Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under - 2.3Australia, January 15-20, 2002 |
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Stage 4 - January 18: Unley - Victor Harbor, 141km
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No-one can beat McEwen
By Karen Forman in Victor Harbor
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Two riders, at the opposite ends of the scale, brought together in one race. Both heroes, both deserving of attention.
On one side, highly experienced international champion Robbie McEwen, winner of three stages of the 2002 Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under - including the 141km fourth stage at Victor Harbor today.
On the other, young Australian compatriot, David Pell, the courageous newcomer to the international scene, who rode alone for 81km after a solo breakaway - keeping a time break of up to five minutes between himself and some of the best road cyclists in the world.
In the end, it was the Lotto Adecco rider McEwen who picked up the points and the glory, in a stunning (but not altogether unexpected) bunch sprint to the line.
But nobody who saw today's event, raced by 91 riders in draining 35 degree heat, is going to forget the hard work put in by the younger United Water rider. Today, 21 year old David Pell stamped his name indelibly on Australian road cycling - and showed himself to be a talent of the future.
Today's win by McEwen, whose has shown himself to be in top form during the past two weeks, with first his 2002 Skilled Geelong Bay Classic victory and now, this week, three stage wins in the 2002 Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, came as no surprise once it became clear the race would come down to a bunch sprint.
But it took some doing.
This was a race thought to be one for the sprinters and it did turn out that way. But there were plenty of twists and turns along the way - including Pell's breakaway and a crash involving six riders just two kilometres from the finish.
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Weather conditions were a stark contrast to those of the day before. While stage three was windy - with AIS rider Scott Sunderland (ironically, we discovered today after he was involved in the crash) expressing fears that the wind could contribute to accidents) - today was so hot that extra water was placed in support vehicles and feed zones were opened early.
Some people were concerned, others weren't.
The Italy based Mapei-Quick Step team doctor said he wasn't too concerned for his riders, who would just be encouraged to take on extra fluids. But Australian rider Brett Aitken, said before the start he suffered badly in the heat, sweating "three times" as much as anyone else, and losing vital electrolytes.
It was an easy start, with the group staying together for the first uphill 5km. Then the attacks began. Birthday boy Luca Paolini (Mapei Quick Step) had a go. Arvis Piziks (Tiscali), Jans Koerts (Domo) and Carlos Da Cruz (La Francaise Des Jeux) got into difficulty.
In the next few kilometres Paolini was joined by Alexandre Botcharov (Ag2r Prevoyance).
At the 13km mark a new attack involving Thierry Loder (AG2r Prevoyance), Kevin Hulsmans (Mapei Quick Step) and Robert Tighello (AIS) began. They formed a breakaway and established a 25 second time gap before being joined by Stefan Van Dijk (Lotto Adecco) and Pell.
Along came the first intermediate sprint, which went to Hulsmans with Tighello second and Mikel Astarloza (AG2r Prevoyance) third. Eight riders got together to form a lead group but was caught and then, at the 35km mark, young David Pell put his head down, pumped on the pedals and put 200 metres between himself and the bunch.
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Within two kilometres he had 1'05 on the bunch, another kilometre he had 1'45.
Team Saeco controlled the pace of the chasing bunch, but the action was really up front with Pell who just kept going and going.
At 50km he had 2'15, then 2'35 and then 3'00.
The bunch was still being controlled by Saeco, with other major contenders Mapei in the first third, defending champion Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) midfield and sprinters like Fred Rodriguez (Domo), Jans Koerts (Domo), Andrea Tafi (Mapei Quick Step), Daniele Nardello (Mapei Quick Step), resting on the back of the field.
At 63km, Pell was still riding solo, looking incredibly strong, with hands up on the hoods and a big gear. At this stage, he said later, his coach Brian Stephens was "telling me through the radio to ride at my own pace and just keep going."
He won the second intermediate sprint easily...ahead of the bunch by 4'50. There was some attacking back on the bunch, and Biagio Conte (Saeco) picked up second and O'Grady third.
With Pell at the front and Saeco doing its bit on the front of the bunch, the minutes before the King of the Mountain sprint, on a 5km long, 200 metre high hill, came around. Would Pell hold his lead? He did. He was still 4'50 ahead after the climb, for which he spent 95 per cent of the time sitting firm in the saddle, standing on the pedals only to stretch.
