# Tour Down Under



## swuzzlebubble (Aug 4, 2008)

TEAM COLUMBIA (USA)
1. Andre GREIPEL GER
2. George HINCAPIE USA
3. Michael ROGERS AUS
4. Bernhard EISEL AUT
5. Mark RENSHAW AUS
6. Greg HENDERSON NZL
7. Adam HANSEN AUS 

Team Manager: Alan PEIPER AUS 

ASTANA (LUX)
11. Lance ARMSTRONG USA
12. Assan BAZAYEV KAZ
13. Jesus HERNANDEZ ESP
14. Michael SCHAR SUI
15. Maxim IGLINSKIY KAZ
16. Steve MORABITO SUI
17. Jose Luis RUBIERA ESP 

Team Manager: Sean YATES GBR 

AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA)
21. Martin ELMIGER SUI
22. Sebastien HINAULT FRA
23. Vladimir EFIMKIN RUS 
24. Alexandr PLIUSCHIN MDA
25. Nicholas ROCHE IRL
26. Rene MANDRI EST
27. Alexander EFIMKIN RUS 

Team Manager: Laurent BIONDI FRA 

SILENCE - LOTTO (BEL)
31. Mario AERTS BEL
32. Glenn D'HOLLANDER BEL
33. Pieter JACOBS BEL
34. Olivier KAISEN BEL
35. Jonas LJUNGBLAD SWE 
36. Matthew LLOYD AUS
37. Tom STUBBE BEL 

Team Manager: Hendrik REDANT BEL 

TEAM KATUSHA (RUS)
41. Robbie McEWEN AUS
42. Gert STEEGMANS BEL
43. Kenny DE HAES BEL
44. Juan HORRACH ESP
45. Stijn VANDENBERGH BEL
46. Sergey KLIMOV RUS
47. Nikolay TRUSOV RUS 

Team Manager: Dmitri KONYSHEV RUS 

TEAM SAXO BANK (DEN)
51. Stuart O'GRADY AUS
52. Jens VOIGT GER
53. Nicki SORENSEN DEN
54. Kasper KLOSTERGAARD DEN
55. Matthew GOSS AUS
56. Frank HOJ DEN
57. Anders LUND DEN 

Team Manager: Kim ANDERSEN DEN 

BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM (FRA)
61. Matthieu SPRICK FRA
62. Mathieu CLAUDE FRA
63. Vincent JEROME FRA
64. Laurent LEFEVRE FRA
65. Rony MARTIAS FRA
66. Alexandre PICHOT FRA
67. Perrig QUEMENEUR FRA 

Team Manager: Christian GUIBERTEAU FRA 

COFIDIS (FRA)
71. David MONCOUTIE FRA
72. Mickael BUFFAZ FRA
73. Aliaksandr USAU BLR
74. Guillaume BLOT FRA
75. Florent BRARD FRA
76. Julien EL FARES FRA
77. Rein TAARAMAE EST 

Team Manager: Francis VAN LONDERSELE FRA 

FRANCAISE DES JEUX (FRA)
81. Mikael CHEREL FRA
82. Remy DI GREGORIO FRA
83. Timothy GUDSELL NZL
84. Jussi VEIKKANEN FIN
85. Yoann OFFREDO FRA
86. Jeremy ROY FRA
87. Wesley SULZBERGER AUS 

Team Manager: Thierry BRICAUD FRA 

CAISSE D'EPARGNE (ESP) 
91. Oscar PEREIRO ESP
92. Luis Leon SANCHEZ ESP
93. Jose ROJAS ESP
94. Pablo LASTRAS ESP
95. Nicolas PORTAL FRA
96. Imanol ERVITI ESP
97. Mathieu DRUJON FRA 

Team Manager: Neil STEPHENS AUS 

QUICK STEP (BEL)
101. Allan DAVIS AUS
102. Matteo TOSATTO ITA
103. Dries DEVENYNS BEL
104. Davide MALACARNE ITA
105. Francesco REDA ITA
106. Hubert SCHWAB SUI
107. Kurt HOVELIJNCK BEL 

