South African superstar Daryl Impey wary of two hilltop finishes as he targets a third consecutive Tour Down Under title
Defending Tour Down Under champion Daryl Impey is mindful of two hilltop finishes in this year’s event, as he targets the first-ever three-peat in the race’s history.
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Warning bells are going off for Daryl Impey on two stages of this year’s Santos Tour Down Under as he dreams of a historic three-peat when racing starts on Tuesday.
Impey last year became the first rider in the race’s history to go back-to-back and has returned to spearhead Mitchelton-Scott’s assault on a third ochre jersey in a row.
Last year the South African was third up Old Willunga Hill and incredibly on the same time as Porte as he sealed a 13-second win.
But this year he notes a second uphill finish at Paracombe on Stage 3 where Porte set up his ochre jersey win in 2017.
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“I think there’s going to be two stages that are against me, where I could potentially lose time, and after Stage 3 a lot of teams will be in the same boat to see where to take the race,” Impey said.
“Last year I stepped up especially on Willunga and improved there, so who knows, maybe things will go better or worse.”
If Impey isn’t in position or doesn’t climb strongly up Paracombe, then the team will have Simon Yates – who won the 2018 Vuelta a Espana – as a second card to play.
But first priority is Impey, who can sprint as well as climb with the best in a race suited to the genuine all-rounders because of the time bonuses on offer each stage.
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“There’s no doubt this is my favourite race on the calendar and it’s an important race for our team,” Impey said.
“We are coming back with the same sort of strategy to last year, I’ve put in all the work in December and I don’t feel the pressure that I need to do the three-peat.
“It would obviously be great, but I’ll take it day by day.
“Every day there is a different obstacle, there are new riders and ambitions and a lot of teams have different strategies.
“With Paracombe in the race this year it also changes things up, so I’d love to do the hat-trick but I’m ready for it and that’s all I can do.”
Porte leads Team Trek-Segafredo this week and will be supported by world champion Mads Pedersen.
“It’s the most enjoyable race on the calendar, the best organised outside of a Grand Tour and it’s always great to start the season in Adelaide,” he said.
“All I’ve done is train (over summer), but we definitely have a better team here than last year and that’s a good sign.”
Hometown rider Rohan Dennis, who won the TDU with an explosive stage victory on Paracombe in 2015, is debuting for his new team Ineos.
“The aim is to get to know how the team works in a race situation, obviously I’ve moved to Team Ineos and every team is different,” he said.
“They’re pretty welcoming, I knew a lot of them from the past through the track or riding in the peloton, I got to know them the last seven years pretty well so it’s been seamless (transition).”
Stage 1 is suited to the sprinters and will start and finish in Tanunda on Tuesday.
reece.homfray@news.com.au
Originally published as South African superstar Daryl Impey wary of two hilltop finishes as he targets a third consecutive Tour Down Under title