Santos Tour Down Under 2014: Stage 1
January 1 - January 26, Nuriootpa, AUS, Road - WorldTour
Hello and welcome to stage 1 of the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under due to get started at 11am Adelaide time. Cyclingnews will be providing live updates throughout the race
If you haven't caught up on the People's Choice Classic yet, here are the highlights of Marcel Kittel's win
If you haven't caught up on the People's Choice Classic yet, here are the highlights of Marcel Kittel's win, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubGuCYLNOXU&list=UUm0Qjs5OBrv3-d6kKBshEbg&feature=share&index=3
If you haven't caught up on the People's Choice Classic yet, here are the highlights of Marcel Kittel's win, click here
If you haven't caught up on the People's Choice Classic yet, here are the highlights of Marcel Kittel's win, click here
With the inclusion of Menglers Hill on today's stage, Marcel Kittel told Cyclingnews that he is unlikely to make it over at the front end to contest the sprint. Read what he said here
Its now just under an hour till racing starts but we'll keep you updated until the riders head out for the 135km ride to Angaston
There will be two sprint points in today's race at 26.1km and 71.6km while the KOM points on offer come after 123.3km of racing atop of Menglers Hill
Giovanni Visconti will miss the Tour Down Under after his crash on Sunday night but there is some good news regarding the three time Italian road race champion who had successful surgery on his fractured leg
Over in Argentina at the Tour de San Luis, Garmin-Sharp recorded their first win of the year courtesy of Phillip Gaimon. Can the American team take another today?
While we wait for the action to begin it’s a chance to stroll down memory line with this gallery of images from previous editions of the Tour Down Under. From Pat Jonker’s win all the way to wins for Gerrans, Davis and Rogers. Click here to see the images
And who are you tipping for success in this year’s race? We’ve already seen Marcel Kittel win the People’s Choice Classic but the Cyclingnews team have picked out another riders you should keep you eye on in this year’s race: Click here to see who they are
Simon Gerrans comes into the race as perhaps the red hot favourite. He’s won the race on two occasions and will be looking to set a new record with a third overall title. He’s red hot form having claimed the national road race last weekend and has a highly motivated and experienced team on hand.
Add your source here: Baden Cooke
That’s going to be a really interesting race. It’s the first WorldTour event of the year; you can expect a 52km/h average for the first hour. A break should move around the 60 or 80km mark and it will be interesting to see who takes the bull by the horns in the finish because of the Menglers Hill climb 10km out and it’s possible for the break to then stay away.
Baden Cooke
That’s going to be a really interesting race. It’s the first WorldTour event of the year; you can expect a 52km/h average for the first hour. A break should move around the 60 or 80km mark and it will be interesting to see who takes the bull by the horns in the finish because of the Menglers Hill climb 10km out and it’s possible for the break to then stay away.
With racing about to get under way, here is the forecast for Stage 1. Sunny with SSE winds that will average 18-23km/h and gusts of 30km/h at times, potentially gusting to 45-50km/h towards the end of the stage, adding to the difficulty of the Menglers Hill climb.
The temperature is 21 degrees for the start, reaching 27-28 degrees at the finish.
The talk of today is all about Menglers Hill and who will make it over the top to challenge for the win. What are the specifics of the climb?
The first 2.5km of the climb starts at about 330 metres altitude to about 500 metres altitude (gradient mostly 10-15%, peaking at about 20%)
Racing is just about to start with riders making their way forward and team cars getting into position
Another rider to watch is Richie Porte. The Sky leader is targeting the Giro but will be looking for a strong result here in the Tour Down Under. You can read all about his aspirations, right here in his exclusive blog for Cyclingnews.
Mark Renshaw
It depends how the gc guys will show their legs. If they look at each other we might have a sprint finish but if they attack it'll be hard for us
Nathan Earle
I'm a little bit nervous after getting this late call up to replace CJ Sutton. But it's all part of being a professional I guess. Luckily I was in Tasmania not too far away. Today I'll just support Richie (Porte) and Geraint (Thomas) and make sure they're out of trouble.
Drapac are making their TDU debut and have started with a bang by sending Will Clarke up the road. Clarke has won from a break before but will today yield another win and his first in the red of Drapac?
Making his WorldTour debut is Matej Mohoric and his Cannondale teammate Cameron Wurf has him down as a darkhorse for the win today
Cameron Wurf
Michael Matthews is the favourite today. But watch out for my teammate Matej Mohoric. He's the youngest rider in this peloton but also a great downhill rider. Remember how he won the U23 World's.
127km remaining from 135km
Clarke and van der Ploeg have increased their lead to 3:20 minutes over the peloton
121km remaining from 135km
The break has continued to build its lead and now have 4 minutes between them and the peloton
117km remaining from 135km
Orica-GreenEdge and Belkin have moved forward and are staring to control the chase which is at 3:10
The two men out in front will soon enter through Tunuda, cross the railway line in Bethany and then contest for the first sprint points of the 2014 race
Michael Matthews is an outside chance for the win today. While he will be riding in support of Gerrans, if he gets over Menglers with the first group he could take out the sprint. Click here to read about Matthews and his aim's for 2014
104km remaining from 135km
Clarke and van der Ploeg are maintaining their lead at around the 3:30 mark with the peloton pulling back 10 seconds then conceding it again. Its all a bit cat and mouse so far
102km remaining from 135km
Once the riders come back through Angaston they will see the feedzone outside of the commercial centre. Will anyone try an attack while their rivals are collecting bidons?