Team Manager: Rik VAN SLYCKE BEL 

EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (ESP)
111. Josu AGIRRE ESP
112. Pablo URTASUN ESP
113. Inaki ISASI ESP
114. Andoni LAFUENTE ESP
115. Markel IRIZAR ESP
116. Sergio DE LIS ESP
117. Aitor HERNANDEZ ESP 

Team Manager: Josu LARRAZABAL ESP 

MILRAM (GER)
121. Christian KNEES GER
122. Luca BARLA ITA
123. Martin MULLER GER
124. Markus EICHLER GER
125. Willem STROETINGA NED
126. Thomas ROHREGGER AUT
127. Ronny SCHOLZ GER 

Team Manager: Vittorio ALGERI ITA 

LAMPRE - N.G.C (ITA)
131. Matteo BONO ITA
132. Emanuele BINDI ITA
133. Andrea GRENDENE ITA
134. Mauro SANTAMBROGIO ITA
135. Vitaliy BUTS UKR
136. Volodymyr ZAGORODNIY UKR
137. David LOOSLI SUI 

Team Manager: Bruno VICINO ITA 

RABOBANK (NED)
141. Graeme BROWN AUS
142. Stef CLEMENT NED 
143. Mathew HAYMAN AUS
144. Jos VAN EMDEN NED
145. Rick FLENS NED
146. Tom LEEZER NED
147. Kai REUS NED 

Team Manager: Adri VAN HOUWELINGEN NED 

LIQUIGAS (ITA)
151. Maciej BODNAR POL
152. Cladio CORIONI ITA
153. Gianni DA ROS ITA
154. GJacopo UARNIERI ITA
155. Aliaksandr KUCHYNSKI BLR
156. Francesco CHICCHI ITA
157. Frederick WILLEMS BEL 

Team Manager: Dario MARIUZZO ITA 

GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM (USA)
161. Julian DEAN NZL
162. Trent LOWE AUS
163. Timmy DUGGAN USA
164. Chris SUTTON AUS
165. Cameron MEYER AUS
166. Ryder HESJEDAL CAN
167. Christian MEIER CAN 

Team Manager: Matthew WHITE AUS 

FUJI - SERVETTO (ESP)
171. Daniele NARDELLO ITA
172. Ermanno CAPELLI ITA
173. Hilton CLARKE AUS
174. Javier MEGIAS ESP
175. Davide VIGANO ITA
176. William WALKER AUS
177. Ivan DOMINQUEZ USA 

Team Manager: Alvaro CRESPI ITA 

UNISA - AUSTRALIA (AUS)
181. Baden COOKE VIC 
182. Aaron KEMPS QLD
183. Scott DAVIS QLD
184. Travis MEYER WA
185. Jack BOBRIDGE SA
186. Simon CLARKE VIC
187. TBA 

Team Manager: David SANDERS AUS 

http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/2009/?q=Teams


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Thanks, looks like the TDU is shaping up to be a good battle, especially for the sprinting stages. Let's see if Greipel can repeat the magic from last year. 

For those of you in the USA, the Versus network will be doing a 30-minute daily highlight show for the first five stages, and the final stage will shown in entirety via streaming on their web site. Please tell me that this won't just be a link to the cycling.tv coverage. Finally, a one-hour highlight show will be aired the day after the final stage. 

Hey, it's better than nothing.


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## agm2 (Sep 18, 2008)

Looks interesting, All eyes will be focused on LA but I think their's some other players that can come into play. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think Julian Dean will want to show up to win since it's close to his home, I'm going to keep my eye on him to push hard. He's looking strong for a potential GC rider on some of the smaller stage races. Hopefully he can replicate his ride at the Tour of Ireland.


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## Susan Walker (Mar 21, 2008)

swuzzlebubble said:


> RABOBANK (NED)
> 147. Kai REUS NED


Back in the big leagues, a year and a half after a horrible training crash, being in a coma for 10 days and his long road to recovery. Junior world road champion in 2003, 2-time winner of Tour de Normandie, winner of L-B-L U23.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

moonmoth said:


> Thanks, looks like the TDU is shaping up to be a good battle, especially for the sprinting stages. Let's see if Greipel can repeat the magic from last year.
> 
> For those of you in the USA, the Versus network will be doing a 30-minute daily highlight show for the first five stages, and the final stage will shown in entirety via streaming on their web site. Please tell me that this won't just be a link to the cycling.tv coverage. Finally, a one-hour highlight show will be aired the day after the final stage.
> 
> Hey, it's better than nothing.


