Ewan beats Bennett and Sagan in People's Choice Classic
Criterium champion bests Bora-hansgrohe duo in sprint
Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) beat Sam Bennett and world champion Peter Sagan to the line to win the People’s Choice Classic on Sunday.
The national criterium champion held off a late charge from Bennett, after a perfect leadout from his Orica-Scott teammates in the closing stages of the 50.6 kilometre race in Adelaide.
Ewan came into the race as the main favourite, and on their home roads Orica rode a faultless race. They allowed Dimension Data’s Ben O’Connor to break away during the opening laps and then rode tempo for the majority of the race.
O’Connor built up a lead of 40 seconds during the 22-lap race but the youngster began to tighten up in the final five laps, just as the sprint trains began to organise their chase.
Katusha, Team Sky, Sunweb and Sagan’s Bora Hansgrohe all attempted to establish control in the closing stages as O’Connor sat up but Orica’s well-oiled machine was simply too strong.
Simon Gerrans, Darly Impey, Luke Durbridge and even Colombian climber Esteban Chaves took turns on the front but it was new recruit Roger Kluge who brought Ewan into the final 200 meters.
The German joined the team in the winter but Orica-Scott has tracked his progression since last May when he won a stage in the Giro d’Italia. He was just one of three new signings made this season by the Australian team but despite only arriving in Adelaide a few days ago, he instantly made a difference.
While Sagan and Bennett looked threatening they appeared to lack the same cohesion and, despite a strong finish from Bennett, the Irishman was left with too much to do in the closing meters.
Ahead of the Tour Down Under, which starts on Tuesday the People’s Choice Classic threw up few surprises in the end.
O’Connor put in a valiant ride and his teammate Nathan Haas looked in decent form with a couple of early attacks. Edward Theuns (Trek Segafredo) finished a creditable fifth after returning from back surgery. Niccolo Bonifazio took fourth in Bahrain Merida’s first outing.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott | 1:03:41 |
2 | Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
3 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
4 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
5 | Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | |
6 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data | |
7 | Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
8 | Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | |
9 | Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac | |
10 | Jasha Sutterlin (Ger) Movistar Team | |
11 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
12 | Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
13 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
14 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
15 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott | |
16 | Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky | |
17 | Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
18 | Marko Kump (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
19 | Chun-Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida | |
20 | Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors | |
21 | Sven Bystrom (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin | |
22 | Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac | |
23 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
24 | Michael Valgren DNK Astana Pro Team | |
25 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:08 |
26 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | |
26 | Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
28 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott | |
29 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | |
30 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | |
31 | Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
32 | Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia | |
33 | Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
34 | Jay Mccarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
35 | Francois Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
36 | Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo | |
37 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida | |
38 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
39 | Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
40 | Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
41 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo | |
42 | Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
43 | Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data | |
44 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
45 | Vegard Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
46 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott | |
47 | Jai Hindley (Aus) UniSA-Australia | 0:00:14 |
48 | Samuel Jenner (Aus) UniSA-Australia | |
49 | Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
50 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
51 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal | |
52 | Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb | |
53 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | |
54 | Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
55 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
56 | Jeremy Maison (Fra) FDJ | |
57 | Gregor Muhlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
58 | Lukas Postleberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
59 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | |
60 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
61 | Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team | |
62 | Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:19 |
63 | Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:00:34 |
64 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:40 |
65 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors | |
66 | Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
67 | Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:47 |
68 | Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:51 |
69 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
70 | Michael Kolar (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:53 |
71 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
72 | Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:56 |
73 | Marc Soler (Col) Movistar Team | |
74 | Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ | |
75 | Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ | |
76 | Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ | |
77 | Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin | |
78 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
79 | Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
80 | Michael Storer (Aus) UniSA-Australia | |
81 | Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Quick-Step Floors | |
82 | Angel Vicioso (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin | |
83 | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin | |
84 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
85 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal | |
86 | Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
87 | Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
88 | Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
89 | Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida | |
90 | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | |
91 | Amael Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | |
92 | Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac | |
93 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
94 | Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo | |
95 | Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
96 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
97 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
98 | James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal | |
99 | Rafael Valls (Spa) Lotto Soudal | |
100 | Johannes Frohlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
101 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:01:05 |
102 | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
103 | Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo | |
104 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
105 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
106 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
107 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data | |
108 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
109 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) UniSA-Australia | |
110 | Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia | |
111 | Callum Scotson (Aus) UniSA-Australia | |
112 | Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:01:12 |
113 | Ben O'connor (Aus) Dimension Data | |
114 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
115 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | |
116 | Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data | |
117 | Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ | |
118 | Jose Goncalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | |
119 | Jose Herrada (Spa) Movistar Team | |
120 | Jesus Herrada (Spa) Movistar Team | |
121 | Will Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac | |
122 | Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott | 0:01:16 |
123 | Louis Meintjes (RSA) Team UAE Abu Dhabi | |
124 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data | |
125 | Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky | 0:01:19 |
126 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott | 0:01:25 |
127 | Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:01:37 |
128 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky | 0:01:40 |
DNF | Wilco Keldermann (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky | |
DNS | Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky | |
DNS | Matti Breschel (Dnk) Astana Pro Team |
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