allowed the gap to come up and after 15km of racing it was 1.48.

 

BMC hit the front

BMC decided to join Sky on the front to protect Evans' position on GC and the American and British teams both enjoyed lengthy stints on the front. Meanwhile, Clarke hit some glass on the circuit and was forced to stop after suffering a flat rear wheel.

 

This made him unable to contest the first intermediate sprint which was taken easily by Berard as no one showed any interest at all. The front duo decided to slow down to wait for Clarke and soon after the trio was back together.

 

The gap reaches its maximum

The gap was now up to 2.00 and that was as much as it would be. Giant-Shimano and Lotto Belisol decided that it was time to up the pace and the two teams combined forces to bring it back to 1.30.

 

With the break under control, it was Orica-GreenEDGE who decided to give the home public a show. The Australians hit the front where they stayed for some time, always holding the gap steady at around 1.30.

 

Trek decide to chase

Up ahead, Belkov took maximum points in the second intermediate sprint ahead of Berard and Clarke. A few moments later, the pursuit kicked off in earnest, with Trek and Jens Voigt hitting the front as they tried to set things up for Danny Van Poppel.

 

The efforts of Trek had an effect as the gap quickly dropped to less than 1 minute and later Lotto Belisol also joined in on the action. While it was announced that Clarke was again the most aggressive rider on the stage, Berard gave up and fell back to the peloton.

 

The break is caught

On the 16th of 18 laps, Orica-GreenEDGE was back on the front and they closed down the final bit of the gap to bring things  back together for a big bunch sprint. Behind the Australians, the sprint trains were starting to get organized.

 

Lotto Belisol had a small mishap when Hansen punctured, leaving it to Omega Pharma-Quick Step to take control. The Belgian team remained on the front for a long time but when Lotto Belisol decided to kick into action, they had no response.

 

Greipel's team again delivered their German sprinter perfectly and he had no trouble holding off Renshaw and Fenn in the final dash to the line. Gerrans safely crossed the line in the main group to become the overall winner of the event for a record-breaking 3rd time.

 

Result:

1. Andre Greipel 1.55.16

2. Mark Renshaw

3. Andrew Fenn

4. Koen De Kort

5. Jonathan Cantwell

6. Matthew Goss

7. Nathan Haas

8. Jurgen Roelandts

9. Michal Kolar

10. Mathew Hayman

 

General classification:

1. Simon Gerrans 19.57.35

2. Cadel Evans +0.01

3. Diego Ulissi +0.05

4. Richie Porte +0.10

5. Nathan Haas +0.27

6. Robert Gesink +0.30

7. Daryl Impey +0.34

8. Geraint Thomas +0.37

9. Adam Hansen

10. Egor Silin +0.47

 

Points classification:

1. Simon Gerrans 75

2. Diego Ulissi 56

3. Nathan Haas 50

4. Cadel Evans 45

5. Andre Greipel 44

 

Mountains classification:

1. Adam Hansen 28

2. Axel Domont 28

3. Richie Porte 24

4. William Clarke 20

5. Simon Gerrans 20

 

Young Rider Classification:

1. Jack Haig 19.59.43

2. Carlos Verona +1.09

3. Kenny Elissonde +20.56

4. Julian Alaphilippe +21.18

5. Luca Wackermann +21.31

 

Teams classification:

1. Orica-GreenEDGE 59.56.16

2. BMC +0.28

3. Drapac Cycling +3.58

4. Team Sky +4.25

5. Omega Pharma-Quick Step +4.34

 

Individual WorldTour classification:

1. Simon Gerrans 114

2. Cadel Evans 88

3. Diego Ulissi 83

4. Richie Porte 66

5. Nathan Haas 55

6. Robert Gesink 42

7. Daryl Impey 31

8. Adam Hansen 21

9. Andre Greipel 16

10. Geraint Thomas 10