Cool- thanks for the info!

:thumbsup:


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## jtw1n (Sep 20, 2008)

Anyone know if Versus got tv rights for the tour or not?


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

jtw1n said:


> Anyone know if Versus got tv rights for the tour or not?


Umm, which tour are you talking about?

Of course, Versus will cover the Tour De France in 2009, as usual.

If you're talking about the Tour Down Under, check my posting from yesterday in this thread.

If it's the Tour du Fasso 2009, I have no idea.


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## Susan Walker (Mar 21, 2008)

moonmoth said:


> Umm, which tour are you talking about?


Shirley the thread title was a hint.


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## roadie92 (Jan 21, 2008)

Its going to be a great race can't wait to watch it!! Hopefully Stuart O'GRADY can get a stage win out of the race.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

stage 6 ought to be interesting - the circuit looks like a recipe for carnage


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Susan Walker said:


> Shirley the thread title was a hint.


Perhaps but if that was the case, but shirley the reader would have seen this post just hours before, that outlined the Versus TDU coverage, before asking if Versus had TV rights? You tell me.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=1938727#post1938727

Thus, the clarifying question about the specific "tour" that was being asked about.


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## footballcat (Jul 8, 2004)

why is Tornado Tom not racing?


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

footballcat said:


> why is Tornado Tom not racing?


He typically starts his season in Qatar, where he can grab a few wins on the flats there.


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## agm2 (Sep 18, 2008)

Susan Walker said:


> Shirley the thread title was a hint.


Whether it was or not,, just please stop calling me shirley!


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

I hope I get to see it on EuroSport but rather unlikely since it's not a European race.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

moonmoth said:


> He typically starts his season in Qatar, where he can grab a few wins on the flats there.


Yeap. He usually races there to begin his season in preparation for his classics period of the year.

It would be cool to have him in Australia because there are several good riders going there this year.


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## Tugboat (Jul 17, 2006)

uzziefly said:


> I hope I get to see it on EuroSport but rather unlikely since it's not a European race.


It's a ProTour race so should get some coverage on EuroSport. They have always carried brief snippets of it daily in their news highlights, not sure if they do a longer highlights package though.

I'm heading over to Aussie in a couple of weeks and will be cheering from the side of the roads for the third year in a row. :thumbsup:


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## yater (Nov 30, 2006)

Is there a live feed online?


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## alexb618 (Aug 24, 2006)

robbie mcewen takes the TDU classic (a prologue)

jack bobridge takes the 1st 2 preme sprints in a 3 man break with about 20 sec on the pack

lance sits mid pack and does nothing, didnt do a warm down lap with everyone else so 100,000+ fans left a bit disappointed


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## yater (Nov 30, 2006)

How about a spoiler warning in the title?


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## Miiles (Oct 25, 2008)

Too bad its not all on Versus.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

yater said:


> How about a spoiler warning in the title?


Spoilers are allowed in this post. See the note under the post heading on the main page.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Other than the fact that Greipel is there, why wouldn't Hansen take the chance of winning the overall? He's a good sprinter, damn good TTer, and good RR guy.

Oh wait, Rogers is in there. Colombia is stacked with favorites for this race...


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## Patti (May 20, 2008)

yater said:


> Is there a live feed online?


My understanding is that only the last stage will be shown live, but that several sites will be showing daily highlights and videos. There is also supposed to be live audio coverage online. 

Check http://cyclingfans.com for the details.

Patti


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## swuzzlebubble (Aug 4, 2008)

Some video available:

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/


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## swuzzlebubble (Aug 4, 2008)

Live text feed:

http://live.tourdownunder.com.au/

10:13 CST 
Good morning from sunny South Australia. Today we will be bringing you the first stage of Tour Down Under, the 140 kilometre stage from Norwood to Mawson Lakes. Riders will tackle two King of the Mountains and as many sprint competitions over the course of today. Coverage kicks off from 11 AM CDT. Join us then as Lance Armstrong takes on his first ProTour stage of 2009.

