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9th Tour Down Under - 2.HC
Australia, January 16-21, 2007
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 4 - Saturday, January 20: Willunga - Willunga, 147km
Elmiger sprints into overall lead via bonus
Belgians win the day, Menzies puts up valiant fight
By Mark Zalewski in Willunga, South Austalia
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Dark clouds greeted the riders for the second day in today's penultimate stage of the Tour Down Under, with many expecting today to be a storm of activity in the fight for the overall lead. With second place Martin Elmiger (AG2r Prevoyance) sitting one second behind race leader Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA) it was sure to be an all out battle to the line. At the start Elmiger was all quiet on the race strategy, saying only that he would be watching Menzies. As it turns out, Elmiger was targeting the KOM to make his move, but had to settle for the time bonuses on the finish line, leapfrogging Menzies in the outright standings via the two seconds he earned with a third place sprint finish, behind winner Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen).
"It was my goal today to make up some seconds in the mountains but it came down to the final, so I had to sprint," said Elmiger. "We played a good card with Simon Gerrans and Yuriy Krivtsov in the front with me. They were going hard because the [leader's] jersey was behind by thirty seconds after the hill. I was thinking that's it for us, but then they chased hard behind and I had to sprint for third and for the jersey."
Elmiger is excited to be in the leader's jersey, poised to win it all with one stage to go. "Last year I didn't win a race so it's long enough!" said Elmiger. "It's big for me. I've never won a stage race."
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Stage winner Ghyllebert was also happy with the win, after helping his teammate take out a stage the other day in Hahndorf. "It was a very hard last lap and on the climb - I gave everything to hold the second group, then the CSC riders closed the gap to the front group, but you need a little bit of luck. The other day I was second to my team-mate and I was also very strong but today it's my turn."
Menzies was understandably upset upon hearing the result after riding out of his skin to stay within reach of Elmiger and the other GC threats on Willunga Hill, only to lose the jersey by a time bonus. "I followed the man I had to but he slipped away in the final metres," he said. "But credit to him, he rode strong all day and up the climb."
"The team rode beautifully all day," he continued. "Having Robert up there for us was perfect. And Jongewaard rode with me all the way up the climb. Then Robert was there waiting at the top and they did all they could - I only had to do like one turn. CSC didn't have anyone up there either so Roberts, Goss and O'Grady came through too."
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"There were a few guys doing some stupid things," said Menzies about the final sprint. "Maybe I was a bit too concerned about following him and not sprinting for myself."
This sets up a battle royale on the streets of downtown Adelaide on Sunday, with a flat and fast 4.5 kilometre course featuring three opportunities for time bonuses, two intermediate sprints and the finish line. "For sure we'll give it a go tomorrow," said Menzies. "One second down and I can sprint ok, so we'll go hammer and tongs. The legs feel good still and I miss those podium girls pecking me on the cheek!"
Elmiger is confident that he and his team can put up a quality defence tomorrow, despite being down a few riders. "We have a good quality of riders, maybe not the quantity but a good quality," he said. Regarding the race so far he joked: "It's like the Tour de France, no? Where they don't attack!" But on a more serious note he added: "We have to ride clever, I can sprint well so I will fight for the overall classification. I'm confident that I can sprint as well, like Menzies. It will be a tough final but it's good for the last stage - normally the leaders jersey is decided by now."
How it unfolded
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"Come to the Tour Down Under - it never rains!" was a phrase used to convince this seppo Cyclingnews correspondent to travel around the world. Well to that I say, "Codswallop!" (Look it up if you are not from Down Unda'!) Two back-to-back days of rain made the local farmers sing and the soaked riders curse.
As has been the case in every stage of this Tour Down Under, early attacks produced a large breakaway that ate up all of the time bonuses out on the road, much to the liking of the Australia-UniSA team, who otherwise would have to keep an eye on seventeen riders with a shot at the overall. Menzies even had the numbers written on tape placed on his top tube. "I sure used a big font, but I didn't even use it today," he said. The main break on the day today was setting up to be a battle for the red sprinters jersey, between Laurent Brouchard (Bouygues Telecom) and the new leader Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance), who claimed the lead by being in the long break yesterday.
