Santos Tour Down Under 2019: Defending champion Daryl Impey to have huge target on his back

Never in the history of the Santos Tour Down Under has a rider claimed consecutive titles but surprise winner of last year’s race Daryl Impey wants to change that — so what are his chances?

• Santos Tour Down Under 2019 — Full Coverage

Never in the history of the Santos Tour Down Under has a rider claimed consecutive titles.

But 2018 champion Daryl Impey hopes to change that this year.

The 34-year-old South African knows he will have a huge target on his back.

“Australia has, and always will be, important for us (Mitchelton-Scott),” Impey said.

“We represent great sponsors and take that seriously. Definitely, we would like to win the Tour Down Under again.

Daryl Impey of team Mitchelton-Scott celebrates winning the Tour Down Under. Picture: Dan Peled/AAP

“I think I’ll take it day by day, to see where I’m at and to see where everyone else is at, too. I think the biggest thing is to do my best, be focused and prepare well.

“I can only do that and, hopefully, the results will follow. It would be great to win back to back, no one has done that.”

Claiming consecutive titles may look easy on paper.

Each year it’s the first fresh UCI World Tour race of the season with six relatively “easy” stages.

This year, riders will cover 858km — and it’s harder than it looks.

Over the 21-year history of Australia’s most successful bike race, some of the world’s greatest general classification riders have stepped onto the final winners’ podium.

Starting with SA legend Stuart O’Grady in the first event, in 1999, to Patrick Jonker, Simon Gerrans, Andre Greipel and Rohan Dennis, to name a few.

Impey took last year’s race by complete surprise in what could have been a ploy by his cagey Mitchelton-Scott sporting director, Australian Matt White.

White’s tactics worked a treat.

Impey never won a stage of the 2018 edition but his team positioned him well enough to hold on to the leader’s ochre jersey from stage 5.

He snared it by a whisker on the top of the Willunga Hill after finishing second, just eight seconds behind Porte — enough to land him a time bonus to keep him atop of the GC table.

Daryl Impey in the Ochre Jersey during Stage 6 of last year’s race. Picture Sarah Reed

It was Impey’s biggest win after claiming another huge prize to make him an instant celebrity in South Africa in 2013.

He described wearing the yellow jersey for two stages of the 2013 Tour de France as career-defining but not in the same mould as winning the Tour Down Under.

“They are different,’’ Impey said.

“The yellow jersey was bigger and it was a special moment in my career. The yellow jersey made my name a household name in South Africa.

“But the Tour Down Under was bigger for my personal growth in the team in a sense that I took on the responsibility and pressure to have a go at the GC.

“Then when it worked out, it was brilliant. The Tour Down Under is still my biggest win to date but wearing the yellow jersey is probably the biggest highlight of my career.”

Born in Johannesburg, Impey remembers the first time he got on a bike. It seemed like a natural progression given his family was involved in cycling.

“I started very young but just socially like any normal kid,’’ he said.

“My first proper bike was a Kona Munimula. It was a mountain bike … I think it was 24-speed.

“I loved racing off-road but decided to switch to the road when I was 16 because my technical skills on the mountain bike were letting me down and I didn't see a future for me racing off-road.

“My first road bike was a Look with Shimano 105 16-speed. It was carbon fibre as well, although extremely heavy.

“In Johannesburg, because it’s a big city, we don’t have much wildlife around purely because it is too busy.

“Cars and people don’t have too much respect for cyclists there which is a huge shame.

“While I’m racing in Europe I live in Girona, Spain.

“It is a fantastic place to live and ride a bike.

“We have a fantastic coastline called the Costa Brava and the Pyrenees are not too far away, either.

“There, we are spoiled for choice.”

Impey’s family, his wife Alexandra, South African cycling legend Robbie Hunter and the late Paul Sherwen, who was based in Uganda, all played a hand in his incredible journey on the bike.

Daryl Impey gets treatment from Dr Peter Barnes at the Orica GreedEDGE bus after crashing near the Stage 2 finish. Photo Sarah Reed.

From his first bike race to winning a lucrative professional contract, Impey remains modest.

“A huge mentor for me was Robbie Hunter,’’ Impey said.

“He did amazing things for cycling in South Africa and put us on the map. He’s still a good friend of mine.

“Alexandra has always been the rock I needed. She has been a major influence in my career and is the biggest supporter I have.

“My parents also played a major role in the beginning and gave me a lot of advice, plus giving me the opportunity to race my bike.

“It’s only when you’re a father yourself that you can finally appreciate what your parents did for you.

“My team, Mitchelton-Scott, has really been there for me through a couple of tough times as well. They have been really supportive in some testing moments of my career.

“I was saddened to hear about Paul Sherwen’s passing. I grew up listening to him and Phil (Liggett) on the television.

“He was always quick to point me out on television for the African continent. I always remember Paul telling me to make the most of the opportunity and those words always have stuck with me.”