Attack avalanche on the final day
There
were no surprises in the outcome of the General Classification title at
the Santos Tour Down Under this year.
Andre Greipel, winner of three of the six stages and starting the day
with an 11 second lead, was always going to be hard to beat. This is his
second Tour Down Under win and he has now equalled the record of local
hero, Stuart O’Grady in this event – no mean feat. For Team
UniSA-Australia, Jonathan Cantwell finished strongly in 13th place while
David Kemp was awarded for a week of solid riding, placing third overall
in the King of the Mountain classification.
In another exciting sprint to the finish and with a hint of déjà vu from
the start of the 2010 Tour at the Cancer Council Helpline Classic, Team
Sky took line honors for the stage with Australia’s Chris Sutton across
the line first and team mate Greg Henderson placing second ahead of
Rabobank’s Graeme Brown.
But what was really interesting today was the number of attacks from all
quarters. Teams that were relatively quiet for much of the week were
suddenly sending out little satellite attacks in a bid to gain a few
points here or there to improve their chances of getting in amongst it
both for media and industry attention and for the prize money attached
to the event.
The winner of the tour GC wins a handsome €10,000 and there is prize
money for the next 19 placings along with separate opportunities to win
cash across the Sprint and King of the Mountain categories.
So young riders from Liquigas-Doimo, Garmin Transitions, Astana,
Francaise des Jeux, Ag2r La Mondiale, Euskaltel Euskadi, Team
HTC-Columbia were all bursting forth in little sorties - for the
sprints, the King of the Mountain and I suppose to be in that two lines
of commentary or that candid action shot that might make it to a
newspaper, magazine, website or ezine.
They were doing what UniSA’s team of young riders had been doing all
week – taking an aggressive approach to the race. And once again Team
UniSA- Australia riders were out there today having a go. Jonathan
Cantwell and Rohan Dennis made an early strike – but after the halfway
mark of this 90km street circuit, the team remained more or less, middle
of the peloton and out of the lead action.
It is worth noting that the young Tasmanian rider Wes Sulzberger, who
rode for Team UniSA-Australia in 2008 and is now signed to Francaise des
Jeux, was in the main breakaway group of the day from about the halfway
mark, showing the wonderful style that got him noticed back then and
quickly signed for a career in professional cycling.
Team UniSA-Australia coach Dave Sanders said that the strength of the
team was in the fact that every year the young Australian riders had to
take an attacking stance in the race to match it with the might of their
competitors.
“These young Australian riders are often riding side by side with
athletes who are on million dollar contracts,” Sanders said. “They are
up against big moneyed team machines. Sometimes luck and their talent
come together to win us a stage or a jersey – one year we missed out on
winning the whole event by two tiny seconds. We have done well over the
years.”
Team UniSA-Australia raced competitively throughout the race, in
particular in the first four days they made a real impact with strong
racing in the sprints, King of the Mountain and being involved in most
of the breaks away from the peloton.
It begs the question – how does a team of young, largely unsigned riders
compete so aggressively against the best in the business?
Sanders said there are three clear advantages.
“They’ve been training in the hot Australian summer, unlike the
Europeans who are coming from sub-zero temperatures and we haven’t had
to travel across the other side of the world,” he said.
“Our guys also go in very fit – they’ve done a big December – we’ve
raced national titles and criteriums and some other tours. Not that the
others are unfit but we’re race fit and probably better prepared.
“It’s also a really big event for these young guys and they’re motivated
to show what they can do. There are so many young guys that have got
pro-contracts out of this race.
“We’re putting a stamp on the race every year. Anyone who’s followed
this race, knows we just throw in everything.
“But even when we don’t win anything it is their performances that
matter – the things they learn over the week. They get a measure of
professional competition. They learn to be respectful but never
intimidated by the world’s best. I am again pretty proud of their
performance this year.”
Sanders said his attendance at the Legends Dinner in Adelaide last night
was proof of the pudding.
“I sat with group professional team directors last night and they were
very keen to get the lowdown on our riders – their aggression and
strength this week has not gone unnoticed.”