The Coffee Ride #25 with Reece Homfray
SO, ADELAIDE has done it again. The 16th edition of the Santos Tour Down Under has been and gone and again it's been hailed as the greatest ever.
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SO, ADELAIDE has done it again.
The 16th edition of the Santos Tour Down Under has been and gone and again it's been hailed as the greatest ever.
I've written about this at length which you can read it right here, but it's been three days since the Tour wrapped up and here are my top five favourite moments ranked in order:
1. Cadel Evans has gone for home!
At the end of every stage is a press area/room/tent where journos (photographers and cameramen who aren't busy) can come to watch the stage unfold on TV.
Every day it was noisy, people were talking, joking, chatting right up until the winner crossed the line. Some days there were some who didn't even bother looking up from their computer and asked 'who won?'
Then there was Cadel Evans' attack up the Corkscrew and his manic descent into Campbelltown - and the press room was silent.
I mean, dead silent, as everyone watched in awe as our only Tour de France champion stormed into the race lead and in doing so, reminded everyone that at 36, he's far from finished.
2. Porte sticks it to 'em.
There is nothing better than being on top of Old Willunga Hill with baited breath waiting for a rider to attack at the bottom of the climb, when the commentator declares 'here it comes'!
First comes the gasp from the crowd, then with necks arched everyone rushes to get that first glimpse of the rider as they come around the final corner.
On Saturday it was Richie Porte's turn to remind everyone why he's spoken about in the same breath as Cadel Evans and Simon Gerrans, even though those two riders swapped the ochre jersey throughout the week.
I only wish when Porte went for home on Old Willunga it was to move into the lead. An attack like that - so violent and explosive - deserves to see the stage winner ride into the ochre jersey.
What it did do however was remind everyone what we've got to look forward to at the Giro d'Italia in May, and why Porte is Christopher Froome's greatest asset at the Tour de France.
3. Gerrans beats Greipel? What the?
Simon Gerrans proved he is Australia's greatest all-round cyclist by winning a bunch sprint into Angaston on the first day and taking the race lead.
With the help of lead-out man Daryl Impey, Gerrans has now perfected the art of the difficult sprint finish so anytime it's into the wind or uphill, you just can't discount him.
This is the same guy who can win Milan-San Remo or hill-top finishes on Old Willunga.
His effort to roll Greipel on Tuesday was nothing short of staggering and he adds the German to his list of sprint victims alongside Peter Sagan from last year's Tour de France.
The 10 bonus seconds he gained that day were important, but the way his team Orica-GreenEDGE controlled the race thereafter, Gerrans' tactics to claim intermediate bonuses on the way to Victor Harbor then his controlled aggression on Willunga Hill made him the most worthy winner.
4. 'Caleb Ewan could win this!'
That was the cry from everyone on the finish line watching on the big screen as a 19-year-old on WorldTour debut got on the wheel of one of the world's fastest sprinters, Andre Greipel in the closing stages of the People's Choice Classic.
Is this happening? Is Ewan really on his wheel? How's his positioning!
As we know it wasn't quite to be, but to see Ewan bobbing up behind Greipel and fellow German superstar Marcel Kittel in the bunch sprint was an incredible insight into what he may be capable of in the future.
We knew Ewan was fast, but now we know he's just as tough given he had a nasty crash on Wednesday, banged his knee, lost plenty of skin, but got straight back on the bike.
5. The Willunga Hill crowds.
You know it's a big crowd when people watching at home on TV are texting you saying 'is that the Tour de France?'
Adelaide should be applauded for hosting another epic day on Old Willunga. Reports were the crowd was 10-deep the entire way up the climb and the atmosphere was electric.
Then at the top they were packed in watching on the big screen and in the corporate stands.
A hill-top finish on Old Willunga is the best thing race director Mike Turtur ever did for this race and it's no surprise the fans are lining up to support it.
Now the TDU is over, I'm about to go on two weeks holidays from this weekend so this is my last Coffee Ride column until Wednesday, February 19. Enjoy the break, after a huge month, I sure will.
PERKINS' PLEA FOR FANS TO SUPPORT TRACK NATS
AUSTRALIA'S fastest track sprinter Shane Perkins has made an impassioned plea for cycling fans to support the national championships in Adelaide starting tonight.
Former world champion Perkins took to social media in a bid to keep the momentum from the Tour Down Under rolling into the Adelaide SuperDrome.
"So many great things going on in cycling right now! Love watching the road and the Tour Down Under bringing so much attention," Perkins wrote.
"Although I'd just like to point out to the media and cycling fans that (this) week you have one of the best opportunities to see Australian cycling's only London Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares competing at the national championships at the Adelaide Superdrome!
"I must say I'm very disappointed in the lack of information out there about this huge opportunity to see once again Australian cycling's only Olympic gold medallist compete on home soil.
