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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 3 - Friday, January 19: Stirling - Victor Harbor , 128km
Cooke leads Aussie's second stage sweep
KOM and sprint jerseys change, lead stays with Menzies
By Mark Zalewski in Victor Harbor, South Australia
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How do you make an Aussie ride faster? Just add water. A rain-drenched third stage of the Tour Down Under saw a blazing fast speed averaging 48.63 km/h with Unibet.com's Baden Cooke wanting to get out of the rain first, winning solo out of an original break of 19. Not far behind was Chris Jongewaard (Australia - UniSA) and Matt Goss (CSC), completing an Aussie trifecta.
"I rang my parents this morning to say keep an eye out, I was going to have a crack today," said Cooke after the race. "I don't like sitting in the back of the bunch on a rainy day - I'd rather be off the front, smashing along and keeping warm! I thought I would get out and get home and dry a bit earlier."
Cooke also eyed the kilometres on the day as a good opportunity to have a go without too much anguish. "I thought because it was a short stage I wouldn't do too much damage so early in the season and, until 40km to go, I wasn't really touching the pedals. My teammate Jeremy Hunt did a huge amount of work so I am glad I was able to put the win together for him."
The 19 rider break had three teams with two riders, one of which was Cooke's. "There were two of us, two Lotto and two CSC, so I knew those were the teams that would be fighting for the win." But the KOM on the day up Kirby Hill, 40 kilometres from the finish, ravaged the break. An attack by Wim Vansevenant (Predictor - Lotto) down the back side of the KOM looked to be dangerous but turned out to be too early.
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"When Vansevenant got away I knew it was up to us and CSC to chase," said Cooke. "After catching and dropping Vansevenant, the break was down to the final five. When it broke down to five guys I turned to [the UniSA rider] and said, 'If you are going to go for the win, you better start doing some work.' He sort of half-hearted came through. When I got away with him I knew he would be fresh. I was spent but still gave it a few turns."
"Once the break was secure I think he was looking for us to do our part - probably shows he was suffering a bit but he was the fastest rider on the day," said Jongewaard. "At the end of the day it was in my best interest to do work on the front and secure second place."
"Maybe he thought it would be a bit wrong to try and go for the win," said Cooke. "But he was happy just to stay away and did most of the work until the final kilometre - I was happy to beat him in the sprint!"
Cooke is as excited as he is relieved to get the first win of the season early. "It's always good to kick off with a win. The team is going into the ProTour this year and we want to make a big impact, so this is the best way to start. The first win is always the hardest to get because you haven't raced for a long time." Regarding the recent controversy with the team and the ProTour, Cooke responded: "Obviously there is some controversy about Paris-Nice at the moment but I can't comment on that at the moment. But as far as we are concerned we are in the ProTour and we are doing the Tour de France."
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Even with sitting on for a lot of the break, Chris Jongewaard rode a strong finish, driving hard at the end. After this tour, he flies to America to race for the Jittery Joe's outfit. "I've been struggling the first few days, but it's the early season and I am preparing more for the US season later on. It's my first time over there and racing overseas. So I think good things will happen."
Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance) moved into the sprint lead thanks to the two intermediate sprints on the road. "I wasn't thinking about this jersey today. I got into the break just to try to win the stage. But the last thirty kilometres I found it difficult. The KOM just killed me, but I was happy with the chance to take the jersey." Rapinski returns to the Navigators team after two unlucky and unsuccessful seasons, including one in the ProTour. "The last two seasons were very bad for me. The one year with Phonak I had visa problems and last year I didn't have many races. I was on this team in 2004 and was riding good, so it's like a lucky team for me!"
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Race leader Karl Menzies had no worries about retaining his lead, especially with two teammates up the road looking after things, but certainly did not enjoy the ride as much today. "Pretty shit day really! But what can you do, everyone has to ride in it. It was a little bit sketchy at the end, but everything is as it started. That leaves us with one big climb tomorrow."
That climb tomorrow is the stage everyone has been waiting for - the circuit race in Willunga with the finishing circuit up Willunga Hill, rising up more than 260 metres just 30 kilometres from the finish. It will be a tough task for the Australia-UniSA boys, but Menzies says they are up to the challenge. "We went for a cruise up the climb, a little over 3km long, but I have some awesome strong teammates. It's going to be an attacking race from the start. We are going to have to control the race tomorrow, which means we'll use up guys earlier. Hopefully, we can get a couple over the climb with me and we don't have to chase."
