Tour Down Under Stage 4
ON one of the most dramatic days in the history of the Tour Down Under, it was Luis Leon Sanchez of Caisse D’Epargne who stole the biscuits on the penultimate148km stage from Snapper Point to Willunga.
The race began with a seven-man breakaway group forming early, which gained a lead of 2 minutes and 15 seconds at one stage during the race.
As the seven-man group made the ascent up Willunga Hill, King of the Mountains leader Thomas Rohregger of Milram made the junction, and the lead group grew to eight.
That group was caught inside the final lap of the Willunga Hill circuit, from there the race turned on its head. Cadel Evans exploded off the front with two determined FDJ riders, including Tasmania’s Wesley Sulzberger.
The FDJ riders could not hold Evans wheel and were subsequently dropped back to the chasing group. This is when the race became really exciting, as Alejandro Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez put the foot down with Peter Sagan on their wheel.
Evans aware these three were coming, sat up and waited. Once joined by the three chasers Evans & co put the hammer down. They had to negotiate 19 kilometers to the finish with a chasing peloton breathing down their necks. At one stage a gap of 37 seconds separated the breakaway group and the peloton. However, Columbia-HTC were far too determined to win this race overall, and brought the gap back inside 10 seconds.
From there it was a showdown between Evans, Valverde and Sanchez. Evans got caught in two-minds, and in that split second, Sanchez saw his opportunity, kicking away to his first win of the 2010 season.
Who’s Hot
- Andre Greipel is still flammable. You might be thinking why is he flammable on a day like today? On Old Willunga Hill when the gap was 37 seconds and Evans was the virtual race leader on the road, Greipel showed true his character as a rider by getting on the front and working with his teammates to bring back the gap. He was putting in massive turns, and for that when he is not a noted climber he receives the coveted flammable title.
- Luis Leon Sanchez and Alejandro Valverde set this race alight. Before the race firstoffthebike spoke with Neil Stephens, and the Caisse D’Epargne director believed that they had failed by not attacking on Stage 4. He was quite despondent, so for his two top men to turn around the disappointment from Stage 4 and win Stage 5 is a credit to their determination.
- Luke Roberts came from nowhere to get second place on the stage today, and after 3 years of concentrating on the track, its fantastic to see the man from Norwood Cycling Club doing well on the road.
- Cadel Evans should be commended for attacking so boldly like he did today, for Australian cycling fans it was fantastic to see, especially as it is January, and Cadel is not normally in full gear until the months of May and July. He looks like he will be a hard man to beat at this year’s Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy).
Who’s Not
- Team Saxo Bank have been utterly disappointing in this race, they have failed to make an impression, which begs the question, with the loss of a few riders from the 2009 roster and how strong will they be in supporting the Schleck brothers in 2010?
- Allan Davis was dominant in 2009 at the Tour Down Under, he has not troubled the scorers once this week and bar a miracle will finish this race without one top 3 finish on a stage. Hopefully he will have a better season in Europe.
- Lance Armstrong was predicted to light it up on Willunga Hill today, but he could not go with Evans or the Spaniards as they made their move. I have a sneaky suspicion Lance has some bigger fish to fry in 2010.
Ochre Jersey
- A. Greipel (Columbia-HTC)
- L. Sanchez (Caisse D’Epargne) @ 11 seconds
- L. Roberts (Milram) @ 17 Seconds
- R. McEwen (Katusha) @ 20 seconds
- C. Evans (Team BMC) @ 21 seconds