"So I ask let's help get track cycling to where it should be, on and in the news promoting Australia's best.
"Recognise Australian track cycling for the huge success that is year in year out! Looking forward to seeing all you supporters at the national championships."
The event marks the return to track racing for Jack Bobridge who fresh from the Tour Down Under will tackle the points race, scratch race and is a chance to ride the team pursuit as well.
The action happens from Wednesday to Sunday and racing quite literally will be scorching with 34, 38 and 40-degree temperatures forecast for the first three days.
And the hotter the better as far as times are concerned as riders push their claims for a spot on Australia's team for the world championships in Columbia next month.
TRACK NATIONALS
WHEN: Jan 29 to Feb 1
WHERE: Adelaide SuperDrome
WHO: Anna Meares, Shane Perkins, Matt Glaetzer, Alex Edmondson, Annette Edmondson, Scott Sunderland, Glenn O'Shea, Jack Bobridge, Steph Morton, Kaarle McCulloch, Amy Cure, Melissa Hoskins - and HEAPS more.
HAIG MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN
IN CASE you needed any more convincing the National Road Series was producing world-class bike riders, Jack Haig just confirmed it.
The 2013 series winner from Avanti Racing rode the Tour Down Under with UniSA and finished the WorldTour race by winning the young rider classification.
Even more impressive was his 17th placing overall on GC - just 2:08 down on Simon Gerrans' winning time.
While he has Commonwealth Games ambitions on the mountain bike this year and will do some road racing with the Jayco AIS WorldTour Academy, Haig's major goal is to land a pro contract for next season.
His performance in the TDU certainly turned heads. One former pro team manager told The Coffee Ride he liked the way Haig pedalled on the bike.
"He looks good, he's very smooth, I'm impressd," he said.
Haig said he was pleasantly surprised to claim the young rider jersey.
"I didn't really come into it thinking I was going to come away with a jersey, I was just hoping to get my face out there as well as my name to some of the teams," he said.
"To finish the week off with the jersey is a nice feeling."
UniSA-Australia was one of two wildcard teams in this year's race along with Drapac Professional Cycling.
With Haig finishing 17th overall and Robbie Hucker being Drapac's best placed rider in 18th, and given neither team won a stage but were both regulars in breakaways, naturally there were comparisons between the two.
Haig wouldn't buy into any argument over which team performed better.
"Our team's a bit different because everyone comes in to the race with different agendas, because essentially we're all individuals who come together compared to Drapac who come in as a team," he said.
"So there's me - and it's sort of hard to say - but I'm not going to waste heaps of energy doing a lead out for Caleb the same way as Caleb's not going to (help me on the climbs).
"It's hard for us to gel and work together as a team but we managed to do it well enough. We had guys to put me in the right position and help Caleb so we definitely had an amazing week."
Haig will now go home to Bendigo to prepare for the Herald Sun Tour with Avanti Racing Team from February 5-9.
"I'll have to see how it goes, you just go into a race and wait for the first couple of days to get under way because I don't think GC will be sorted there unless a breakaway goes," he said.
"The Arthurs Seat stage will decide the GC unless a break goes up the road like last year.
"We'll see how I recover from this then hopefully I'll go into the Sun Tour with some good form."
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"To say cycling is a minority sport in Australia is wrong. The crowds were absolutely amazing today."
- Sky's Richie Porte when asked about the crowds that lined Willunga Hill and cheered him to victory.
"Why am I always in these dramatic moves in these races? It's always close - win or lose, win or lose."
- Cadel Evans in-between catching his breath after winning an epic stage over the Corkscrew.
"Because Steele Von Hoff is Steele Von Hoff."
- Garmin-Sharp director Geert Van Bondt on why Von Hoff rides with one shoe red, one shoe blue.
"I was saying 'slow down, slow down' because I hate going downhill and watching him race downhill."
- Cadel Evans' mother, Helen Cocks, on watching her son win Stage 3 of the Tour Down Under over Corkscrew Road.
"I think Cadel's got to really get rid of me tomorrow (Saturday) because I don't think he's going to want to go into the final stage with only a seven-second advantage."
- Simon Gerrans not afraid to say it how it is before the stage up Willunga Hill.
"It all depends on what information Lance has and what he's able to reveal. That's not going to be in my hands, he's been sanctioned by USADA and they would have to agree to any reduction in his sanction based on the validity and strength of the information he provided."
- UCI president Brian Cookson confirms Lance Armstrong may have his lifetime ban from sport reduced if he co-operates with an independent investigation into the sport's dark past.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Maybe its the moment to let all of you my fans and supporters know that i am very well aware of how blessed and lucky i am to have you!!!
— Jens Voigt (@thejensie) January 26, 2014- German legend Jens Voigt after riding the Tour Down Under for the final time.
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