Menzies was in a similar situation last year, wearing the leader's jersey with big climbs in front of him. He managed to make it over the climbs with the leaders in sight, but a wayward motor marshall sent his group off course at a turn, with the time to get back on course almost identical to the difference lost to the eventual winner - Navigators Insurance's Sergey Lagutin. Menzies chuckled, saying he reminded Navigators director sportif Ed Beamon about the incident, who jokingly replied: "Better watch out for those turns!"
How it unfolded
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The dark skies over the start town of Stirling gave a good indication of what lay ahead for the 110 starters. Overnight rains had dampened the roads but not the turnout with thousands coming out to see the riders off. A tricky downhill descent made the going tough from the start for the peloton, but all survived. Once the road flattened out, the first attacks flew off the front barely ten kilometres into the stage.
A group of nineteen got away consisting of Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prevoyance), Matthew Goss, Matti Breschel (Team CSC), Josep Jufre Pou, Wim Vansevenant (Predictor - Lotto), Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole), Brett Lancaster (Team Milram), Dimitri Champion, Yohann Gene (Bouygues Telecom), Baden Cooke, Jeremy Hunt (Unibet.com), Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance Cycling Team), Gianpaolo Cheula , Geraint Thomas (Barloworld), Miles Olman, Michael Ford (SouthAustralia.com-AIS), Mitchell Docker, Chris Jongerwaard (Australia - UniSA) and Scott Lyttle (New Zealand National Team).
While no major threats were in the break, the peloton was never more than a minute away, led mainly by the Chocolade Jacques team, obviously keen on netting back-to-back stage wins, after going one-two yesteday. After a few more kilometres of this, the faucet turned on and the whole of drought-ridden South Australia rejoiced, save for the 110 cyclists and motorbike crews.
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The break still hovered at a minute thanks to the Chocolade Jacques team driving the pace, until Robbie McEwen reportedly laid down the law, telling the Belgians to "not be so greedy!"
"It wasn't easy out there," said teammate Matthew Lloyd. "They were chasing the break a lot early. No one from any threatening team and Robbie basically told them to call it off." That seemed to do the trick as the peloton settled in for an easier pace while the break gap ballooned to more than five minutes on the way to the coastline.
The two intermediate sprints were claimed by Navigators Insurance's Viktor Rapinski, who moved into the sprint jersey lead on the road. After reaching the coast, the course turned away and up, ascending Kirby Hill and the lone KOM of the day. The cream of the breakaway group started to separate from the rest near the top with Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r Prevoyance) jumping away to take the lead in the competition.
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On the back side, a select group reformed, including: Dumoulin, Matthew Goss, Matti Breschel (Team CSC), Josep Jufre Pou, Wim Vansevenant (Predictor - Lotto), Dimitri Champion (Bouygues Telecom), Baden Cooke, Jeremy Hunt (Unibet.com), Gianpaolo Cheula (Barloworld) and Chris Jongewaard (Australia - UniSA). From here, Vansevenant made his move, but Cooke was not panicking.
"If we just kept him within reach I knew it would be up to us and CSC to put our heads down and bring him back, so I wasn't overly worried. In those situations with a bigger group like that it is always cat and mouse. You have to be really on the ball thinking the whole time. As soon as we got out there after 20km I was already running through my mind the tactics I would use in the finish! "
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Sure enough, the faster moving break caught and passed Vansevenant, while dropping a few more riders in the process, including Cooke's teammate Jeremy Hunt. The two rider advantage was now negated, with Dumoulin, Goss, Jufre Pou, Cooke and Cheula leading, while Jongewaard was still tagged on the rear. "I just tried to keep those guys in sight and roll over the hill with them," said Jongewaard. "I didn't feel full-on at the start of the race, but I think my form is coming along."
When Cooke attacked the final group, Jongewaard was the only rider fresh enough to go with him. However, he not only knew it would not have been professional of him to sit on Cooke for the win, but also that Cooke could still likely beat him in a sprint. "Baden is definitely the sprinter out of us two - to match with him would have been impossible. This is one of my biggest results for me, so I am happy with second."
Cooke says that going a little easier for the first two days helped him win today, and might help him win again in the final stage. "I've spent two days working out the legs in the peloton so I knew my legs were good. I've already won on Sunday before so I would love to pick another one up.
Tune into the live coverage via the Cyclingnews online blimp - Hindenburg V-2, bringing you updates from the first pedal stroke to the finish.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Gunter/www.pbase.com/gunterphotograph
- Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) makes his way to sign on.
- Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA) in the media spotlight.
- Barloworld make there way to the sign on area.
- Luke Roberts (Team CSC) awaits the start.
- Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA) ready to race.