Pell took the KOM points, with Glenn D'Hollander (Lotto Adecco) second and Cadel Evans (Mapei-Quick Step) third. Sunderland was fourth and yellow jersey wearer Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) fifth. But by 111 km, Pell was noticeably tiring. His gap shortened to 1'55. Then 1'30 and 1'10.
Sebastien Hinault (Credit Agricole) attacked Pell fell off, moving backwards as the bunch moved in. Ten kilometres before the finish, Hulsmans was out in front alone, but it was obvious a bunch sprint - which is right up McEwen's alley - was on the cards.
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It was in the middle of the bunch's preparation for the run to the line that the crash occurred, leaving Sunderland with a fracture and soft tissue damage to his right leg - which has left him unable to ride for at least two months and shattered his early season (See separate story). As Sunderland climbed aboard a replacement bike and pushed ahead just to record a finish, McEwen forged ahead for yet another easy stage win.
"I hope nobody is getting bored with this," he said afterwards. "Because I know I'm not."
McEwen said his form was "very good" and attributed it to "six weeks perfect training" and the fact "the boys were riding a perfect race."
He fobbed off teasing about his comments the previous day that he was going to take a rest day today. "When you can get to the finish in the bunch, then you sprint, " he said. "It's my job, what they pay me to do."
The other hero of the race, Pell, was too happy with his solo effort to be concerned about not winning.
"It is great to be on this team and to be here with all these riders," he said. "I didn't expect to be away for so long. They let me go a bit today and at the end I thought I might have had enough, but my legs went. Brian told me to try and save it, but I couldn't."
>From Adelaide he plans to contest the Tour of Tasmania and then will go to Italy for 12 months with the AIS program.
But for the next few days at least, his focus is on the Tour Down Under. He has lofty ambitions...and after today's effort, it would be no surprise to see him on a podium of his own in the future.
Photography
- Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) - gives a tired smile before the stage
- The chaos and colour - at the start of stage 4
- Multinational bodypaint
- Irene the devil - and her angelic counterpart
- The devil - with his sidekicks, also known as PR girls
- Friends of the O'Grady family - with Stuart's Lion from the Tour de France
- Members - of the Echunga rural fire brigade service enjoy a race BBQ
- The scene - in Victor Harbor
- A sea of Stuey's - in Victor Harbor
- David Pell (United Water) - still away as he passes through Victor Harbor
- Saeco-Longoni Sport - control the bunch through Victor Harbor
- Jaan Kirsipuu and Cadel Evans - ride through Victor Harbor
- Robbie McEwen - with his nose in front of Danilo Hondo
- Robbie McEwen - wins his third stage, arms aloft
- Scott Sunderland (AIS) - in a lot of pain after his crash
- Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (AG2r) - suffered a bloodied nose
- Fabio Sacchi - looks a little dubious about accepting his bouquet
Photos by Phillip Chia.
- Jans Koerts - framed on the big screen during the Unley Street Party
- The peloton - emerges from the Heysen Tunnel near the beginning of stage 4
- Jens Heppner (Telekom) - was one of the riders injured in the crash
- Scott Sunderland - grimaces in pain as his knee is treated
Results
1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto Adecco 3.25.50 (41.1 km/h) 2 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Telekom 3 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 4 Baden Cooke (Aus) La Française Des Jeux 5 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 6 Luca Paolini (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 7 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 8 Thierry Loder (Fra) AG2r-Prevoyance 9 Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA 10 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Crédit Agricole 11 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) AG2r-Prevoyance 12 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) CSC - Tiscali 13 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 14 Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 15 Anthony Morin (Fra) Crédit Agricole 16 Biagio Conte (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 17 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Domo Farm Frites 18 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) CSC - Tiscali 19 Michael Rogers (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 20 Allan Davis (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 21 Scott Davis (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 22 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) Telekom 23 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance 24 Brett Aitken (Aus) UniSA 25 Regis Lhuillier (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 26 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 27 Dave McPartland (Aus) United Water 28 Julian Dean (NZl) CSC - Tiscali 29 Lauri Aus (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 30 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 31 Simon Gerrans (Aus) United Water 32 Fabian De Waele (Bel) Mapei Quick Step 33 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Mapei Quick Step 34 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Lotto Adecco 35 Robert Tighello (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 36 Servais Knaven (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 37 Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water 38 