It was down to the wire on the TDU, Cameron Meyer (non sprinter - Garmin rider) was leading by 8 seconds over gun sprinter Matt Goss. With two intermediate sprints and the finish all providing valuable time bonuses, it was going to be a nail biting end to a great Tour. The final average speed for this stage was 47.7kph....for 90km...with twists and turns...I cant even imagine that!
Well after intermediate sprint number 1. Another new name came into the picture with Michael Matthews winning the sprint and Goss coming in second meaning the numbers were now, Meyer with a 6 second lead over Goss and a 9 second lead over Matthews with a 2nd intermediate sprint and a stage finish still to come.
The 2nd intermediate sprint had two Rabobank riders and Astana rider Allan Davis all collecting points leaving the result still hanging on the final. The final sprint saw Ben Swift take the win frm teammate Greg Henderson and Goss grabbing 4 seconds in third, but still fninshing 2 seconds behind Cam Meyer......I was nervous......it was great and exciting and cant wait until next year already.
Some pics from the final stage
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| Matt Goss from HTC has to wait until the sprints to earn the time bonuses to win the Tour |
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| An early break included Stuart O'Grady from Leopard Trek and Luke Durbridge from UNI SA |
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| Cameron Meyer from Garmin in the Ochre jersey which he managed to keep. |
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| The Omega Pharm Lotto riders flying along |
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| Stuary O'Grady and Luke Durbridge |
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| A Rabobank rider admires the sea ofd color behind him |
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| The race was touted as a battle between Omega Pharm rider and defending champion Andre Griepl and HTCs gun sprinter Mark Cavendish......but this battle never got off the ground |
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| The pace for the stage was an average of 47.7kph......bloody fast |
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| Matt Goss |
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| A sea of color |
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| Lance was thanked for helping to improve the Tour Downunders publicity and make it become the event it now is |
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| FAST LEGS |
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| The final sprint......Goss was the next rider out of the picture, but it was Ben Swift who won the day in front of Greg Henderson (who had spent the whole race ..or most of what I saw right at the back of the pack.......) |
1 comment:
Again, some beautiful photographs! Thanks for taking us along.
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