- The peloton started the day in the cool Adelaide hills.
- Robert Hunter (Barloworld) had a fall early on in the day on the slick roads.
- Robert McLachlan (Australia UniSA) attacking the main bunch.
- The lead group lead by miles Olman (SouthAustralia.com-AIS).
- Chocolade Jacques working out front to keep in touch with the break.
- Then the rain came.
- The lead group pass through Port Elliot.
- Jeremy Hunt (Unibet.com) out front as they start the KOM.
- Giampaolo Cheula (Barloworld) attacked hard and took out the KOM.
- Jeremy Hunt (Unibet.com) gives his all to keep in touch with the lead group.
- Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) takes the win.
- Matti Breschel (Team CSC) standing in the rain at the end of the days racing.
- Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) whilst chatting with the media.
- The media pack around the days winner.
- The rest of the riders arrive in Victor Harbor.
- The tour leader Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA)
- Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) happy to be winning again.
- The always happy podium girl.
- Wim Vansevenant (Predictor Lotto) was the most aggressive today.
- Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) is still in the U23 jersey.
- Viktor Rapinski (Navigators) looks pretty pleased to be the sprint leader.
- Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r) is still the King of the Mountain.
- The glamour of the TDU.
- Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA) retained the Ochre jersey.
- Karl Menzies (Australia - UniSA) smiling for a reason
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- Stage two winner Steven Caethoven (Chocolade Jaques) signs on in Sterling for the third stage
- The boys from Barloworld line up at the sign on led by team leader Robbie Hunter of South Africa
- Yohann Gene (Bouygues Telecom) signs on in Sterling for the start of stage three
- High Performance Manager at Cycling Australia, Kevin Tabotta (right), has seen the progress of Matt Goss (left) of Team Team CSC since the early days in Tasmania
- Some of the supplies that the riders take with them during the stages on the road
- Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) is the home-state favourite among the fans of the Tour Down Under
- Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) back in familiar territory on the roads of South Australia and supporting the Tour Down Under
- Allan Davis (Australia-UNISA) chats with commentator Phil Liggett prior to the start of stage three in Sterling
- There's even a little bit of France on the 2007 Tour Down Under riders speed by the turn-off to Paris Creek road
- The voice of cycling, Phil Liggett, admires the work the South Australian police do on the Tour Down Under
- Great crowds and plenty of bikes at the start in Sterling for stage three of the Tour Down Under
- Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) takes out stage three into a wet Victor Harbor after 128kms from Sterling
- Sometimes it's a lonely ride to the finish..An exhausted Chris Jongewaard (Australia-UNISA) finishes second on stage three into Victor Harbor
- The peloton ride into a soggy Victor Harbor to complete stage three of the Tour Down Under
- Sometimes it's too wet for shades and they need another place to rest Matt White (Australia-UNISA) at the finish in Victor Harbor
- Simon Clarke (South Australia.com) still retains the jersey for the best placed under 23 rider on the tour
- Now Clarkey, surely you are making your South Australia.com teammates jealous?
- Okay, who has the better legs?
- There was plenty of cover for the podium girls in a wet Victor Harbor after the finish to stage three
- Umbrellas shelter the Tour leader Karl Menzies (Australia-UNISA) from the rain before he steps onto the podium in Victor Harbor
- Karl Menzies (Australia-UNISA) still holds a one second lead with two stages remaining in the Tour
- Looks like it's going to be close - it could go right down to the wire. Tour leader Karl Menzies (Australia-UNISA) on the podium
Results
1 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 2.37.55 (48.63 km/h) 2 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 0.05 3 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 0.19 4 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 5 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 6 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 7 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 0.41 8 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.42 9 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 1.28 10 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 2.52 11 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.03 12 Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 13 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 14 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 15 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia - UniSA 3.16 16 Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 3.23 17 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 18 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 3.25 19 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 3.26 20 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 14.10 21 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 22 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram 23 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 24 Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia - UniSA 25 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 26 Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 27 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 28 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 29 Allan Davis (Aus) Australia - UniSA 30 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 31 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 32 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 33 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 34 Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 35 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 36 Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram 37 Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 38 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 39 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 40 Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 41 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 42 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 43 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 44 Matthew White (Aus) Australia - UniSA 45 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 46 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 47 Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel 48 Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 49 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 50 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 51 Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team 52 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 53 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 54 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 55 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 56 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 57 Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole 58 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com 59 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 60 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 61 Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 62 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 63 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 64 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 65 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 66 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 67 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance 68 Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram 69 Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 70 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 71 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 72 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 73 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 74 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 75 Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 76 Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 77 Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 78 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 79 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 80 Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia - UniSA 81 James Perry (RSA) Barloworld 82 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 83 Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld 84 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 85 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole 86 Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team 87 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 88 Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 89 Glenn D'hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 90 Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor - Lotto 14.26 91 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 92 Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 93 Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team 94 Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 95 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 96 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com 97 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 98 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 99 Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 100 Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 101 Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 102 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 103 Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 104 Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 105 Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 106 Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 107 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 108 Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team 109 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia - UniSA 110 Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel Mountains Crows Nest Rd (Kerby Hill) near Pt Elliot - 87.2 km 1 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 16 pts 2 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 12 3 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 8 4 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 