Andre Greipel surges to People's Choice win at Santos Tour Down Under

ANDRE Greipel was proclaimed the undisputed king of Adelaide's East End by claiming his third prologue crown last night.

ANDRE Greipel was proclaimed the undisputed king of Adelaide's East End by claiming his third prologue crown last night.

The two-time Tour Down Under champion again proved why he is rated as one of the best sprinters on the planet in front of an estimated 108,000 fans.

When his Lotto-Belisol teammates set him up to take pole position, knowing Orica-GreenEDGE had positioned Australians Matt Goss for the main prize, the German's powerful legs were too good on the Rundle Road straight.

Goss was kept at bay while Greipel's Kiwi teammate Greg Henderson claimed third place after the German made his mark at the Tour Down Under in 2008, claiming the prologue at Glenelg before winning his first East End classic last year.

The German said familiarity and team stability had made the win possible.

"It makes it easier because we had the same guys (teammates) as last year," he said.

"We just stick to the same plan we know how hard it is to hit the front on this circuit.

"But Oli Kaisen did the job to close the break because we knew we had to take the responsibility.

"Then Tim Wellens kept us on the front of the bunch and Adam Hansen had to take the decision when we started the lead out and he did it like last year and I'm really happy we could finish it off."

Greipel, who donned a helmet better suited to a time-trial than a road race, made his winning move with two laps remaining after Lotto-Belisol's lead-out train was well positioned for the triumph.

As the peloton jostled for teams' supremacy Greipel proved he is the master of the East End when he left Goss in his wake.

But Greipel didn't have it all his own way.

The warm-up event to the six-stage Santos Tour Down Under which starts tomorrow from Prospect Road, turned into a unsuspecting two-horse race during the early stages of the 30-lap race.

People's Choice Classic fans were admiring the courage of the peloton's senior citizen Jens Voigt, 41, from RadioShack Leopard when he asked all the questions with an attack from the off.

Wild card UniSA team member Zakkary Dempster, 25, ensured Voigt wasn't getting away when he kept pace with the domestique as both riders looked for an early tactical edge.

Given the Victorian had the sprint pedigree to cause an upset, Voigt was endeavouring to position Belgian Ben Hermans in the hope of winning the 60-minute race.

Dempster and Voigt took charge of the 51km criterium just 10 minutes into the prologue when the pair opened up a 44-second gap before lap 10 before the Victorian claimed the first preme sprint of the balmy evening.

But their breakaway antics were short-lived when Lotto-Belisol and Argentine outfit Argos-Shimano were driving the peloton's charge behind Voigt and Dempster in an effort to bridge the gap after 16 laps.

The peloton made up lost ground quickly with key sprinters Greipel and Goss well protected by their teams as the East End cooled down to perfect 20C race temperatures after Adelaide's maximum reached 28C yesterday.

But after Dempsey landed all four preme sprint wins and $2200 in prizemoney the peloton had enough of watching the Victorian and the German lead the bike race.

Saxo-Tinkoff's Chris Anker Sorensen led the charge at lap 21 after the peloton caught Voigt and Dempsey but with five laps remaining the race was destined to be a Greipel victory.

Greipel ripped up the tarmac during his warm-up win last year with the race lap record - 1min 40sec - and the likeable German again didn't disappoint his faithful fans last night.

Last year's winner claimed a morale-boosting victory in the curtain-raiser to the Tour, pipping his key sprint rival, Goss, for the win.

The street circuit race - 30 laps of a 1.7km course - traditionally helps write the form guide for the upcoming sprint showdowns in the Tour Down Under, with Greipel now a marked man in the 19-team strong peloton.

Despite the Lance Armstrong scandal clogging headlines in the lead-up, thousands turned up to watch the Sunday night race, although numbers appeared well down on the 100,000 who attended in previous years.

Voigt, a teammate of 2010 Tour de France winner Andy Schleck in Radioshack Leopard, said the criterium was invaluable to riders ahead of the first major Tour of the year.

"We get to see who is hot and who is not," said Voigt.

"It is about checking everyone out, their form, their jerseys, their bikes and to see who is pedaling well, who is fit, who is carrying the extra kilo. It's important."

The six-stage Santos Tour Down Under starts on Tuesday.

Course changes to the 753km season opener for the world's leading professional teams are expected to prevent sprinters dominating the Tour.