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But early bad luck struck Rapinski with a rear puncture, sending him out of the break. The strong man from Belarus toughed it out for a few kilometres chasing solo, but eventually made the wiser decision to sit-up and live to fight another day. The rest of the break contained: Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prevoyance), Allan Johansen (Team CSC), Julian Dean (Credit Agricole), Matt Wilson (Unibet.com), Glenn D'hollander (Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen), Darren Lill (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team), Fabrizio Guidi (Barloworld), Diego Caccia (Barloworld), Ludovic Turpin (AG2r Prevoyance), Hans Dekkers (Agritubel), Robert McLachlan (Australia - UniSA), Heath Blackgrove (New Zealand National Team), Clinton Avery (New Zealand National Team).
The first sprint of the day pushed Brouchard into the lead by two points as he took four for second place. Back in the peloton, a variety of teams took turns working, with the majority of the early gas contributed by CSC, with Lars Bak sitting just seven seconds in the rears of Menzies and director sportif Scott Sunderland tired of seeing the same race play out day after day. "It is a funny race," he told Cyclingnews before the stage. "The trend the last few days has been for a break to go up the road to take all of the bonuses. It makes for a negative race - a boring race just doing the in between stuff."
The break seemed to hover under three minutes for most of the day, at least until the second intermediate sprint was eaten up by the non-GC threatening breakaway. Brouchard took the second sprint, increasing his lead on Rapinski and the others. Still the peloton only was able to eat away a slice of the advantage, sitting at just over two minutes until the breakaway entered downtown Willunga for the final time before the KOM.
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On the line before the climb it was an advantage of 1.45, with the pace starting to finally quicken. As the break went up the climb, the long day took its toll on half the riders. Eventually, only six remained to the top: Brochard, d'Hollander, Blackgrove, Guidi, Dean and Caccia. Behind, dropped riders struggled up while Menzies' teammate in the break Robert McLachlan waited to help his team leader stay in contact with the race.
The gap to the peloton, still containing Menzies, dropped rapidly as the climb steepened. By the top, the six remaining break riders only had around thirty seconds on what became a split in the peloton, containing: Yuriy Krivtsov (AG2r Prevoyance), Matthew Lloyd (Predictor - Lotto), Matt Wilson (Unibet.com), Gustav Larsson (Unibet.com), Matteo Carrara (Unibet.com), Clinton Avery (New Zealand National Team), Gene Bates (SouthAustralia.com-AIS), Martin Elmiger (AG2r Prevoyance), Wesley Sulzberger (SouthAustralia.com-AIS), Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team), Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel), Alexandre Botcharov (Credit Agricole), Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel), Simon Gerrans (AG2r Prevoyance), Nicolas Crosbie (Bouygues Telecom), Serge Pauwels (Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen).
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Another thirty-odd seconds behind was the Menzies group, keeping the threats up the road within reach for the final 18 kilometres of the descent and finish. But Menzies would have to catch the group by the line in order to finish with the same time as second place Elmiger. As expected, the big engine of Menzies chipped away at the lead, aided by a strong CSC contingent, catching the leaders which resulted in a pack of around twenty-four riders. This set-up a field sprint for the valuable time bonuses on the line - six, four and two seconds respectively.
The final three kilometres was a gradual drag uphill to the finish line, with thousands waiting and hoping the rains would hold off. The final kilometre produced a fast sprint with the Euro-pros loving the weather and riding accordingly. "My teammate Jens Renders, he goes [on the front] two kilometres from the finish on the left side and it was a very strong wind from the right side," said Pieter Ghyllebert. "He took me to 300 metres and then I went on the left side - nobody was on my wheel."
The closest riders were Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Martin Elmiger, who snatched the other two time bonuses on the line. "Stuart [O'Grady] went to the left and then I have to brake - then I was coming back for the third place. Stuart did not sprint for the third place once he could not win so I came past him and it was a little bit easier. It was really left-right-left-right, side wind, and I was only doing the best sprint for me, I wasn't looking for Menzies."
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Gunter/www.pbase.com/gunterphotograph
- Most riders are always keen to sign on.
- Baden Cooke's (Unibet.com) and his driven socks.
- Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) looking cool and collected before today’s stage.
- Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) and team mate Kurt Arvesen catching before the race.
- Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prévoyance) at the start line.
- Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) acknowledges the crowd this morning.
- Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) leading the bunch early on in the race.
- Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) attacks the bunch.
- Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) surprising a young fan.
- Robert McLachlan and team mate Chris Jongewaard (Australia - UniSA) find a different way to overtake.
- Is he gonna make it?
- No worries
- The peloton stretch out with the fast pace.
- Matt Goss (Team CSC) drives the bunch up a short climb.
- The peloton splits into two.
- The lead group under threatening skies.
- The lead group on the long straight heading towards Willunga.
- Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) and Hilton Clarke (Navigators) in action.
- Andy Flickinger (Bouygues Telecom) zooms through town.
- The leaders approach the top of Willunga Hill.
- Nicolas Crosbie (Bouygues Telecom) rides through the crowd.
- The main bunch wasn’t far behind the leaders.
- Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques) takes a great win and makes it two in a row for his team.
- The photographers take cover from the rain.
- Despite the rain there were plenty of spectators.
- A grey and a bright smile.
- Even the podium girls couldn’t escape the rain.
- Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) is certain to get the U23 classification.
- Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) in the sprinters jersey.
- Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prévoyance) has the KOM all to his own.
- Martin Elmiger (AG2r Prévoyance) takes the overall lead by just one second
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- King of the Mountains leader Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prévoyance) on the start line in Willunga
- Tour leader Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA) is flying the flag for Australia with one stage remaining
- Lens men doing what they do best
- And the sixty-four million dollar question is…where is he?
- Here he is…number 64 Jeremy Hunt (Unibet.com) from England
- The American and Aussie flags were flying by the beach at Aldinga on stage four
- Lars Bak (Team CSC) can finish on the podium after the final stage; Bak currently lies third overall, 8 seconds behind the leader
- The TDU heads along-side Aldinga beach on stage four
- The TDU rolls through the vineyard region of Mclaren Vale in South Australia
- Milram musettes…feed-bags at the feed-zone
- Now mate, this lap please don't give the feed-bags to any Barloworld riders
- Oh no! Which ones for Hilton, which ones for Glen, which ones for Ben which ones for Darren…
- The TDU won't be long young fella and they're going like the clappers
- The lead group on the lower slopes at Willunga Hill
- The leaders head for the top of Old Willunga Hill before the descent into the finish
- Robert McLachlan (Australia-UNISA) out of the saddle on the climb up Old Willunga Hill
- Matt Lloyd (Predictor-Lotto) suffered badly this time last year here and crashed out of the stage but got over the top this year and lies fourth overall
- Martin Elmiger (AG2r Prévoyance) has the Tour leader on his tail on the climb up Old Willunga Hill
- Mark Renshaw (Crédit Agricole) looks ahead to the top of the climb
- Riders at the back of the race head towards the top of the climb on Old Willunga Hill
- Fans at the finish in Willunga await the riders
- The field sprint to the line in Willunga with Chocolade Jacques’ Pieter Ghyllebert pouncing to take the chocolates
- More success on the Tour for Chocolade Jacques with Pieter Ghyllebert winning stage four at Willunga
- Karl Menzies (Australia-UNISA) is led back to his team-van by Neil Stephens (right) as the rain starts to fall in Willunga
- It pelted down at the presentations in Willunga and staying dry was difficult
- Glenn D'Hollander (Chocolade Jacques) was awarded the Century 21 Most Aggressive rider's jersey for stage four
- Most Aggressive rider is sure worth it eh Glen?
- No don't go yet Samuel, we still have to give you the podium kiss
Images by Rachel Burke/www.maximumattack.biz
- Oppy the Tour Down Under mascot arrives at Snapper Point, Aldinga.
- Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques) crosses the sprint line with a Unibet.com rider, while the peloton sit back and watch
- Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques) takes out the first of the sprints at Snapper Point without much of a contest
- The tight knit bunch goes through Snapper Point, Aldinga.
- Anything would do when it came to finding shelter from the rain and wind at the KOM summit.
- Fashions on parade.