10:54 CST 
Welcome back to Cyclingnews’ live coverage of the 2009 Tour Down Under. Today’s race will start in the suburb of Norwood, which is in South Australia’s oldest local government municipality. The peloton rolls out of Norwood towards Gepps Cross, some 11 kilometres down the road, where the neutral zone will finish and the race begins.

10:58 CST 
While it’s only 25 degrees Celsius outside at the moment – with 69% humidity – it’s the making of a warmish day. The mercury is expected to entre the low 30s as the day moves on – toasty compared to the Northern European weather many of the riders would otherwise be training in, but not a super warm day by recent standards in Adelaide.

11:02 CST 
As the riders are carrying out their last checks with the stage just minutes away from starting, we’re keen on hearing from the readers. Feel free to send your predictions, comments, or just general rants to [email protected] – we will print a few as the day rolls on.

11:08 CST 
And we're away! The peloton is rolling out of Norwood towards Mawson Lakes, which is about 20 kilometres down the road. The peloton will pass through Mawson Lakes in the first hour, then return shortly before 3 PM this afternoon for the finish.

11:11 CST 
Mark has asked if Allan Davis looks good in blue and white? I'll be honest with you Mark, I don't often say this, but having seen Alby in the lobby yesterday wearing his Quick Step kit, clean shaven, with nice hair cut, yeah, he was looking pretty spiffy.

11:13 CST 
Lets not forget Allan isn't the only Davis in this year's race. Scott Davis is also competing as a part of the UniSA/Australian National team.

11:13 CST 
The first sprint in today’s race comes at kilometre 30.3, at One Tree Hill’s Main Street. The second doesn’t come until kilometre 95.6, where riders will sprint down Williamstown Road in Sandy Creek, after the feed station at Yetti Road in Williamstown.

11:15 CST 
For those that missed the precursor to today’s stage, the Cancer Council Criterium, it was Robbie McEwen (Katusha) who took a sprint victory over Milram rival Wim Stroetinga. The duo flew past Andre Greipel whose Columbia team had put in a solid showing, only to fall just outside the podium positions.

11:18 CST 
Speaking of Sunday’s race, second placed Wim Stroetinga spoke to Cyclingnews before rolling out this morning. He’s thinking about having another go on today’s stage.

“There’s always a chance [for me] when it’s a sprint. I’ll try to get position - on Sunday it was really hard to get into position. Today is going to be a longer race with some hills; I don’t know how I’ll sprint after a few hills. If it’s a sprint I’ll try to win it.”

11:18 CST 
Wim added: “It was the first race of the season on Sunday. I’d done the Rotterdam Six before then; Sunday was like a track race which was perfect. Today is different but sprinting is still the same.”

11:20 CST 
After recording a massive 138,000 fans at Sunday night's race, crowd figures look to be on their way to another record already today. Thousands of people were present at the start line and also through the neutral zone this morning. Probably a few people pulling sickies in Adelaide today - although we've already heard from a few who haven't been able to escape the office.

11:25 CST 
The riders are getting close to the official start in Gepps Cross - around one kilometre to go before the racing begins. Obviously there's no racing until they reach this point - but to those who have e-mailed in, we will let you know what's happening as the riders attack the course and one another.

11:26 CST 
A King of the Mountains will be contested shortly after the first sprint, at kilometre 39.3 in Gould Creek. The second will come just before the feed station at Checker Hill, 61.1 kilometres into the stage.

11:26 CST 
The highest the riders will climb to throughout today’s stage is 450 metres above sea level.

11:28 CST 
There's clearly a few fans of little Robbie McEwen out there today - with the Katusha rider the most backed rider for today's win out of all the fan e-mails we've received thus far.

11:29 CST 
The news isn't so good for Katusha's team kit, nor Columbia's for that matter, with fans telling they don't like this year's getups. Steve said: "It appears the contest for the ugliest team outfit has started...Columbia/High Road is just plain bad and is out in front...and Astana and Katusha are not much better. A shame such good riders getting around in bad kit. "

11:30 CST 
As the peloton takes to the race start the only thing leaving the peloton is the photographer motorbikes.

11:31 CST 
Riders experienced a hot day during Monday’s ‘rest day’ temperatures reached over 40 degrees Celsius, but several team managers refused to bow to rider’s calls to cut their training rides short. The message to most was if you can’t train for five hours in the dry heat, you’ve got no hope of racing in it. Tough love that one.

