After the relatively cool evening temperatures of Sunday’s People’s Choice Classic, stage 1 of the Tour Down Under took place in the full heat of the Australian summer, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. These extreme weather conditions prompted race organisers to shorten the day’s racing by one lap of the final circuit. After a punishing day in the saddle, BORA-hansgrohe’s Sam Bennett was narrowly beaten to the line, taking third behind in-form Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) and Danny Van Poppel (Team Sky).
At 145km, the distance of the first stage of the Tour Down Under wasn’t going to be the biggest challenge for riders, but in the scorching heat, any incline was going to be made that much tougher. Just 20km into the day, a short, sharp climb was the first test, before an undulating final circuit finishing in Lyndoch, to the north of Adelaide. The 7km descent into the finish suggested a sprint, but in the difficult weather conditions there was no guarantee that the fast men would be able to keep control of the race to contest the finale.
Almost from the start of the stage, Laurens De Vreese (Astana) made his way up the road, experiencing little resistance from the peloton. Conserving their energy for the end of the day, the bunch took it easy, allowing the gap to grow to more than two minutes – a comfortable margin that could easily be pulled back before the end of the day’s racing.
After cresting the stage’s categorised climb, the race made its way down to Williamstown, the start of the finishing circuit. However, early on in the first lap, the decision was made to shorten the stage by one lap, bringing the day’s distance down to 118km. While the shorter distance meant the sprint teams had to organise sooner than expected, they were still in no hurry to reel in De Vreese, allowing the lone escapee to stay out in front as the final kilometres ticked down.
With the break finally swallowed up, the pace started rising in anticipation of the final intermediate sprint. With some tough competition, it was Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) who took the three bonus seconds. Spurred on by the sudden rise in pace, the attacks started again, with two riders, Jan Bakelants (Ag2R) and Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal), going up the road, staying out in front until just 5km of the race remained, but the sprint teams were pulling hard for their chance at glory and it was soon back together for the finale. As the final few hundred metres came into view, Peter Sagan broke away hard, the UCI World Champion leading out his teammate, Sam Bennett, the Irish rider being narrowly beaten to the line, taking third on a hard-fought sprint.
After taking a podium spot in the sprint, Sam was quick to thank his teammates for their support in the closing kilometres. “It’s always a bit nerve wracking in the final, but all the guys did a fantastic job. We hit the front at the perfect time, but I made a mistake myself by waiting a little bit too long, and the guys came over the top with a bit more speed and I found it hard to accelerate back up and match them, but I want to thank the guys for doing an amazing job and for giving me this opportunity.”
Continuing, the Irish rider was quick to analyse his performance to looks for ways he could improve. “Today we were meant to go for Peter, and then he came up to me in the race and he gave me another chance. It was a really messy sprint because everybody was so fresh, but we timed it really well when we came into the last corner taking the lead. I wanted to wait until about 150m to go, but I was afraid of the headwind but we came in so quick I should have gone earlier, probably around 200m out – you live and you learn. I think if I’d kicked a bit earlier it would have been better, but it’s very hard to match Caleb.”
After today’s punishing conditions, stage 2 takes riders over another undulating parcours for the race’s Queen Stage. Starting in Stirling, the 149km route covers an opening circuit five times, before heading north. While a downhill section at the 120km mark will provide some respite, this is short-lived as the Tour Down Under sees its first uphill finish. With the forecast suggesting less punishing weather conditions, there may be some attacking riding towards the end of the day from riders looking to make clear their ambitions for the GC.
Stage Result
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Orica-Scott 03:24:18
2. Danny Van Poppel (NED) Team Sky +00:00:00
3. Sam Bennett (IRL) BORA-hansgrohe +00:00:00
4. Marko Kump (SLO) UAE Abu Dhabi +00:00:00
5. Niccolo Bonifazio (ITA) Bahrain-Merida +00:00:00
GC After Stage 1
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Orica-Scott 03:24:08
2. Danny Van Poppel (NED) Team Sky +00:00:04
3. Sam Bennett (IRL) BORA-hansgrohe +00:00:06
4. Jay McCarthy (AUS) BORA-hansgrohe +00:00:07
5. Nathan Haas (AUS) Dimension Data +00:00:08
