The World Tour kicked off today in Australia’s Santos Tour Down Under. Tinkoff-Saxo’s one main goal during the 132.6 kilometer stage, to protect the team’s GC captain Michael Rogers, was successful, as the team made sure that Rogers arrived to the finish line safely without burning excess energy. The race ended in a final chase, where breakaway rider Jack Bobridge just held of the speeding peloton. Tinkoff-Saxo’s sport director in charge, Lars Michaelsen, said:

“The guys did exactly what they had to do. They protected Michael during the stage and rode together as a team. It was an undulating day with a lot of small hills and descents, and with our sprinter Michael Kolar being ill it wasn’t in our interest to work to bring back the breakaway. We are targeting the harder stages of Tour Down Under”.

Tinkoff-Saxo rider Chris Juul-Jensen experienced the race from the inside in what he calls a “good day at the office”.

“We were positioned well in the peloton showing off our sparkling team colors. We all positioned ourselves next to Michael Rogers and I also stayed with him on the fast hills of the finale and in the sprint”, he says and adds:

“Generally, we’re all excited to race for Michael. He seems ready and he’s such a great guy to ride in support for. There will come harder days than today and that’s where the team has to show that we are all ready to take responsibility. Today we enjoyed being back to racing at full speed”, finishes Chris Juul-Jensen.

The 132,6 kilometer stage from Tanunda to Cambelltown was marked by a four-rider breakaway that escaped in the opening kilometers. The peloton finally caught them in the sprint but the fast guys of the peloton weren’t able to surpass Jack Bobridge (UniSA), who jumped from the breakaway with just 200 meters to go and took the win.