11:32 CST 
Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are the first riders to attack on today's stage.

11:33 CST 
Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) won't be doing any attacking just yet, the Spaniard has dropped back to the team car to fix a problem with his shoe.

11:34 CST 
Our two leaders - Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) - have been given some breathing room by the peloton with the gap out to one minutes.

11:35 CST 
Australia's Graeme Brown (Rabobank) told us this morning Sunday's third place was both good and bad for the rider. “Sunday wasn’t quite to plan, but the important thing was, from a team perspective, the director wanted us to ride as a team, and that’s what we did. Everyone did a good job. I got a little excited in the finish… close, but no cigar.”

11:37 CST 
Brown added that today is all about the final five kilometres, where he's hoping for a sprint finish. “We’ve got some really strong riders here this year - there’s probably four guys that can help me. When it comes to the final five kilometres that’s when we really want to make our mark, which is a complete opposite to last year. Last year we rode on the front every day and this year we’re not going to do that. We’re going to do it in the last four kilometres where it counts. The most important thing about this tour is that we do it right. If we don’t win it doesn’t matter, we want to make sure we do it right.”

11:38 CST 8/132 to go
As the day's stage nears its first 10 kilometres, Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) continue to draw out their margin over le peloton. They now have 1.45 minutes over the group.

11:39 CST 
As most of you will be aware, this year’s event is also the comeback race of Tour de France champions Lance Armstrong (Astana) and Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Eparnge). Both riders have spoken to Cyclingnews.com about their returns – one from retirement and the other from a horrifying injury during last year’s Tour de France – so check out the interviews on the homepage. You can also see video footage from Sunday’s crazy-long press conference with Armstrong.

11:42 CST 
I ran into defending champion Andre Greipel from Team Columbia in the lift this morning…along with the entire Bbod-Bouygues Telecom team (lucky it was a big lift). I’ve got to say Greipel looked like he’d been to the Kimi Raikkonen school of cool. The German said at the weekend there’s no pressure on him this week, and the only thing he’s showing is a set of ripped calf muscles.

11:45 CST 
Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) have been doing some work over the last three kilometres. The duo are working well together according to reports from the motorbike and have now pulled the gap out to 3.15 minutes.

11:49 CST 
Hudd has asked the question I was frankly hoping nobody would - for my pick on today's stage. I'm honestly torn on this one, we've got so many great sprinters in this year's field and I think that's what it will come down to. Columbia has a strong team, with Greipel having last year's stage winner Mark Renshaw as a lead out man, that's a strong combination. With the said, Master McEwen was nothing short of impressive on Sunday's criterium and Brownie is also keen on knocking off his compatriot for a win.

I will say this: whoever takes it, it's going to be a great finish.

11:50 CST 14/126 to go
Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are now out to 4.20 minutes over the peloton. The group will likely let them out to about six minutes and keep them hanging around there.

11:52 CST 
Matthew Hayman is hoping to lead out Brownie for a Rabobank win today. Hayman was taken out - in every sense of the word - of last year's event. The headbut incident led organisers to throw the first person out of the race in its history, while Hayman was out with a broken collarbone.

“Mike’s [Turtur] made the race a bit harder this year, so there’ll be a few more hills out there today. We’ll just have to see what happens – there’s a bit of wind around, so out on the road we’ll know more. On Sunday it was a criterium, so it’s a bit different, and everyone still has to find their legs on the hills. We’re pretty confident it’ll be a bunch sprint, and hopefully I can drop Brownie off somewhere close to the finish and we can get some runs on the board.”

11:57 CST 
Reports from the finish line indicate the crowd there is already three people deep and growing. For those who have asked, we've hit a technical problem today which means we won't be displaying images during the live coverage. With that said we do have the equipment with us and will be doing this on the remaining stages.

11:59 CST 20/120 to go
Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) have pulled away to 5.45 minutes. The peloton should start to slow the pairs progress now and hold them around the six to seven minute mark for the time being.

12:01 CST 
New Fuiji-Servetto rider William Walker from Australia has decided he wants a slice of the breakaway action. Walker has attacked the peloton in pursuit of the two leaders.

12:02 CST 
Walker, whose brother is a professional snowboarder, has pulled out a 400 metre gap on the peloton.