- A future champion makes it across the KOM finish line, with a little bit of help.
- Hundreds of spectators packed the side of the road at the KOM braving the pouring rain.
- There was plenty of encouragement for Heath Blackgrove (New Zealand National Team) as he made it to the KOM finish line.
- Glenn D'hollander (Chocolade Jacques) ahead of Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom).
- Heath Blackgrove (New Zealand National Team) takes out the Willunga King of the Mountain and leads the riders towards the final section of Stage 4.
- The New Zealand riders were strong at today's KOM.
- Yuriy Krivtsov (AG2r Prévoyance) receives some encouragement from the crowd.
- Gene Bates (SouthAustralia.com - AIS) conquers the KOM and keeps an eye on his opposition.
- Aussie Simon Gerrans (AG2r Prévoyance) out the front and looking strong as he climbs to the summit of the KOM at Willunga.
- Serge Pauwels (Chocolade Jacques) powers up the hill.
- Robert McLachlan (Australia - UniSA) looked strong as he climbed the KOM.
- Chris Jongewaard (Australia - UniSA) ahead of Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) and the bunch.
- Sven Renders (Chocolade Jacques) keeping up good pace, with Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) in fifth wheel.
- Christophe Edaleine (Credit Agricole) ahead of Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prévoyance) at the KOM.
- Doing it tough, a CSC rider out on his own.
- Andy Flickinger (Bouygues Telecom) working hard.
- Aussie Ben Brooks (Navigators Insurance) determined as he makes it to the KOM.
- Oliver Bonnaire (Bouygues Telecom) out of his seat as he rides up Old Willunga Hill.
- Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance) wearing the sprinters jersey on his own at the Willunga KOM.
- The drought breaks with a river of water during today's presentations at Willunga.
- The first of many faces of Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques) as he crosses the line to take out first place in Stage 4
- Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques)
- Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques)
- Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques)
- Gene Bates (SouthAustralia.com - AIS) finished in 21st place in the fourth Stage at Willunga and sits in a respectable 7th overall.
- An exhausted Chris Jongewaard (Australia - UniSA) crosses the finish.
- Contemplating what could have been, Simon Gerrans (AG2r Prévoyance) after the finish of Stage 4.
Results
1 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 3.25.38 2 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 4 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 5 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 6 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 7 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 8 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 9 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 10 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram 11 Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia - UniSA 12 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 13 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 14 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 15 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 16 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 17 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 18 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 19 Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 20 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 21 Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 22 Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 23 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 24 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 25 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.07 26 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 27 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 28 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 29 Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 30 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 31 Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 32 Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 0.11 33 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 34 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 35 Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 36 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 37 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 0.16 38 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 39 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com 40 Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 41 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.19 42 Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 0.27 43 Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram 0.29 44 Glenn D'hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 45 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 46 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 47 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 0.34 48 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 0.36 49 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 50 Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia - UniSA 51 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 0.42 52 James Perry (RSA) Barloworld 53 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance 0.46 54 Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld 55 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 0.50 56 Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 1.43 57 Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 2.01 58 Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team 5.06 59 Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 60 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 61 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 62 Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 63 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 64 Allan Davis (Aus) Australia - UniSA 65 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 7.24 66 Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 67 Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel 68 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 69 Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team 70 Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 71 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 72 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 73 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 74 Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team 75 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 76 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 77 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com 78 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 79 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 80 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 81 Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 82 Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram 83 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 84 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 85 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 86 Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 87 Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 88 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 89 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 90 Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 91 Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor - Lotto 92 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 93 Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 94 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole 95 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 96 Matthew White (Aus) Australia - UniSA 97 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 98 Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole 99 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 100 Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 101 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 102 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 103 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia - UniSA 104 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 105 Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team 106 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 107 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia - UniSA DNF Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel DNF Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel DNS Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance Mountains 1 Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 16 pts 2 Glenn D'hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 12 3 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 8 4 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 6 5 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 4 Sprint # 1 - The Esplanade, Snapper Point near Butterworth Rd - 58.8 km 1 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 6 pts 2 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 4 3 Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 2 Sprint # 2 - The Esplanade, Snapper Point near Butterworth Rd - 100.7 km 1 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 pts 2 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 4 3 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2 Sprint # 3 - Main Road, Willunga at Kell Street - 147.0 km 1 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 8 pts 2 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 6 3 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 4 Most Aggressive Rider 1 Glenn D’Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Teams 1 Team CSC 10.16.54 2 Bouygues Telecom 3 SouthAustralia.com-AIS 4 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.07 5 Crédit Agricole 6 Predictor - Lotto 7 Unibet.com 0.18 8 Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 0.27 9 Team Milram 0.29 10 Barloworld 0.42 11 AG2r Prévoyance 0.45 12 Australia - UniSA 1.12 13 New Zealand National Team 5.28 14 Agritubel 7.31 General Classification 