Santos Tour Down Under 2014: Stage 3
January 1 - January 26, Norwood, AUS, Road - WorldTour
Hello and welcome to live coverage for Stage 3 of the Tour Down Under
If you're wanting to catch up on yesterday's racing, we have several stories for you.
Click here for the race report
The Corkscrew will be desivive today in deciding the winner on the road to CAmpbelltown. One rider who is set to animate the race is Riche Porte.
You can have a look at his bike here
Making headlines are the comments by Danilo Di Luca in the Italian press which has caused some reaction from the peloton. You can read what Vincenzo Nibali and others have said by clicking here
Following his comments, CONI have requested that Di Luca is called in for questioning. You can read what CONI have said here
We are about 15 minutes away from the start of the race today which begins in Norwood. The riders will be enjoying a coffee or two as the suburb is known for its cafe culture
The riders will have a 9km neutral ride to the town of Paradise and then the race will begin in earnest. Will Drapac and UniSA attack again from the get go?
On offer today are two sprint points and one KOM. The first sprint point comes at 38.7km in Kersbrook.
The second is after 53.5km in Williamstown.
The sole KOM points on offer today will be awarded to the first rider over the Corkscrew.
It'll be a warm up 9km but watch for some teams getting ready to launch attacks once the gun is fired
After a crash in the finale yesterday, Lampre-Merida are down one rider today as Rafael Valls Ferri has retired from the race
To start the day Travis Meyer (Drapac) has continued the team's early approach of attacking and has built a small lead
Today's conditions for Stage 3. Today is the cloudiest day of the Tour with only brief glimpses of sun. There are lighter winds compared to the first two stages but changes in direction will mean there is a slight head wind most of the way. Light winds of about 10km/h for the start, tending ENE at about 15km/h in the hills before winds shift WNW at 10-15km/h from about Mt Pleasant onwards, strongest for the Montacute KOM section.
143km remaining from 145km
The temperature is 30-31 degrees from Norwood to Paradise for the start, then 26-28 degrees through the hills and 30-31 degrees for finish at Campbelltown.
140km remaining from 145km
Cousin and Grivko have a lead of 2:00 and Jens Voigt is trying to bridge the gap. He is 1:02 behind the duo
There are four riders together now at the front with Andriy Grivko (Astana), Travis Meyer (Drapac), Jérôme Cousin (Europcar) and Jens Voigt (Trek)
136km remaining from 145km
The four riders are all together now with Voigt having latched on in the last few km
Just as yesterday saw Boy van Poppel become the virtual leader on the ride in the break, Andriy Grivko is now the virtual leader of the race as he started the day 67 seconds off Simon Gerrans
Having placed Will Clake in the break for the last two days, Drapac's representation today is Travis Meyer
Voigt has been a very active rider at the Tour Down Under who usually is the first rider to try to get into a breakaway so to only get into one on Stage 3 seems a little late but it's good to see the 42-year-old out in front.
Simon Gerrans
I'm feeling good. Today is harder than yesterday. We're off to a fantastic start. I've got a few seconds on everyone else, the team is backing me up every day, so we hope to keep it going. We rode the Corkscrew last week as a refresher. It's a real climb. It's hard to come back after that King of the Mountains summit. It's all very fast, very close, so it will be hard for any guys to come back after that point. Positioning is key.
124km remaining from 145km
Like yesterday, the break is being given a lead somewhere between two to three minutes
Geraint Thomas (Sky)
It's a hard climb. If you're on good legs, someone can get 20-30 seconds over the top. It's important to be in good position at the base of the climb. It's a drag race down that gorge coming into the climb. We have a few options for the stage. Richie is keen, but Gerro's got great form. Today it's important to keep Richie up front today. Hopefully the legs will respond.
Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida)
I’ve climbed Corkscrew before the Santos Tour Down Under started. It’s a pretty hard climb. It’s going to split the bunch. It makes today’s stage adapted to my characteristics as well as yesterday’s. I wasn’t expecting to go so well so early in the year but my first victory of 2014 gives me a great confidence and definitely increases my ambitions for the Santos Tour Down Under. Today, the finish isn’t uphill though. The favorite is once again Simon Gerrans but I’m looking forward to see if I can come up with something in the finale again.
Caleb Ewan (UniSA)
Today I’ll just try and recover from yesterday’s crash. It’s a tough stage for me. It’ll be a test for the GC guys. I’m a bit disappointed after the crash. I had put myself in a good position. I’m all right but there’s a bit of skin off.
Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar)
We are super motivated for breaking away today. I feel strong and I hope to win a stage at the Santos Tour Down Under. I’m delighted to race here. I don’t like the cold at all. I was training in Thailand before coming to Australia. It’s a great pleasure for me to be back here as I’ll never forget my top 10 at the world championship (9th) and that was in Geelong in 2010.
119km remaining from 145km
The gap is at 2:20 and its 10km until the first sprint points on the day are set to be decided
Cadel Evans (BMC):
Today is a different kind of racing. The Corkscrew will shake up the GC. I've only ridden the climb in training. I've heard stories about it. With the downhill after the summit, it will make for some unpredictable and exciting racing. The team is coming together well. We'll see if I have the legs today to try to win.
Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge)
Today is a decisive stage. Gerro's shown he's got the legs, so we'll be riding today to protect him like we have the past few days. I think he's shown he can get up the Corkscrew. The race won't be decided today, but it's very important to not lose time. We've had a great start to the race, so we hope to keep that going. This is a big goal for us. We'd love to win our home race again.
Sprint results
1: Travis Meyer (Drapac) 5 pts/3 seconds
2: Andriy Grivko (Astana) 3 pts/ 2 seconds
3: Jérôme Cousin (Europcar) 2 pts/ 1 second
While Mark Cavendish isn't at the Tour Down Under this year, how he goes with Mark Renshaw leading him out again will be one of the things to watch in 2014. You can read how Cav's approaching 2014 right here
The riders are feeling the warm weather out on the roads with Anthony Giacoppo and Darren Lapthorne the next guys to drop back to the team cars
With under 100km to race, the lead four have a lead of 2:20 which has remained steady almost since the break was made
Not much change with the break working togther and the peloton happy to let them enjoy some TV time.
Once the riders go through the feedzone with 64km to race, things will heat up
91km remaining from 145km
The results for sprint point two are:
1- Andriy Grivko (Astana) 5 pts/ 3 second
2 - Travis Meyer (Drapac) 3 pts/ 2 second
3 - Jérôme Cousin (Europcar) 2 pts/ 1 second
89km remaining from 145km
The break having gone through the sprint point are sitting with a lead of 2:20 over the bunch
André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol):
Yesterday, I told Adam Hansen to have a go, because he doesn't get many chances, but in the end, he stayed with me. There will be a natural selection up the Corkscrew. I know that today is not for me. I will save my legs for tomorrow and Sunday.
83km remaining from 145km
The four leaders have 2:25 over the bunch and with little change to proceedings in the last 30 minutes
After 65km of racing, the average speed is 37.8kmh but that will pick up significantly on the way to the Corkscrew
The riders will soon enter the feedzone which is in Mt Pleasant and everyone will be hoping for some nice cool bidons
The members of the group seem to be enjoying each others company and are happy to keep themselves on the TV screen. Drapac will be pleased they've made the break for the third straight day
Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) has swapped the white knicks for black today as he sits in around 13th wheel behind Team Sky
In a around one hour, the riders will hit the slopes of the Corkscrew where we should see some fireworks
53km remaining from 145km
Its a three man break now as Cousin has fallen off the back and will be collected by the peloton in a bit
47km remaining from 145km
Goss is still on the front for GreenEdge and its Matthew behind him.
The man known as 'Bling' had a tumble yesterday and said after the race he was feeling a little sore. He's looking good out there today
43km remaining from 145km
The bunch getting a little strung out on the descent while up ahead, Grivko is taking a turn on the front
40km remaining from 145km
With Voigt in the break, they aren't giving up easy as the time gap remains at 2:20
Its mostly downhill to the base of the climb and after the riders make their way up the Corkscrew, it'll be a very fast descent
Team Sky have two cards to play with Thomas and Porte but also have Deigan and Earle for support, Porte will be hungry to get a good result today
As a narrow climb, anyone with aspirations today will need to be in the top ten positions when the peloton hits the base of the Corkscrew
Weather update
Still about 29 degrees in the hills. Campbelltown is about 35 degrees now but the freshening WNW wind should cool the finish line to about 31 degrees by Stage end.
31km remaining from 145km
The race is heating up with several teams moving toward the front but the break is still 2:00 to the good
21km remaining from 145km
The lead has been cut down to under 1 minute now with just 45 seconds between the break and the peloton. Catch should now happen before the climb
16km remaining from 145km
Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Sky are at the front now as the break has been caught
14km remaining from 145km
The peloton is strung out with Sky setting it up for Thomas and Porte as everyone is trying to get into position
13km remaining from 145km
The riders are getting into position for the corner that leads into the Corkscrew
9km remaining from 145km
Hansen is looking good in third wheel while BMC are looking to get Evans across the line in first place
Its Porte and Evans who are at the head of the race while Robert Gesink and Simon Gerrans are watching very closely
With 7.5km to go Evans is riding alone here and with 200m to go the summit he will need to descend to his best ability here
Evans has extended his lead on the descent to around 18-seconds as the group behind is about to catch the duo of Porte and Gerrans
Results Provisional stage 3 result # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 3:34:06 2 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp 0:00:14 3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 4 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 5 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica Greenedge 6 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo 7 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 8 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 9 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica Greenedge 10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team overall classification # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 10:46:40 2 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica Greenedge 0:00:11 3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:14 4 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp 0:00:26 5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team 0:00:28 6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 7 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica Greenedge 0:00:32 8 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 9 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo 10 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
Thanks for joining us to see Evans claim his first win of 2014 and jump into the lead of the Tour Down Under. Click back to the Tour Down Under page for full results, photos, standings and what happened today.
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