12:07 CST 25/115 to go
Some 25 kilometres into the race the two leaders Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) hold a 6.25 minute lead over the peloton. Interestingly Will Walker's (Fuji-Servetto) efforts are paying off, he's only 4.55 minutes behind the pair now.

12:09 CST 
It's another Aussie attack as Robbie McEwen (Katusha) and Jack Bobridge (UniSA) leave the front of the peloton. That means Aussie, Aussie, Aussie are chasing the leaders!

12:11 CST 
Mickael Buffaz (Cofidis) and Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) have now joined McEwen and Bobridge to form a group of four.

12:12 CST 
The peloton has split in two in reaction to the four riders - Robbie McEwen (Katusha) Jack Bobridge (UniSA), Mickael Buffaz (Cofidis) and Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) -breaking away from it. 

12:13 CST 
Two kilometres out from the first sprint and the peloton is back together. Clearly the threat of Robbie McEwen (Katusha) Jack Bobridge (UniSA), Mickael Buffaz (Cofidis) and Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) getting away proved too great and the peloton had to act.

12:15 CST 29/111 to go
A Lampre rider has gone down - we're waiting on confirmation as to who it was. Will Walker's gap to the leaders - Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) - remains at 4.55 minutes, while the peloton is 5.35 minutes behind the duo. 

12:15 CST 
On Sunday evening’s race Master Armstrong had a peak at the front of the peloton, flanked by two Astana teammates before retreating back to the middle of the pack – where he was still surrounded by teammates. While Armstrong said he’d throw caution to the wind for the criterium, he also said he’ll have a crack at whatever opportunity comes his way for the remainder of the week. 

So we could see Armstrong making some headlines later in the week…that would sure be a change, he’s hardly been in the media at all so far.

12:18 CST 
We've had confirmation it was Lampre's Vitaliy Buts from the Ukraine that came down earlier. The rider has rejoined the peloton.

12:19 CST 30.3/109.7 to go
Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) has taken the first sprint win over Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at Main Street in One Tree Hill. William Walker (Fuji-Servetto) is still ahead of the peloton and so should take third spot.

12:21 CST 
Okay, okay, so just to set the record straight we've had plenty of people come in to bat for Team Columbia's kit following our earlier feedback. I guess it's one of those love it or hate it things!

12:24 CST 38.8/101.2 to go
The two leaders - Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) - are just 500 metres away from the day's first KOM now.

12:31 CST 
It's all over for William Walker (Fuji-Servetto) as the peloton reaches the KOM. Walker has been all but caught at Gould Creek.

12:32 CST 
Brian has corrected me on yesterday's max temperature in Adelaide - it was 37 not 40. I guess the reading outside the markets near Adelaide's Hilton Hotel is a few degrees out!

12:33 CST 
Will Walker (Fuji-Servetto) has claimed third place in the KOM competition. The Australian is fighting to hold onto his slim margin over the peloton.

12:34 CST 
Will Walker (Fuji-Servetto) has finally been caught - he was probably just holding on to take the KOM bounty. The speed in the peloton is increasing.

12:37 CST 
Saxo Bank's Matthew Goss was feeling good ahead of today's stage. “I think the legs should be ok – I’ve done a lot of racing but not so many long kilometres in the saddle. I should be good if it comers to a [smaller] finish, I think I’ve got the legs to be up there, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to do that during the week.

“The guys are pretty geed. If I get out there I’d like to reward them with a win, especially if they’re working for me.”



12:38 CST 
With some 30 kilometres before the next climb, the riders are taking the opportunity to have a feed.

12:41 CST 
Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) took out the first KOM sprint from Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto). William Walker (Fuji-Servetto) took third from fellow Aussie Jack Bobridge (UniSA) while Aitor Hernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) took fifth.

12:42 CST 
Graeme tells me the temperature has just clocked 30.3 degrees just near where the riders currently are.

12:43 CST 
Paul from Sydney believes Robbie McEwen (Katusha) might not only take today's stage, but also the overall tour. It's a big call, given race director Mike Turtur has tried to put in some extra climbs for this year's race, like a second lap of Willunga.

