Heat reigns on stage one
17 January 2017

Tour Down Under kicks off

Ewan (ORS) claims second win this week at Tour Down Under, which sees day’s racing shortened by almost 30km as temperatures ramp up towards triple digits. Barbero (Movistar Team) 15th after crash

No less than 111ºF / 44ºC were reached during stage one of the Santos Tour Down Under, the second day of competition this week on Australian soil. The 145km route from Unley to Lyndoch was shortened by race organisers – skipping one of the final, local laps, 26km less- on a day when only  De Vreese (AST), Bakelants (ALM) and Hansen (LTS) risked their integrity by leaving a bunch where feeding counted for thousands of bottles over the course of the aftenoon.

The Movistar Team riders, awaiting for Wednesday’s crucial finish up Torrens Hill Road (1200m at 9%, followed by a flat, concluding 350 meters), stayed inside the field yet didn’t avoid an eventful end of things, Carlos Barbero suffering a crash (fortunately without consequence) inside the last 20km. The incident did not prevent the Spaniard (15th) from contesting a narrow sprint, where Caleb Ewan (ORS) bested Danny Van Poppel (SKY) and Sam Bennett (BOH). Jasha Sütterlin, the Blues’ top finisher on Sunday, was 17th today.

Results

Picture ©: Graham Watson / BettiniPhoto.net