Santos Tour Down Under 2014: Stage 6

Hello and welcome to the final stage of the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under to take place on the streets of Adelaide's CBD on Australia Day.

Henk Vogels (Drapac DS):

With just 85km left to race of the 2014 Tour Down Under, click here to see the 4.7km circuit the riders will tackle 18 times today

While Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) has just a one second lead over Cadel Evans (BMC) the racing will be tense as Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) could also take out the win with 19 bonus seconds on offer.

Gerrans will be confident that he can become the first rider to win the race three times as he defended a lead that was less than one second in 2012 on the final day. His team is the most equipped to defend the lead but Evans will give it best to try to snatch the win

The riders are out reconning today's stage which while flat has some testing corners on the new city circuit and a small break may just be able to take the win with a late attack before the sprint trains are organised for Andre Geipel and Marcel Kittel

If you're looking to catch up on yesterday's stage which was won by Richie Porte (Sky). Click here to see the stage highlights.

 Its half an hour until racing starts here today

On three occasions the race the race has come down to the final day but only once has the lead changed. That was in 2001 when Stuart O'Grady claimed a time bonus to claim the win by seconds ahead of Kai Hundertmark

In 2006 Simon Gerrans won the race by seven seconds. In 2012 he won by less than a second and today Gerrans holds a one second lead over Cadel Evans.

Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) is an outside chance for the win today who only needs five seconds to claim the win and so far has beaten Gerrans on the sprint for the win on Stage 2 and also for the sprint yesterday to take second on Willunga Hill

Light winds compared to the last few days but pretty hot and sunny. NNE winds 15km/h for the start easing below 10km/h during the race.

It will be sunny and fairly hot, about 30 degrees for the start, reaching about 33 degrees by the finish, getting a bit hotter later in the afternoon for the festivities with a sea breeze in the evening to cool the city to about 26 degrees by 9pm.

Caleb Ewan (UniSA)  was third in the People's Choice Classic but a crash and the longer road stages have dented is opportunities to contest for stage wins but today will suit the 19-year-old who could claim a surprise win over the likes of Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel

Today there are 19 bonus seconds on offer. 10 for the stage winner and three seconds at the intermediate sprint points on Lap 5, 10 and 15

Caleb Ewan (UniSA):

Just around 5 minutes until we start racing today. Will the Italian Ulissi upset Gerrans?

We we soon know who is chasing the win with the first bonus seconds on offer after just five laps

Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge):

Frank Schleck (Trek Factory Racing):

Last year it was Andre Greipel who won the final day sprint. Can he do it again to make it three in a row?

National anthem time on Australia day as the riders are just about ready to roll

85km remaining from 85km

The riders are off and racing

Diego Ulissi (Lampre Ulissi):

Drapac are looking very active on the front of the race trying to get two riders away

Its Drapac, Katusha and Europcar with riders in thefirst break of the day

84km remaining from 85km

Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge):

Julien Berard (Ag2r) is chasing the three leaders

Steele von Hoff (Garmin-Sharp):

The break have taken themselves down and there is a crash

80km remaining from 85km

Will Clarke is now the leader on the road with Angelo Tulik having lost his front wheel on the corner

Maxim Belkov (Katusha) was the other man in that break but is now trying to catch Clarke who is out on his own

80km remaining from 85km

The peloton which is being lead around by GreenEdge are 45 seconds down on Clarke

79km remaining from 85km

With the break up ahead, Gerrans will be happy to know that Ulissi and Evans will be unable to sprint for bonus seconds at the first intermediate sprint point

William Clarke (Drapac) has 10 secs on Julien Berard (Ag2r) with Maxim Belkov (Katusha) five seconds back

The three leaders have passed through that corner where the crash happened on Lap 1. Clarke has been caught so its Julien Berard (Ag2r) and Maxim Belkov (Katusha) with him and they have around 50 seconds on the bunch 

On Lap 3 the three riders are still out in front and we will soon see if BMC or Lampre are serious about trying to get bonus seconds on Lap 5

Team Sky are now driving the chase in hope of getting Porte onto the final podium today

The riders come around for Lap 4 and its all strung out here as Sky are really putting the hammer down with Deigan on the front

75km remaining from 85km

The leaders have 1:14 on the peloton

As the peloton crossed the finish line to start Lap 5, the three leaders had 1:35

72km remaining from 85km

With Gerrans leading both the points and overall classification, its Ulissi wearing the blue while Gerrans is in Ochre

Will Clarke (Drapac), Julien Berard (Ag2r) and Maxim Belkov (Katusha) have 1:48 on the peloton

Behind Team Sky its GreenEdge with Gerrans looked relaxed

BMC have also decided to move up and join the chase of the leaders who have a lead of 1:40 

The average speed so far is 44km/h and there is no real change to the leaders gap with Sky trying to chase them down

Mark Renshaw (Omega Pharma-Quick Step):

68km remaining from 85km

The leaders are holding steady with BMC now on the front

Richie Porte (Sky):

The bell has been rung for the three leaders letting them know that next time around, they'll be sprinting for bonus seconds

The leaders gap is still around the 1:30 mark as Sky again are on the front trying to bring it back

Will Clarke has a rear wheel flat

65km remaining from 85km

Julien Berard (Ag2r) and Maxim Belkov (Katusha) are now the leaders on the road after Clarke's flat

Belkov is looking over his shoulder to see where Clarke is and if he can come back to the front

62km remaining from 85km

The peloton won't catch this break before the sprint point now

No contest for the bonus seconds there and Clarke has almost caught the duo now as he is 18 seconds back

62km remaining from 85km

Julien Berard (Ag2r) then Maxim Belkov (Katusha) took out the points with Clarke third across the line

