The final stage in the Tour Down Under was a criterium in the streets of Adelaide. The riders had to cover twenty laps of 4.5 kilometres. Greg Henderson and Lars Bak each joined a breakaway, but both groups were caught. Boris Vallée sprinted to the third place.
Just like in stage five Greg Henderson chose to attack. Together with four others he rode a few laps in front of the bunch, until Orica GreenEdge set up a chase so Daryl Impey could take the points at the intermediate sprint. Immediately afterwards an escape of six was formed, with Lars Bak. They had a lead up to one minute, but just before the penultimate lap they got reeled in. Then there was a crash in the middle of the bunch, so a reduced peloton would sprint for the victory. Wouter Wippert was the fastest, followed by Australian champion Heinrich Haussler. Lotto Soudal rider Boris Vallée got third. The overall win was for Rohan Dennis.
“This third place is a nice result," Boris Vallée said. "Two days before the start of the Tour Down Under I crashed and I had a small injury on my right leg. Each day I got better and today I could take my chance in the sprint. That I was able to take part in the sprint for the stage win is a positive sign and it’s great to finish the Tour Down Under that way. Greg Henderson coached me really well before the stage. I followed his guidelines, where I had to be positioned for example. I really wanted to win for Olivier Kaisen, our thoughts are with him and his family in these difficult times."
“It was a completely different way of racing than previous editions, when we had André Greipel in our team," sports director Herman Frison said. "We were prepared for that of course. The route was tougher than other years, not suited for the pure sprinters. Our selection was adapted to that. The Australians performed really well in their home country. They won four stages and the GC. We tried to set good results as well. Thomas De Gendt and Greg Henderson both joined a long breakaway. Also today we had a man in each break. We didn’t get a victory, but the third place of Boris Vallée is a nice result.”
Raoul LIEBREGTS 49 years | today |
Igor BOEV 35 years | today |
Heinrich BERGER 39 years | today |
Rolando AMARGO 28 years | today |
Kosuke TAKEYAMA 27 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com