Moreno comes close to 1st victory
23 January 2013

Tour Down Under (st. 2)

Only Welshman Thomas (SKY), the new leader of the Tour Down Under, precedes the elite group made by the Spaniard - Herrada and Visconti unable to approach him after a crash into the final descent

Javi Moreno came just one second short for Movistar Team’s first victory of the 2013 season. The Andalusian rider proved his great form today on stage two of the Tour Down Under -117 kilometers between Mt. Barker and Rostrevor-, with an exciting finish highlighted by the Montacute Road KOM, just 11k from the end. The day’s four-man breakaway started at the opening bang was reached down by the riders directed by José Luis Arrieta, in offensive manners from the foot of the climb. A first pull from José Herrada was continued by an attack from Andrey Amador, only overcome by the move from Briton Geraint Thomas (SKY), whom Moreno, accompanied by Bennett and Hermans (RLT), reached in the beginning of the final downhill.

The better sprint from Thomas gave him a crucial advantage in the final meters, where Moreno overtook Hermans to claim the second spot and an idential place in the overall, just 5 seconds behind the stage winner and new ochre jersey. The negative sidenote for Movistar Team happened behind: a crash from a dozen riders with 6k from the finish affected two of the telephone squad’s ridersJosé Herrada and Giovanni Visconti, with no major injuries -some bruises for the Spaniard; a blow in the chest for the Italian-. José Joaquín Rojas, also in that group, did not crash but lost twenty seconds in the incident.

Stage three on Thursday -139k from Unley to Stirling, with slight slopes in the final kilometer- will be the first of two days for sprinters before Saturday’s showdown atop Old Willunga Hill.

Video (c): Santos Tour Down Under / www.tourdownunder.com.au