Having gone through Angaston the peloton has slowed with the feedzone approaching and are 3:20 behind the two men out in front
91km remaining from 135km
Team Sky are the next team to come to the front of the race with 3:10 now the lead that Clarke and van der Ploeg have
85km remaining from 135km
The gap is at 3:10 and nothing much is happening in the main bunch yet. Drapac and UniSA will be happy to get some more exposure but there is no TV coverage for another 10 minutes.
78km remaining from 135km
The lead is still hovering just over 3:00 minutes with TV coverage about to start
Luke Durbrdige (Orica-GreenEdge) is on the front of the peloton with Team Sky just tucked in behind him
With one hour and 45 minutes raced so far, these two out in front, have been away for just about every second of the race
Both riders have picked up 5 bonus seconds now from those two sprints which will be very handy at the end of the day and possibly in the overall
Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) just let the peloton know that he wants this race after chasing down third place in the sprint for just 1 bonus second
63km remaining from 135km
Rojas (Movistar) and Danilo Wyss (BMC) had tried to take the sprint but mistimed their efforts as Gerrans came past
Back in the peloton, its Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) controlling the chase with Team Sky still waiting in the wings
As Turbo Durbo takes a break to have a it to eat, Sky have moved forward to continue the chase with the leaders at 2:20 minutes ahead.
There are some winds around today as we said prior to the race starting so we'll see how that impacts on certain riders launching attacks on Menglers
The riders are making their way through the town of Angaston and next time they come through will be for the finishline so expect the breakaway to be swallowed up soon
44km remaining from 135km
The peloton has gone through Angaston and head out for the final lap of course
Durbridge is taking turns on the front with Sky while Lampre-Merida have a few riders back there with Europcar moving forward
40km remaining from 135km
While Durbridge insists on remaining at the front of the race, Sky are right behind him and then its Orica-GreenEdge sitting back
39km remaining from 135km
The gap is now 2:26 as Europcar and Ag2r are moving forward but still letting Sky control the chase
His teammate may be in the break but that hasn't stopped Caleb Ewan (UniSA) from moving up to around 10th wheel. Is he chasing the win today?
The lead is slowly getting closer to two minutes with the peloton led by Sky are chipping away at the breakaway
The TV footage has found Evans (BMC) who is sitting mid-pack as Astana make their move forward on the right but its still all Sky at the front
32km remaining from 135km
The brown shoulder of Ag2r are becoming more evident while Lotto-Belisol are moving up now
In the last 10km the average speed has increased to 45km/h as the breakaway's chances of survival become ever smaller
Caleb Ewan
It's great to be racing here. I've watched this race on TV and dreamed of being here. It's a hard climb so I will try to get over it with the first group. It won't be easy. We have other options if it doesn't come down to a sprint.
30km remaining from 135km
The lead is down to 1:34 now and the break may not make it to Menglers alone now
Cadel Evans
It's a new season, a new start. Everyone is ready to race. It's not going to be an easy stage today. It's windy, there's a selective climb, no one knows where their form is. It makes everyone nervous. A sprinter who can go uphill, maybe can win today. I don't know if you can save much energy today, but it's a short stage. We're ready to race
29km remaining from 135km
The break can look over their shoulders and see the cars and motorbikes of the race now
28km remaining from 135km
Looking to set up the win for Robert Gesink is Belkin who have moved up to the front now
26km remaining from 135km
Its a green looking peloton now as Belkin and Cannondale have moved forward and Sky have relaxed a little now
There are 15km left before the peloton hits the climb of Menglers Hill and everyone will be fighting for position until then
24km remaining from 135km
Tinkoff-Saxo is now at the front and Marcel Kittel is also there but don't expect him to cause any selections of the climb.
The lead is under 1:30 now as all the teams are getting ready for the final fast km's
13km remaining from 135km
With Clarke having been caught at the base of the climb, Sky and Garmin are causing a selection with riders continually going backwards
12km remaining from 135km
Evans is sitting on teammate Brookwalter's wheel with Gerrans sitting nearby just watching the race
11km remaining from 135km
Hansen is now flying down the other side of hill and he could time trial his way to the win here
10km remaining from 135km
The riders who are left are starting to drive what's left of the peloton home with 40 or so riders in that group
7km remaining from 135km
The small peloton that's left will need to get organised here is they want to catch the Europcar riders
4km remaining from 135km
With Greipel in that group it looks like it may come down to a sprint here as Lotto have several riders who got over that climb. They will need to catch the Europacr duo first
There is a slight left hander in the finish with 365m to go then its a straight drag to the finish line
Rory Sutherland attacks
Results results#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult 1Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge3:20:24 2Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 3Steele von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 4Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 5Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 6Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana 7Simon Geschke (Ger) Giant-Shimano 8Rafael Valls (Esp) Lampre-Merida 9Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC 10Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin
There you have it. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) takes a huge win ahead of Andre Greipel to take a commanding overall lead and a brilliant start to his 2014 season.
Greipel now has two second places and it was the slight uphill finish that was to Gerrans' advantage.
The Australian champion will now look to defend to his lead. Join us tomorrow for another day of live coverage and check for a full report.
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