THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Brown leads Down Under
So far, it's a Tour Down Under like we've never seen before. In years past, after two stages there's been only a handful of riders left in contention. But this year is clearly different: After Andre Greipel's scintillating stage victory in Hahndorf, three riders have the same time overall - all of them sprinters.
The man who finished second, Rabobank's Graeme Brown, now finds himself the new overall leader, but he didn't know it first: "I was half undressed ... Then [directeur-sportif] Erik [Dekker] said, 'You definitely got it.’ I went, 'Okay, I'll wait until someone tells me I've got it.'"
Someone did tell him - though by the time that happened, a posse of journalists was already asking overnight leader Mark Renshaw (Crédit Agricole) how it felt to still be race leader. Despite finishing seventh in the sprint, the man from Bathurst clearly has good legs, but admitted afterwards he wrongly predicted what Wednesday would bring.
"I didn't think I'd have to do anything for another day but you never know how it's going to pan out," Renshaw said. "When I saw the black jersey [of Greipel] come past me, I thought, 'Oh, no ... Andre again.’ But obviously he's in form, just like me. It's hard to beat him, and yeah, we might go tit-for-tat the next few days."
Having already won the Down Under Classic last Sunday, Greipel, who once used the same trainer as the defamed Jan Ullrich, has become the man to beat.
A kilometer-long finishing straight made the final dash incredibly quick, and 300 meters from the line, the High Road sprinter looked boxed in with Renshaw, right next to him, giving not an inch down the right-hand barriers. Brown chose a different line and was coming down the center, and it was perhaps the sight of his fellow New South Welshman that opened the door for Greipel, notching his first ProTour win ahead of Brown and Allan Davis.
"Ideally I would have liked to start my sprint earlier," said Greipel, "but Renshaw was on my right the whole time and I couldn't pass, but the last 100 meters he went to the left and from there I could pass him. It's the best answer, to win races and find a new sponsor; that's the only thing we want to do," he said, referring to the recent loss of principal sponsor T-Mobile.
While Brown was happy to take the ochre-colored leader's jersey heading into Thursday's stage, he lamented at the lack of a win after training so hard the past summer.
"It hasn't quite paid off, it's getting there ... having the leader's jersey is a good start to the year, I guess. Still, I'd rather a win," said Brown."
"It was really hectic, the sprint today. I didn't really see where he [Greipel] came from. I thought I was quick enough to win today... At the end of the day, I don't like losing too much - losing really does suck."
Through the Adelaide Hills
Some 132 riders began the 148km journey through the Adelaide Hills, but there were no real mountains on the menu and more a case of up-and-down.
It took less than 5km before Française des Jeux's Yoann Ofredo took flight on his own, and after 22km, he was joined by two more Frenchmen, Stephane Poulhies (AG2R) and Nicolas Crosbie (Bouygues Telecom). Two clicks later on the outskirts of Echunga and six-and-a-quarter minutes ahead of the peloton, they reached what would be their maximum advantage.
Together, the all-French trio worked well, but Renshaw's Crédit Agricole team was intent on controlling things, or at least felt obliged to, later assisted by Team CSC and Liquigas. This, and the always undulating terrain inevitably became their undoing, and 30km from the finish in Hahndorf, it was peloton groupé as they say in France.
On the last of four laps around the town, a few more tried their luck with the last being Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole) 13km from home. But it was all in vain as the sprinters' teams mowed down anything remotely dangerous to set up the second bunch gallop in as many days, which eventually saw Greipel on top.
The road ahead
Could it be another bunch sprint? Very possibly, as Thursday's 139km trek south from Unley to Victor Harbor isn't overly challenging and for the final 2.5km, is flat as a board. With a 600-meter-long finishing straight, place your bets on any one of the top three on GC.
