Tour Down Under 2017 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

January 17, 2016

Tour Down Under 2017 – Stage 1 – Unley – Lyndoch – 145 km

The 2007 Tour Down Under was held from 16 to 21 January 2007 in Australia. It was a multiple stage road cycling race that took part over five stages with a total of 667 kilometres and is part of the 2006-2007 UCI Oceania Tour. The 2007 Down Under Classic was the official warm-up race for the event.

Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) took the first victory of the 2017 WorldTour Tuesday when he out-sprinted Team Sky’s Danny Van Poppel and Bora-Hansgrohe’s Sam Bennett at the end of stage 1 of the Tour Down Under.

Ewan blasted up the left side of the finishing straight to overcome a lead-out for Bennett by world champion Peter Sagan, while Van Poppel staked out his ground down the middle of the road. Sagan had an early advantage, but Ewan and Van Poppel were quickly able to get on terms with Sagan as he drove Bennett toward the line.

The planned 145km stage from Unley to Lyndoch was shortened to 118km because of extreme heat as temperatures soared above 40 degrees. With one of the final loops lopped off, riders faced two finishing circuits around Lyndoch rather than three.

“It was really stinking hot out there today,” Ewan said at the finish line. “I think everyone felt the heat and it was probably a good idea for organisers to shorten it a little bit.

“I’m super happy to get the win, it was a really close one in the end. A lot of guys ran out of lead out men in that last straight because there was a bit of head wind.

“There was a lot of pressure coming back here with the same finish as last year. I felt the pressure to do the same thing and win. It’s a relief and it’s a great start to the week. It’ll put the whole team on a high and hopefully we can do something like last year.”

The stage was animated early on by Astana’s Laurens De Vreese, who escaped alone after just 3km and held off the bunch until less tan 20km to go. The 29-year-old visibly struggled, his tires sticking to the tarmac as the sun baked down upon him and he constantly checked back in the hope that the peloton would catch him.

The bunch caught the Belgian just before the final intermediate sprint, where Jay McCarthy (Bora-Hansgrohe) took the three-second bonus. The Australian’s intent is clear, he is here to challenge for the overall title and he looked impressive.

Jan Bakelants (Ag2R) slipped away after the sprint, and Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) attacked in hopes of catching him to form a new lead duo. The two never connected, however, with the Ag2R rider content to ride solo in the hope of causing a major upset. Both riders were caught inside the final 5,000 meters, leading to the inevitable bunch sprint.

Once again Ewan timed his charge the line perfectly, and he caught Bennett off guard as the Irishman swung around Sagan inside the final 150 meters. Ewan, confident, compact, and calculating, sealed the win and with that pulled on the first leader’s jersey of this year’s race.

The Orica rider leads Van Poppel by four seconds with Bennett in third. McCarthy leads the overall contenders in fourth with Nathan Haas and Simon Gerrans just behind him.

Results :
1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 3:24:18
2 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
3 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
4 Marko Kump (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
5 Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
6 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
7 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
8 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
9 Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team
10 Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
11 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
12 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
13 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ
14 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
15 Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Spa) Movistar Team
16 Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
17 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
18 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
19 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
20 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
21 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
22 Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team
23 Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors
24 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
25 Rafael Valls (Spa) Lotto Soudal
26 Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia
27 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
28 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
29 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
30 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
31 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
32 Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors
33 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
34 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
35 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
36 Ben Swift (GBr) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
37 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
38 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
39 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
40 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ
41 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
42 Cameron Meyer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
43 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
44 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott
45 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
46 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
47 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team
48 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo
49 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
50 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott
51 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
52 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott
53 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida
54 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
55 Francois Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
56 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team
57 Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
58 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
59 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
60 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
61 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac
62 José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
63 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
64 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky
65 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
66 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
67 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
68 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
69 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott
71 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
72 Samuel Jenner (Aus) UniSA-Australia
73 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky
74 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
75 Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors
76 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
77 Jeremy Maison (Fra) FDJ
78 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac
79 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
80 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
81 Víctor de la Parte (Spa) Movistar Team
82 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team
83 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
84 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
85 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
86 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
87 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
88 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
89 Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
90 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
91 James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal
92 Jai Hindley (Aus) UniSA-Australia
93 Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
94 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
95 Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
96 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
97 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb
98 Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida
99 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
100 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
101 Michael Storer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
102 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida
103 Callum Scotson (Aus) UniSA-Australia
104 Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
105 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
106 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
107 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
108 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
109 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
110 José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
111 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
112 William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac
113 Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data
114 Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
115 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
116 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin
117 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
118 Thomas Scully (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
119 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
120 Ben O’Connor (Aus) Dimension Data
121 Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:15
122 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
123 Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:23
124 Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 0:00:26
125 Jacobus Venter (RSA) Dimension Data 0:00:30
126 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:32
127 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:50
128 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
129 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott
130 Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott 0:03:35
131 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
132 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:06:56
DNF Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ

General classification after Stage 1 :
1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 3:24:08
2 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 0:00:04
3 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
4 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:07
5 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:08
6 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott
7 José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
8 Marko Kump (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 0:00:10
9 Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
10 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
11 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
12 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
13 Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team
14 Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
15 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
16 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ
17 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
18 Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Spa) Movistar Team
19 Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
20 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
21 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
22 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
23 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
24 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
25 Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team
26 Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors
27 Rafael Valls (Spa) Lotto Soudal
28 Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia
29 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
30 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
31 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
32 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
33 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
34 Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors
35 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
36 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
37 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
38 Ben Swift (GBr) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
39 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
40 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
41 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
42 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ
43 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
44 Cameron Meyer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
45 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
46 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
47 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
48 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team
49 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo
50 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
51 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott
52 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
53 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott
54 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida
55 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
56 Francois Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
57 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team
58 Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
59 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
60 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
61 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
62 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac
63 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
64 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky
65 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
66 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
67 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
68 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
69 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott
71 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
72 Samuel Jenner (Aus) UniSA-Australia
73 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky
74 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
75 Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors
76 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
77 Jeremy Maison (Fra) FDJ
78 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac
79 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
80 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
81 Víctor de la Parte (Spa) Movistar Team
82 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team
83 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
84 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
85 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
86 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
87 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
88 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
89 Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
90 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
91 James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal
92 Jai Hindley (Aus) UniSA-Australia
93 Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
94 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
95 Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
96 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
97 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb
98 Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida
99 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
100 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
101 Michael Storer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
102 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida
103 Callum Scotson (Aus) UniSA-Australia
104 Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
105 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
106 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
107 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
108 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
109 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
110 José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
111 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
112 William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac
113 Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data
114 Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
115 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
116 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin
117 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
118 Thomas Scully (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
119 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
120 Ben O’Connor (Aus) Dimension Data
121 Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:25
122 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
123 Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:33
124 Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 0:00:36
125 Jacobus Venter (RSA) Dimension Data 0:00:40
126 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:42
127 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:01:00
128 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
129 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott
130 Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott 0:03:45
131 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
132 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:07:03