12:48 CST 
While the action has died down a little, many are asking about that guy from Texas. What's his name? Lance Armstrong? Anyway, in response to the question what is he doing the answer is not much. He may have won seven Tour de Frances but after three years "drinking beer and sitting on my arse", as he put it, Lance will likely spend the day just getting use to riding in the peloton. 

Armstrong could, however, show his condition later in the week on the stages to Stirling and Willunga.

12:51 CST 
My thoughts are with Michael from Canada who said "-14C here in Toronto, with about 30cm of fresh snow". Should I rub in the fact I'm wearing shorts, sunnies and a t-shirt, or does it go without saying?

As for the questions about cow reports - we were discussing this in the lift this morning! While Jeff Jones now works on our sister website Bikeradar.com, we're going to try and get some cow spotting in later in the week. 

12:54 CST 
The peloton has brought back a little time on the leaders Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi). The gap is now at 6 minutes even.

12:59 CST 
For those who haven't heard - Armstrong is riding in his Astana team kit, however he is riding the much-publicized black Livestrong Trek. The bike itself had a close call after Sunday night's race; the bike was being photographed by some punters as it was being taken back to the race village from the Hilton Hotel - meanwhile a driver in a Holden Commodore turning right narrowly missed it. So what have we learned? Don't take photos of a black bike on the road at night.

13:00 CST 
Our leaders Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are three kilometres from the second KOM climb.

13:01 CST 
Geoffery thinks tomorrow's stage will cause some issues for the peloton: "No one has really mentioned how tough tomorrows stage is going to be...From my experience riding through the hills of Adelaide, the riders are going to drop like flies."

13:03 CST 60/80 to go
The leaders gap continues to yoyo in the safe zone. Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are now 6.30 minutes ahead of the peloton - which can easily be brought back by the riders. 

Whether you like the muscle men's jerseys or not, Team Columbia is at the head of the peloton. 

13:08 CST 
My good mate and Cyclingnews contributor Bruce Hildenbrand has also pointed out this race is young Tim Duggan's comeback race. He had that horrific crash in last year's Tour of Georgia - suffering a pretty severe brain injury and was in the hospital for over a month.

I met the Garmin-Slipstream rider in the lift on Sunday (sensing a theme here anyone?) and I must say he's a most delightful young fella - who looks remarkably similar to his teammate Cameron Meyer. Duggan said he was just loving the weather in Australia - consider it a welcome back present mate!

13:10 CST 
Team vehicles are being cautioned as they reach the day's second KOM climb as the crowd is so large. Good to see the Adelaide people are getting out and supporting this event - and soaking up the gorgeous weather. 

Just a reminder to all, a major partner in this year's race is Cancer Council SA - remember to slip, slop, slap! 

13:12 CST 61/79 to go
The leaders gap has come down substantially over the second KOM climb. The gap has dropped from 6.30 minutes down to 4.35 minutes.

13:21 CST 
Tim has just asked why there isn't a Time Trial in the Tour down under. It's a good question and the answer is logistics. As you know, Australia is a distant island and the expense to bring teams and equipment from Europe and the Americas is pretty high. If teams had to bring Time Trial bikes, in addition to normal road frames, it would double the amount of equipment they need to bring and is therefore cost prohibitive. 

That's not to say it will never happen, but it is also less common for the earlier ProTour races in each season to have a Time Trial.

13:23 CST 
Sam thinks Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Slipstream) could be a winner in this year's young rider competition. It's a prediction I sure wouldn't bet against!

13:25 CST 
Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) has claimed the second KOM over Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto). Simon Clarke (UniSA) was the first out of the peloton to cross the line and take third place, followed by Aitor Hernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Bernhard Eisel (Team Columbia).

13:30 CST 
Gerald is also talking logistics and has asked about team cars. These are sourced locally for Tour Down Under - and supplied by event sponsor Skoda Auto. Skoda started out as a bicycle manufacturer in the 1800s before moving into cars and is now owned by the Volkswagen Group whose major shareholder is now Porsche, for all you rev-heads out there.

13:32 CST 
The riders are now on their way to the feed station on Yetti Road. With the heat out there today, I doubt they will be running into any Abominable Snowmen (although, I have been wrong before!).

13:38 CST 
Columbia is leading the peloton so should they come across an Abominable Snowman, I'm backing Greipel to take it out. That guy is like a brick wall.

