History Team UniSA-Australia

A modern, vibrant and innovative university, UniSA is proud of its 11-year association with the Santos Tour Down Under and its support for the development of young Australian riders through Team UniSA-Australia.

Team UniSA-Australia riders have turned in some thrilling performances over the years, culminating in memorable victories in the Teams classification (2004 and 2006), an overall win for Patrick Jonker in 2004, Karl Menzies’ overall runner-up position in 2007, a down to the wire second place overall for Allan Davis in the 2008 race and in 2010 David Kemp was third in the overall King of the Mountain classification. In 2009 and 2010, Team UniSA-Australia was again the launching pad for young talent with South Australians Jack Bobridge (2009), Rohan Dennis (2010) and Tim Roe (2010) riding strongly and making their mark in professional cycling.

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• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001
• Classification Placings

2011

Team UniSA–Australia fielded one of its best teams yet in 2011 with experienced professional riders Luke Roberts, Jonathan Cantwell, Wesley Sulzberger and Mitchell Docker returning to the team after riding with UniSA earlier in their careers.

Roberts and Docker made an early mark in the race with respective jerseys in the King of the Mountain and Sprint competitions.

Tasmanian Bernard Sulzberger was involved in a crash just 100m from the finish line in Mannum in Stage 2. A broken collarbone forced him to retire from the race.

Young West Australian Luke Durbridge performed well in his first pro tour race and earned himself the Most Aggressive Rider jersey for Stage 3 after riding in a break-away.

Roberts, who was riding to secure a new pro tour contract, continued his strong performances in the King of the Mountain and even placed fifth over the finish line in Stage 5; while teammate Cantwell finished tenth in the final Stage 6.

Roberts went into the final stage with an eight-point lead in the King of the Mountain Classification and retained it with a first place.

Teammate Docker also led out in Stage 6 to finish first in the second mountain climb, giving him third overall in the King of the Mountain Classification. Roberts also earned himself the Tanya Denver Memorial award for the best South Australian rider, finishing tenth overall in the race; while Luke Durbridge came seventh in the King of the Mountain; Docker finished eighth in the Sprint classification; and Team UniSA-Australia placed 11th in the Brilliant Blend Winning Team Jersey.

Team Members

• Luke Roberts
• Jonathan Cantwell
• Wesley Sulzberger
• Mitchell Docker
• Luke Durbridge
• Michael Hepburn
• Bernard Sulzberger
• Dave Sanders (manager)

2010

Team UniSA-Australia put in an aggressive performance in the 2010 Santos Tour Down Under. The team, mostly unsigned riders at the time, had nothing to lose and put in a great effort to make a mark in each stage. Overall, David Kemp finished third in the King of the Mountain classification and 21-year-old Tim Roe finished in fourth place. Kemp also finished fourth overall in the Sprint classification.

Roe earned the Most Aggressive Rider Jersey and King of the Mountain Jersey in Stage one, and David Kemp then kept the King of the Mountain Jersey with the team in Stage two, dominating the tough Checker Hill in the Adelaide Hills.

Simon Clarke put his hand up to make a mark for the team in Stage three and ended the day with the Most Aggressive Jersey.

In Stage four, Kemp again raced strongly, taking an early breakaway that held until just 12km from the finish. Stage five was a tough day but Rohan Dennis and Michael Matthews pushed hard to make early attacks while Peter McDonald did well to finish 15th overall in the pack at Willunga.

Team Members

• Jonathan Cantwell
• Simon Clarke
• David Kemp
• Michael Matthews
• Peter McDonald
• Tim Roe
• Rohan Dennis
• Dave Sanders (manager)

2009

2009 saw a blend of experience and fresh talent in the Team UniSAAustralia riders as they tried to make their mark in the race with some aggressive riding.

The race gave new talents Jack Bobridge and Travis Meyer a good opportunity to get noticed, with impressive riding in several stages including a Stage five Most Aggressive Rider jersey for Bobridge, and Meyer riding in a three-man break-away for most of Stage four.