62km remaining from 85km

Sky, Garmin and GreenEdge are all at the front of main bunch at the moment

Clarke is about to rejoin the leaders who know that they are better off with Clarke in the group

Belkov leads the group over the line for the seventh time

There is no threat to the overall standings by these three leaders as Julien Berard is 8:23 off Gerrans

The leaders now have 2:00 on the peloton who are taking on water with the weather heating up

50km remaining from 85km

Some glass on the road caused Clarke to puncture 

Lotto-Belisol and a Giant-Shimano rider are now on the front of the bunch as the race about to reach the half way mark

48km remaining from 85km

The leading three have a gap of 1:50

Julien Berard (Ag2r) then Maxim Belkov (Katusha) with Will Clarke (Drapac) have gone under the finish line gantry again

42km remaining from 85km

The leaders are onto Lap 10 and the second sprint point isn't too far which Gerrans will be happy about as the lead is remaining steady and Ulissi and Evans' hope of winning are disappearing

The lead has gone down slightly to 1:30

Lap 10/18: GreenEdge are driving the chase now

Lap 10/18: Tucked into the GreenEdge train is a Giant-Shimano rider and Lotto are just in behind the Australians

Lap 11/18: Jens Voigt (Trek) didn't make the break today but is now on the front on his farewell stage of the Tour Down Under

Lap 11/18: The three riders are still working well together and have extended their lead by a few seconds

Lap 11/18: Both Clarke (Drapac) and Julien Berard (Ag2r) are in skinsuits today

Lap 12/18: No urgency from the peloton yet as the leaders are maintaining a steady lead of around 1:30

lap 12/18: the bell has gone for the second intermediate sprint point

Lap 12/18: the gap is at 1:35 now who are about to go through and claim the bonus points for sprint point two

Lap 12/18: The race is playing into Gerrans' hand here with no attempt by Evans or Ulissi to chase the bonus seconds on offer

27km remaining from 85km

The leaders are cruising along here and it appears the peloton is happy for them to stay away before the sprinters team decide to reel them in

Lap 13/18: Trek are now on the front of the main bunch and may just be thinking about setting up Danny van Poppel for the win

Sprint point two: 1: Maxim Belkov (Katusha), 2: Julien Berard (Ag2r), 3: William Clarke (Drapac)

Lap 13/18: Trek and GreenEdge are leading the bunch around now with Gerrans safety protected by his teammates

The gap is at 1:35 and the leaders are happy to keep on working together

22km remaining from 85km

Just a tick over 63km has been covered to far with the riders on Lap 14 of 18

Maxime Daniel  is having a slight seat height adjustment at the back of the bunch

Lap 14/18: The average speed of the peloton on the last lap was 47km/h

Trek continues to lead the chase which is now down to 40 seconds after the effort on lap 13. The sprinters teams are looking to make the catch and get ready for some fast final laps before the sprint

18km remaining from 85km

Lap 15/18: With just 40 seconds lead, the break could be caught this lap with Trek really ramping up the pace

Lap 15/18: The peloton with Lotto now are trying to make this catch happen as soon as possible

16km remaining from 85km

Andre Greipel is looking very active today, is he using too much energy before the sprint?

Just 20 seconds advantage for the leading three and watch for any counter-attacks when the break is caught

Lap 15/18: The peloton can see the three riders out in front now on Flinders St

For the third time in the race this year, Will Clarke (Drapac) is the most competitive to cap off a good week for his team's debut Tour Down Under

Lap 16/18: Julien Berard drops back to the peloton to leave Clarke and Belkov out in front 

Lap 16/18: GreenEdge are driving the bunch now and looking to make the catch as the leaders are only 100m or so in front now

Lap 16/18: The catch has happened now with Clarke and Belkov looking over their shoulders and seeing GreenEdge on the front of the peloton who quickly sweep them up

Lap 16/18: The peloton is all back together now and GreenEdge have their whole team on the front as they try to deliver Gerrans to the overall title and stop BMC from gaining any bonus seconds

Lotto and Giant-Shimano will soon be looking to move forward with their sprinters but for now GreenEdge are keeping the pace high

8km remaining from 85km

Lap 17/18: Its a high pace and the bunch is strung out now with a speed of 44km/h

Lap 17/18: The Giant-Shimano train is getting itself ready and is sitting in just behind GreenEdge as Cadel Evans moves onto Gerrans' rear wheel

 Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Cannondale are moving their trains forward as well

4km remaining from 85km

Last lap now

There is only 4km left in the Tour Down Under

A touch of wheels by Impey there on Adam Hansen

Trek, Cannondale and Lotto are at the front now

Last Lap: all the riders are getting into position now

Quick Step are moving up and are now leading the race to the line

Rider are being dropped now with the high pace that Quick Step are setting

3km remaining from 85km

Everyone is trying to keep position as Quick Step still lead

1km remaining from 85km

Giant-Shimano have moved forward and Lotto are moving forward

1km remaining from 85km

Lotto are leading and setting it up for Greipel

Andre Greipel takes the win in the end

That is three wins in a  row on the final day for Greipel and Simon Gerrans claims the overall

In the finale it was Andre Greipel, Mark Renshaw and Andrew Fenn

Simon Gerrans seals his third Tour Down Under victory and Greipel claimed his third consecutive win on the last day of the Australian race. Check back toy our Tour Down Under page for a full final wrap of the race. Thanks for joining us for the first WorldTour race of 2014

Stage 6 result
1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 1:55:16
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling 
3 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling 
4 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano
5 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
6 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica Greenedge
7 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp
8 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
9 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
10 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica Greenedge

Final overall classification

1 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica Greenedge 19:57:35
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:05
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:05
4 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0:00:14
5 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp 0:00:27
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team 0:00:30
7 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica Greenedge 0:00:34
8 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:37
9 Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:47
10 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:01:00