6 5 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 4 Sprints Sprint #1 - Adelaide Rd, Echunga at Institute - 15.5 km 1 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 6 pts 2 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 4 3 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 3 Sprint #2 - Cadell St, Goolwa at Hotel - 69.8 km 1 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 6 pts 2 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 3 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2 Sprint #3 - The Esplanade, Victor Harbor at Albert Place - 128 km 1 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 8 pts 2 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 6 3 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 4 Teams 1 Team CSC 8.08.55 2 Predictor - Lotto 0.47 3 Unibet.com 1.52 4 Australia - UniSA 2.21 5 Barloworld 2.22 6 Bouygues Telecom 2.45 7 SouthAustralia.com-AIS 5.26 8 AG2r Prévoyance 13.29 9 Crédit Agricole 16.13 10 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 16.33 11 New Zealand National Team 16.35 12 Team Milram 16.36 13 Agritubel 27.20 14 Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen General classification after stage 3 1 Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia - UniSA 10.36.38 2 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 0.01 3 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 0.07 4 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.09 5 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 0.17 6 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 0.46 7 Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 8 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 0.51 9 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 10 Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 1.04 11 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2.47 12 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.48 13 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 3.04 14 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram 15 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 16 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3.06 17 Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 3.20 18 Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team 19 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 5.25 20 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 8.56 21 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 9.01 22 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 9.03 23 Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 24 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 25 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 26 Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram 27 Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole 28 Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 29 Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel 30 Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 9.10 31 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9.12 32 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 9.15 33 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 9.19 34 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 10.18 35 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 12.05 36 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 12.12 37 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 12.26 38 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 12.28 39 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 12.29 40 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 12.30 41 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 12.52 42 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.53 43 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 13.39 44 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 15.03 45 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 15.12 46 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 15.14 47 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 48 Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 49 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia - UniSA 15.27 50 Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 15.34 51 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 15.35 52 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 15.37 53 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 16.13 54 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 16.18 55 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 56 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 57 Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team 16.34 58 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 24.41 59 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 26.16 60 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 26.21 61 Allan Davis (Aus) Australia - UniSA 62 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 63 Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 64 Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 65 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 66 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance 67 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 68 Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 69 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 70 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com 71 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 72 James Perry (RSA) Barloworld 73 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 74 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 75 Glenn D'hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 76 Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 77 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 78 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 79 Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia - UniSA 80 Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld 81 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 82 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 83 Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team 84 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 85 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 86 Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 87 Matthew White (Aus) Australia - UniSA 88 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 89 Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 90 Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram 91 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 92 Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 93 Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team 94 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 95 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole 96 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 26.37 97 Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia - UniSA 98 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 99 Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 100 Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 101 Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 102 Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 103 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 104 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com 105 Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 106 Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor - Lotto 107 Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 108 Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 109 Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 110 Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel 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 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 12 5 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12 6 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 8 7 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 8 8 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 8 9 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 10 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 6 11 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 6 12 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 13 Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 4 14 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 4 Points classification 1 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12 pts 2 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 10 3 Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10 4 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10 5 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 10 6 Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia - UniSA 8 7 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 8 8 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 8 9 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 8 10 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 8 11 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 6 12 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia - UniSA 6 13 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 4 14 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 4 15 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 4 16 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 17 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2 18 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 2 19 Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2 Under 23 classification 1 Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10.37.42 2 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 9.14 3 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 11.22 4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 14.10 5 Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 6 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia - UniSA 14.23 7 Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 14.30 8 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 15.09 9 Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23.37 10 Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 25.17 11 Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 25.33 Teams classification 1 SouthAustralia.com-AIS 31.29.02 2 Team CSC 3.35 3 Unibet.com 14.46 4 Bouygues Telecom 18.27 5 Crédit Agricole 18.39 6 Predictor - Lotto 23.53 7 Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 24.43 8 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 38.32 9 Barloworld 39.24 10 Agritubel 41.55 11 AG2r Prévoyance 42.31 12 Team Milram 48.36 13 Australia - UniSA 48.41 14 New Zealand National Team 54.10
