Tour Down Under 2016: Gerrans down but certainly not out

Simon Gerrans is confident a crash in yesterday’s Tour Down Under won’t harm his chances of winning a fourth time.

Simon Gerrans comes down in a crash just 500m from the finish line yesterday. Picture: Nine News Adelaide.

Orica-GreenEdge rider Simon Gerrans is confident a crash less than 500m from the finish in yesterday’s second stage of the Tour Down Under will not harm his chances of winning a fourth Adelaide event.

Admitting he was bitterly disappointed to come down in a crash behind Lieuwe Westra and teammate Daryl Impey after claiming time bonuses on the road, Gerrans was lucky to come away with minor scrapes and no broken bones. “The stage was going perfectly until I crashed at the end,’’ Gerrans said.

With today’s 139km stage from Glenelg to Campbelltown featuring the category one climb up Corkscrew Rd, Gerrans is still planning to be the thorn in BMC’s side as it positions stars Rohan Dennis and Richie Porte for victory.

Gerrans has gone almost under the radar this year, after recovering from a nightmare season in 2015 where he fractured his elbow before the Tour Down Under and broke his wrist in the Tour de France. He has not had much luck with crashes over the past year.

The three-time Tour Down Under winner is hoping to gain more today and tomorrow over Dennis, who sits one second behind, before going into the penultimate stage on Saturday, where the Willunga Hill finish usually determines the overall winner.

“Obviously the next couple of days are make or break for me really,” Gerrans said. “I ideally need to go into the Willunga stage with a few seconds’ buffer on a lot of the pure climbers in the bunch and the next couple of days is my chance to get a few seconds, so for me the whole race revolves around what I’m able to do or not do in the next couple of days.”

Gerrans is the elder statesman of the field at 35, and has tried not to overplay his early season fitness.

With his teammate Caleb Ewan taking the glory in the People’s Choice Classic on Sunday night and winning the first stage on Tuesday, Gerrans sat in the bunch until yesterday.

In both sprints on the 132km stage from inner eastern suburb Unley to Stirling in the Adelaide Hills, Ewan supported Gerrans and allowed his team leader the points and crucial time bonuses.

With a long season ahead including the European one-day classics, the Tour de France and the Olympics, Gerrans is in a similar boat to Porte, who is aiming for many of the same international events.

Porte was in prime condition going into last season after cross-training while on a long break at home in Tasmania. He admitted yesterday he was at least a month behind last year’s preparations having only returned to Australia on Christmas Eve.

“The Tour Down Under is a great race but with all due respect, for me it’s March when I really want to start hitting my peak,” Porte said. Porte and Dennis will make a powerful combination over the tour’s remaining stages and tough climbs.