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 39 Ashley Humbert (Aus) United Water 40 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Saeco-Longoni Sport 41 Chris Jenner (NZl) Crédit Agricole 42 Jans Koerts (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 43 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Mapei Quick Step 44 Bobby Julich (USA) Telekom 45 David Kopp (Ger) Telekom 46 Bjarke Nielsen (Den) CSC - Tiscali 47 Cadel Evans (Aus) Mapei Quick Step 48 Kai Hundertmarck (Ger) Telekom 49 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Lotto Adecco 50 Steve Cunningham (Aus) UniSA 51 Joerg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco-Longoni Sport 52 Kurt Van De Wouwer (Bel) Lotto Adecco 53 Brad Davidson (Aus) Saeco-Longoni Sport 54 Christian Pepoli (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 55 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 56 Frederic Bessy (Fra) Crédit Agricole 57 Oscar Mason (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 58 Tomas Konecny (Cze) Domo Farm Frites 59 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Crédit Agricole 60 Innar Mandoja (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 61 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) CSC - Tiscali 62 Robert Bartko (Ger) Telekom 63 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 64 Mark Renshaw (Aus) United Water 65 Anthony Langella (Fra) Crédit Agricole 66 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto Adecco 67 Daniel Mackey (Aus) United Water 68 Glenn d'Hollander (Bel) Lotto Adecco 69 Hans De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Adecco 70 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Telekom 0.25 71 Ief Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto Adecco 72 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 0.31 73 Matt Wilson (Aus) La Française Des Jeux 0.42 74 Frederick Guesdon (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 0.44 75 Raphael Jeune (Fra) CSC - Tiscali 0.50 76 Bruce McIntosh (Aus) United Water 77 Bradley McGee (Aus) La Française Des Jeux 0.54 78 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 79 Thomas Bodo (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 80 Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance 81 Jakob Piil (Den) CSC - Tiscali 1.22 82 Jonathan Vaughters (USA) Crédit Agricole 83 Sebastian Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 84 Bram Tankink (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 85 Arvis Piziks (Lat) CSC - Tiscali 1.26 86 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Domo Farm Frites 2.08 87 Steve Williams (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 88 Russell Van Hout (Aus) UniSA 2.38 89 Corey Sweet (Aus) UniSA 90 Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA 91 Adrian Laidler (Aus) UniSA 3.30 92 Jens Heppner (Ger) Telekom 3.33 93 David Pell (Aus) United Water 7.13 94 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 10.16 General classification after stage 4 1 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 11.25.44 2 Michael Rogers (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 0.01 3 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 0.05 4 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) AG2r-Prevoyance 0.07 5 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) CSC - Tiscali 6 Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 7 Anthony Morin (Fra) Crédit Agricole 8 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 0.45 9 Robert Tighello (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 0.46 10 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Crédit Agricole 0.53 11 Biagio Conte (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 0.54 12 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) Telekom 0.56 13 Cadel Evans (Aus) Mapei Quick Step 14 Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance 1.44 15 Scott Davis (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 5.06 16 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto Adecco 7.58 17 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Mapei Quick Step 8.03 18 Dave McPartland (Aus) United Water 8.06 19 Luca Paolini (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 8.09 20 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Telekom 21 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance 8.12 22 Bobby Julich (USA) Telekom 8.13 23 Fabian De Waele (Bel) Mapei Quick Step 24 Thierry Loder (Fra) AG2r-Prevoyance 25 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 26 Chris Jenner (NZl) Crédit Agricole 27 Ashley Humbert (Aus) United Water 28 Kurt Van De Wouwer (Bel) Lotto Adecco 29 Simon Gerrans (Aus) United Water 30 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 31 Robert Bartko (Ger) Telekom 8.24 32 Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water 8.27 33 Tomas Konecny (Cze) Domo Farm Frites 34 Kai Hundertmarck (Ger) Telekom 35 Bradley McGee (Aus) La Française Des Jeux 9.07 36 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 37 Joerg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco-Longoni Sport 9.30 38 Frederic Bessy (Fra) Crédit Agricole 39 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Crédit Agricole 40 Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA 10.44 41 Jens Heppner (Ger) Telekom 12.00 42 Servais Knaven (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 12.16 43 Mark Renshaw (Aus) United Water 44 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) CSC - Tiscali 12.18 45 Glenn d'Hollander (Bel) Lotto Adecco 46 Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA 12.20 47 David Kopp (Ger) Telekom 48 Steve Cunningham (Aus) UniSA 49 Allan Davis (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 12.23 50 Julian Dean (NZl) CSC - Tiscali 51 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Mapei Quick Step 52 Oscar Mason (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 53 Innar Mandoja (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 54 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Lotto Adecco 55 Regis Lhuillier (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 56 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto Adecco 57 Hans De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Adecco 58 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) CSC - Tiscali 59 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 12.54 60 Bruce McIntosh (Aus) United Water 13.06 61 Frederick Guesdon (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 13.07 62 Thomas Bodo (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 13.17 63 Sebastian Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 13.45 64 Bram Tankink (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 65 Russell Van Hout (Aus) UniSA 15.01 66 Adrian Laidler (Aus) UniSA 15.53 67 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 17.23 68 Jans Koerts (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 17.24 69 Baden Cooke (Aus) La Française Des Jeux 17.25 70 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 71 Brett Aitken (Aus) UniSA 72 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Domo Farm Frites 73 Bjarke Nielsen (Den) CSC - Tiscali 74 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 75 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 76 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Lotto Adecco 77 Brad Davidson (Aus) Saeco-Longoni Sport 78 Lauri Aus (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 79 Anthony Langella (Fra) Crédit Agricole 80 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Telekom 17.50 81 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Domo Farm Frites 17.53 82 Raphael Jeune (Fra) CSC - Tiscali 18.15 83 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 18.25 84 Jonathan Vaughters (USA) Crédit Agricole 18.44 85 Jakob Piil (Den) CSC - Tiscali 86 Arvis Piziks (Lat) CSC - Tiscali 18.51 87 David Pell (Aus) United Water 19.33 88 Steve Williams (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 89 Ief Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto Adecco 19.42 90 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Saeco-Longoni Sport 19.44 91 Christian Pepoli (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 19.45 92 Corey Sweet (Aus) UniSA 20.03 93 Matt Wilson (Aus) La Française Des Jeux 37.09 94 Daniel Mackey (Aus) United Water 46.47 Sprints classification 1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto Adecco 28 pts 2 Jans Koerts (Ned) Domo Farm Frites 14 3 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 12 4 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) CSC - Tiscali 10 5 Glenn d'Hollander (Bel) Lotto Adecco 10 6 Michael Rogers (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 8 7 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 8 8 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 6 9 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Mapei Quick Step 6 10 David Pell (Aus) United Water 6 11 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Crédit Agricole 6 12 Corey Sweet (Aus) UniSA 6 13 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Telekom 6 14 Luca Paolini (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 6 15 Biagio Conte (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 4 16 Robert Tighello (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 4 17 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 4 18 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 4 19 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance 2 Mountains classification 1 Glenn d'Hollander (Bel) Lotto Adecco 28 pts 2 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 28 3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Mapei Quick Step 20 4 David Pell (Aus) United Water 16 5 Russell Van Hout (Aus) UniSA 12 6 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 8 7 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 8 8 Joerg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco-Longoni Sport 6 9 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 4 10 Michael Rogers (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 4 11 Brad Davidson (Aus) Saeco-Longoni Sport 4 U23 classification 1 Dave McPartland (Aus) United Water 11.33.50 2 Ashley Humbert (Aus) United Water 0.07 3 Simon Gerrans (Aus) United Water 4 Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water 0.21 5 Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA 2.38 6 Mark Renshaw (Aus) United Water 4.10 7 Allan Davis (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 4.17 8 Regis Lhuillier (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 9 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto Adecco 10 Bruce McIntosh (Aus) United Water 5.00 11 Thomas Bodo (Fra) La Française Des Jeux 5.11 12 Adrian Laidler (Aus) UniSA 7.47 13 Brad Davidson (Aus) Saeco-Longoni Sport 9.19 14 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Domo Farm Frites 9.47 15 David Pell (Aus) United Water 11.27 16 Daniel Mackey (Aus) United Water 38.41 Most aggressive rider 1 David Pell (Aus) United Water Teams classification 1 Mapei - Quick Step 34.19.03 2 Australian Institute Of Sport 3 Ag2R Prevoyance 7.19 4 Crédit Agricole 7.22 5 Saeco Machine Per Caffe - Longoni Sport 8.42 6 Telekom 15.25 7 UniSA 18.42 8 United Water 22.27 9 Domo Farm Frites 22.55 10 CSC - Tiscali 22.59 11 La Francaise Des Jeux 26.58 12 Lotto Adecco