13:40 CST 79/61 to go
The gap to our leaders continues to decrease, it's now at 2.45 minutes.

13:41 CST 
Ewoud tells me Kai Reus (Rabobank) is also making a comeback at this year's race. Reus, a former Junior Road World Champion crashed in the Alpes while training and was in an induced coma for a month.

13:45 CST 
Simon Clarke (UniSA) took third at the last KOM, the rider spoke to us prior to the start. “We’re going to definitely be attentive for all the breakaways today. We’re just not sure how it’s going to work out. In previous years there’s always been a big group that slips away, but last year being ProTour they definitely raced in a different fashion so it’s a bit hard how to tell whether it’s going to go back to the old ways, but either way we’ve got to be prepared.”

“I think the wind will be a factor today; it’s blowing quite strongly over some sections where teams can commit if they want to do some damage. Today’s more about being attentive, especially for a team like ours and we can see what’s thrown at us.”

13:46 CST 83/57 to go
The gap is sitting at 2.50 minutes - meaning the peloton is holding them at this time. This should allow the peloton to time the catch of the duo to perfection. If they catch the pair two early, it will allow another break to go in the final kilometres, too late and they've stuffed their chances.

13:47 CST 
By holding the riders here the peloton can ensure it will be able to chase down the pair after they've claimed the final sprint points.

13:50 CST 
The gap is down to 2.05 minutes as the peloton reach the feed zone (no reports of snowmen, for the record). We should see the break riders allowed to stay away for another 10 kilometres before being brought back.

13:55 CST 
The readers' favoured friend for today's stage win Robbie McEwen (Katusha) has just stopped on the side of the road. The Australia is swapping bikes.

13:58 CST 
The teams have been cautioned by race radio of a "nasty" corner at the bottom of the descent at kilometre 104, following the final KOM for the day. 

13:59 CST 
Matthew Hayman (Rabobank) has rejoined the peloton after a wheel change.

14:01 CST 
News from Cyclinews' man in the field, Les Clarke, is that people are out in numbers for today. Clarke said: "There's huge crowds at Williamstown - I didn't even know that many people lived there."

Fans are lining the streets with 'Go Robbie' and 'Go Lance' banners.

14:07 CST 95.6/44.4 to go
Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskaltel-Euskadi) took the first two spots at the day's final sprint. Andre Greipel (Team Columbia) has sounded a warning to his rivals by taking third with a sprint out of the peloton.

14:09 CST 
David thinks Julian Dean will win today's stage (no prizes for guessing where David is from) - the Garmin-Slipstream leader has some strong lead out men like Chris Sutton and Cameron Meyer to work with.

14:10 CST 
Teams have again been warned about the upcoming descent to Gawler, where riders will face a fast approach to two right hand corners.

14:15 CST 
Greipel has grabbed a valuable one second time bonus with his third placing in the intermediate sprint. The sprint rewards are as follows:

Intermediate sprints
1 - three seconds, six points
2 - two seconds, four points
3 - one second, two points

Finish
1 - ten seconds, eight points
2 - six seconds, six points
3 - four seconds, four points

14:17 CST 
It seems little Master McEwen has heard your calls - his Katusha squad is controlling the action at the front of the peloton.


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## swuzzlebubble (Aug 4, 2008)

15:11 CST 
Greipel claims victory in a close sprint, with Stuart O'Grady (Saxo Bank) taking second position.

15:12 CST 
Baden Cooke (UniSA) has taken third place while Jacopo Guanieri (Liquigas) takes finishes fourth.


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## alexb618 (Aug 24, 2006)

12:52 CST 
As a result of the earlier crash, defending champion Andre Greipel (Team Columbia) is on the boat home. The rider has withdrawn from the race.

12:53 CST 
Three riders have withdrawn from the event. We understand all three are due to the earlier crash. They are: André Greipel (Team Columbia - High Road), Kai Reus (Rabobank) and Trent Lowe (Garmin-Slipstream).

13:00 CST 
Correction, Trent Lowe from Garmin-Slipstream is still in the race. Ermanno Capelli (Fuji-Servetto) has joined the broom wagon.


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## GGW (Jul 13, 2008)

Hi there 

You can watch some nice video resume of each race here 
http://www.cyclisme-epinay.com/videotheque.php
sorry in french only .


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