1 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 14.02.15 2 Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia - UniSA 0.01 3 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 0.08 4 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.10 5 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 0.18 6 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 0.47 7 Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 8 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 0.52 9 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 10 Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 1.05 11 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.49 12 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2.55 13 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 3.05 14 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram 15 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.12 16 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3.14 17 Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 3.37 18 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 9.02 19 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 9.10 20 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 9.11 21 Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 22 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9.13 23 Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 9.15 24 Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 9.18 25 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 9.20 26 Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram 9.33 27 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 10.30 28 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 10.32 29 Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team 10.45 30 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 12.36 31 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 12.49 32 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 13.03 33 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 13.05 34 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 13.12 35 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 15.29 36 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 16.19 37 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 16.21 38 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 16.28 39 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 40 Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel 41 Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole 42 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 16.43 43 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 16.48 44 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 19.30 45 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 20.17 46 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 20.18 47 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 21.04 48 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 22.28 49 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 22.39 50 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 51 Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 52 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia - UniSA 22.52 53 Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 22.59 54 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23.00 55 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 23.02 56 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 23.43 57 Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23.59 58 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 24.52 59 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 26.12 60 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 26.18 61 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 26.22 62 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 63 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 64 Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 65 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 26.33 66 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 26.38 67 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com 68 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 26.41 69 Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 26.49 70 Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 71 Glenn D'hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 26.51 72 Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia - UniSA 26.58 73 James Perry (RSA) Barloworld 27.04 74 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance 27.08 75 Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld 76 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 27.12 77 Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 28.20 78 Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 28.39 79 Allan Davis (Aus) Australia - UniSA 31.28 80 Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 81 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 82 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 83 Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team 84 Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 31.44 85 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 33.41 86 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 33.46 87 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 88 Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 89 Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 90 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 91 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 92 Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team 93 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 94 Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 95 Matthew White (Aus) Australia - UniSA 96 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 97 Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram 98 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 99 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole 100 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 34.02 101 Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 102 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia - UniSA 103 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com 104 Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 105 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 106 Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor - Lotto 107 Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram DNF Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel DNF Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel DNS Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance Points Classification 1 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 20 pts 2 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 14 3 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12 4 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 12 5 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 10 6 Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10 7 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10 8 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 10 9 Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia - UniSA 8 10 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 8 11 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 8 12 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 8 13 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 6 14 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 6 15 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 4 16 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 4 17 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 4 18 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 19 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2 20 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 2 21 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2 22 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2 23 Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 2 King of the Mountains Classification 1 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 28 pts 2 Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 16 3 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 16 4 Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 16 5 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 12 6 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12 7 Glenn D'hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 12 8 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 8 9 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 8 10 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 8 11 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 8 12 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 13 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 6 14 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 6 15 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 6 16 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 17 Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 4 18 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 4 19 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 4 Under 23 Classification 1 Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 14.03.20 2 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 9.25 3 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 11.58 4 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 15.38 5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 21.34 6 Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 7 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia - UniSA 21.47 8 Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 21.54 9 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23.47 10 Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 25.17 11 Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 32.57 Teams Classification 1 SouthAustralia.com-AIS 41.45.56 2 Team CSC 3.35 3 Unibet.com 15.04 4 Bouygues Telecom 18.27 5 Crédit Agricole 18.46 6 Predictor - Lotto 24.00 7 Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 25.10 8 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 38.39 9 Barloworld 40.06 10 AG2r Prévoyance 43.16 11 Team Milram 49.05 12 Agritubel 49.26 13 Australia - UniSA 49.53 14 New Zealand National Team 59.38