Bobridge also helped to set up a second place in Stage one for Baden Cooke in blistering heat.

Other highlights included Aaron Kemps winning the two sprints during Stage two and the Most Aggressive Rider jersey; and Matthew Wilson winning the first intermediate sprint during Stage three.

Team Members

• Aaron Kemps
• Baden Cooke
• Jack Bobridge
• Matthew Wilson
• Scott Davis
• Simon Clarke
• Travis Meyer
• Dave Sanders (manager)

2008

In its first year as a pro tour event, the Santos Tour Down Under hosted 126 riders all looking to impress.

At the first hit out Team UniSAAustralia’s young Richie Porte took on all-comers with a sterling effort to lead and stay in the breakaway snatching moments of glory on what was now truly the world cycling stage.

But all eyes were on the sparky sprinter Allan ‘Alby’ Davis in his bid to regain reputation, form and a ticket to the cycling season as part of a pro-team.

While German rider Andre Greipel ultimately proved too strong for Davis in 2008, Alby rode valiantly to take out Stage three in a serious sprint finish at Victor Harbor. Final placings saw Davis win the jersey in the Hindmarsh Most Aggressive Rider classification, and was second place in the overall classifications, the only Australian rider in the top three.

Davis went on to win the 2009 Santos Tour Down Under with the Quick Step team.

Team Members

• Allan Davis
• Karl Menzies
• Matt Wilson
• Richie Porte
• Wes Sulzberger
• Luke Roberts
• Simon Clarke
• Dave Sanders (manager)

2007

A determined team effort and some impressive personal performances saw Karl Menzies miss out by a mere three seconds as overall classification winner of the 2007 Tour Down Under.

Menzies had a blistering Stage one win which, with the excellent support of his colleagues, set him up to wear the coveted ochre jersey for four stages of the Tour. Chris Jongewaard finished second in Stage three, and Allan Davis secured third place in Stage five and fifth in the Tour Down Under Classic curtain raiser.

Team Members

• Allan Davis
• Brett Aitken
• Chris Jongewaard
• Karl Menzies
• Matthew White
• Mitchell Docker
• Robert McLachlan
• Russell van Hout
• Dave Sanders (manager)

2006

Another outstanding team effort saw Team UniSAAustralia take victory in the team classification and Gene Bates (fifth), Russell van Hout (seventh) and Chris Jongewaard (ninth) all finishing in the top 10 in the overall classification.

Russell van Hout was second in the sprinters’ classification and led Paul Crake home on Stage four for a superb one-two finish. Paul Crake also clinched another second place on Stage two. In the King of the Mountain standings, Matthew Hayman, Russel van Hout, Gene Bates and Paul Crake snared the fourth to seventh slots.

Team Members

• Ben Day
• Chris Jongewaard
• Gene Bates
• Matthew Hayman
• Paul Crake
• Robert McLachlan
• Russell van Hout
• Sean Sullivan
• Dave Sanders (manager)

2005

With the most competitive entry list to date, Team UniSA put in another strong performance in 2005, coming fourth overall in the team rankings.

Gene Bates proved to be the standout rider for Team UniSA, securing his first King of the Mountain title on his way to finishing eleventh overall. Bates also finished fourth in the Sprinters classifications and had two top 10 stage finishes.

Matthew Rex grabbed a top 10 finish in the opening stage of what many considered to be the most gruelling Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under to date.

Team Members

• Adrian Laidler
• Chris Jongewaard
• Corey Sweet
• Gene Bates
• James Hannam
• Matthew Rex
• Russell van Hout
• Stephen Cunningham
• Michele Primaro (manager)

2004

What a year for Team UniSA!

Patrick Jonker was overall winner in what was to be his final professional ride; and top 10 overall finishes from Luke Roberts (ninth) and Gene Bates (tenth) helped propel Team UniSA to the top of the team standings.

