This is always the threat of having a prologue/ITT in the TDU affected by rain and therefore it may even change the GC - Bettiol can go far - He should be fine on Corkscrew, howver he could struggle on Mt Lofty if it is ridden hard - An in-form S.Yates can do serious damage on Corkscrew.
1 Like
TDU stage 1 results.
Messy sprint.
1 Like
Caleb just got too far back yet again had no help got squeezed and was going 3 to the 1 at the finish
1 Like
Harper out with a broken clavical.
My four takes from the stage.
- Stewart is developing beautifully as a lead out rider and is a smoky for TDF selection.
- S.Bennett should be at this race instead of St Louis - He’d win every sprint stage with Van Popp as his leadout.
- I suspect the frantic last 20kms which caused crashes was caused by the peleton taking it too easy in the stage
- Lotto Disny should be criticised for not sending a team - Ewan is their number one rider, a marquee name for the TDU. They send a squad and it is a certainty he wins a stage while it’s not certain in the development team - Finally, Ewans UCI points should not be credited to the team’s total because they have not played in any role in Ewan’s performance and in fcat delcined their invitation.
2 Likes
Dennis wins stage 2
Ewan with a decent team would have caught the late break and won I think.
Matthews a shocker, 2.13 down on Dennis. May have had a mechanical.
1 Like
I suspect this will be the last we see Bling over an Australian summer - He wanted to win one of the TDU or the Nationals - Form was good enough but luck deserted him.
They need for L.Hamilton to hammer the bottom of Corkscrew until 1km to go and hopefully there are only 5 or 6 riders left - Then Yates hits the climb - An inform rider can take 20 seconds on this climb and then you should be able to hold on the 6km descent finish - Dennis has won at Paracombe which has similar gradient, however the difference is Paracombe is a straigh climb, while Corkscrew has hairpins.
Listened to Plapp on a podcast discussing the National’s - he claimed that L.Hamilton was the strongest on the day which reflected my opinion on the day - Anyway, hopefully Hamilton can reach his full potential in Europe.
1 Like
TDU stage 3.
A 3-up sprint with Bilbao taking the win.
However, GC wise, Vine would to have a winning lead now.
1 Like
1 Like
Thought Yates may have attacked Vine on the climb as he appeared to have good legs.
I have caught up a little with the Tour Down Under, but the coverage is hard to follow. It isn’t the commentary or anything like that. It is the light, l find it harder to pick out different riders as compared to the TdF. Maybe it is the quality of the cameras, l don’t know, but it is quite noticeable.
2 Likes
The Channel 7 coverage is abysmal.
4 Likes
Gotta say that the TDU has been a good race and will be a class above the Tour of St Juan which starts tomorrow - You need SBS to be covering cycling as both Channel 7 and 9 have no idea.
7 Likes
I haven’t had a chance to catch up on the TDU, but just having a look at the route. They were around Willunga today but no Willunga Hill, but My Lofty tomorrow? How is it shaping up?
Yates beats Vine and O’Connor in the 3 up sprint to the line.
Vine wins GC from Yates,
4 Likes
It was the prologue that was the difference between first and second - The rain had a definite impact.
How did the Mt Lofty climb go? Should have made them walk the walking path. That is a killer.