Jonker also recorded top 10 finishes in the Sprint (fifth) and King of the Mountain (eighth) classifications, as well as receiving the most aggressive rider award for Stage three. Gene Bates grabbed second place in a closely fought third stage and Luke Roberts achieved three top 10 stage finishes.

Team Members

• Adrian Laidler
• Gene Bates
• James Hannam
• Luke Roberts
• Matthew Rex
• Patrick Jonker
• Russell van Hout
• Steve Cunningham
• Michele Primaro (manager)

2003

Team UniSA continued its move up the rankings by finishing fifth overall on the teams’ leaderboard. Patrick Jonker was best rider in the overall standings, finishing seventh, with Russell van Hout, Gene Bates and Luke Roberts also finishing in the top 20.

Gene Bates won his second Under-23 classification, with Adrian Laidler also sneaking into the top 10. Russell van Hout was fifth overall in the King of the Mountain and seventh in the Sprinters classification, with Adrian Laidler following him home in eighth place. Steve Cunningham and Adrian Laidler won the most aggressive rider award for Stages three and four respectively.

Team Members

• Adrian Laidler
• Brett Aitken
• Gene Bates
• Jay Sweet
• Luke Roberts
• Patrick Jonker
• Russell van Hout
• Steve Cunningham
• Michele Primaro (manager)

2002

Team UniSA used its local knowledge from the previous year to full advantage and improved to finish sixth in the team standings with Patrick Jonker taking a commendable third overall in the riders’ standings.

Russell van Hout once again was runner-up in the King of the Mountain and Corey Sweet snared the most aggressive rider award on his way to finishing a superb second in the opening stage. A swag of top 10 stage finishes by six Team UniSA riders confirmed the overall depth of talent in the squad.

Team Members

• Adrian Laidler
• Brett Aitken
• Corey Sweet
• Gene Bates
• Luke Roberts
• Patrick Jonker
• Russell van Hout
• Steve Cunningham
• Michele Primaro (manager)

2001

The inaugural year of Team UniSA’s involvement in the Santos Tour Down Under and a valuable experience with the team finishing 11th overall.

There were some standout performances – Luke Roberts won Stage four (Unley to Strathalbyn) and Gene Bates won the Under 23 classification, while Russell van Hout finished runner-up in the King of the Mountain standings with Steve Cunningham placed fifth.

Team UniSA riders picked up a swag of Most Aggressive rider awards with Kristjan Snorrasson (Stage one), Steve Cunningham (Stage three) and Russell van Hout (Stage five) all getting in the action.

Team Members

• Adrian Laidler
• Gene Bates
• Kristjan Snorrasson
• Lado Fumic
• Luke Roberts
• Matt Wilson
• Russell van Hout
• Steve Cunningham
• Michele Primaro (manager)

Classification Placings

Overall

Year	Rider	Position
2008	Allan Davies	2nd
2007	Karl Menzies	2nd
2006	Gene Bates	5th
2004	Patrick Jonker	1st
2002	Patrick Jonker	3rd

Teams

Year	Team	Position
2006	Team UniSA	1st
2004	Team UniSA	1st

King of the Mountain

Year	Rider	Position
2011	Luke Roberts	1st
2011	Mitchell Docker	3rd
2010	David Kemp	3rd
2005	Gene Bates	1st
2002	Russell van Hout	2nd
2001	Russell van Hout	2nd

Most Aggressive Rider

Year	Rider	Position
2008	Allan Davis	1st

Sprints classification

Year	Rider	Position
2006	Russell van Hout	2nd

Under 23 classification

Year	Rider	Position
2003	Gene Bates	1st
2001	Gene Bates	1st

Stage classification

Year	Stage	Rider	Position
2008	3	Allan Davis	1st
2007	5	Allan Davis	3rd
2007	3	Chris Jongewaard	2nd
2007	1	Karl Menzies	1st
2006	4	Russell van Hout	1st
2006	4	Paul Crake	2nd
2006	2	Paul Crake	2nd
2004	3	Gene Bates	2nd
2002	2	Corey Sweet	2nd
2001	4	Luke Roberts	1st