Avoiding the carnage of two big crashes inside the final five kilometres, Team Sky’s Ben Swift galloped to victory at the end of stage two of the Santos Tour Down Under today. The 23 year old Briton hit the line in Mannum ahead of Robbie McEwen (Team Radio Shack), Graeme Brown (Rabobank Cycling Team) and the rest of the field, with Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad), CJ Sutton (Team Sky), Tyler Farrar and Cameron Meyer (both Garmin-Cervélo) amongst those who went down hard.
It was a triumphant moment for Swift, and so too Aussie veteran McEwen; on a day when his team leader Lance Armstrong faced further scrutiny, McEwen’s second place saw him seize the race leader’s orange jersey from stage one winner Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad).
“It’s nice to be in the lead. I was gunning to win the stage and I went from quite a way out to try to spring the element of surprise through the inside at about 250m to go,” he said. “Swifty came up with a really good lead out and won the stage, so good on him. I managed to hold on for second and with the bonus seconds it’s a nice surprise to be leading.” He’s level on time with Goss, who finished only 47th today after being temporarily delayed by a crash.
McEwen appears back to top form after a difficult year and a half. He crashed hard in the 2009 Tour of Belgium and badly injured his knee. While he worked hard to return to the sport, it has taken some time to get his full strength back.
He’s fired up by his good form, and also about his move to a new team. “I’m always motivated. I think that’s something I’ve always been able to rely on throughout my career. I am always up to try and win and make the best of any situation. Especially with a new team it’s always good to impress them at the start and I’m just really, really motivated and enjoying my riding.”
For Swift, the stage win was confirmation of the talent he showed when he took a stage in the 2009 Tour of Britain. He had originally been asked to help Sutton on the stage, but the carnage at the finish led to him being given his chance.
“We were right on the front in the final kilometre with Mathew Hayman leading the way, me in second and Geraint Thomas on my wheel,” he said. “But I got the call from G [Thomas] with around 600m to go that Greg had dropped back and it would be me who was going for it.
“He hopped on Hayman's wheel and I got on G's, and they took me right up until about 200m to go. Then I just went for it. McEwen got a bit of a jump on me at first but that gave me something to run at and thankfully I was able to pull away at the end.”
Aggressive start, big bunch finish:
As expected, the lumpy first half of the stage was perfect in helping a breakaway get established. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale) surged clear just before the 20 kilometre mark and was joined several minutes later by David Tanner (Saxo Bank-SunGard) and Mitchell Docker (UniSA).
They worked well to build a lead of four minutes 20 seconds, but by the time Tanner beat Krivtsov to take the intermediate sprint at Kanmantoo (km 53.3), that had fallen to just over two and a half minutes. It dropped further as the riders fought it out for the prime on Dawesley Hill (km 64.3), where Docker took top points ahead of Krivtsov.
Behind, King of the Mountains leader Luke Roberts (UNI SA - Australia) burst out of the peloton and picked up the points for fourth, combining with BMC Racing team-mates Simon Zahner and Tim Roe to pull clear. Having accomplished his goal of retaining his King of the Mountains jersey, he sat up afterwards and went back to the bunch, while the other two joined the leaders to make it five up front.
They worked hard to try to stave off the chase, yet when Zahner beat Docker to take the Mount Pleasant sprint (km107), the gap was only a minute. Roe sensed danger and jumped clear eight kilometres later, holding a solid advantage while the others were recaptured. However he too was reeled in with five kilometres go, making a bunch sprint all the more likely.
Cavendish and Farrar were two obvious contenders but their bids for success came to an abrupt end when they were amongst a group of riders who went down hard on a left hand bend. McEwen explained afterwards what happened. “There was gravel everywhere on the sides of the road as well as a line of gravel in the middle of the road,” he said.
“We came out of a left-hand corner and someone hit that strip of gravel piled up in the middle and went down with others going over the top. I saw HTC guys fall and one guy ran right into the back of another guy’s neck. It was so gravely; guys were slipping out all over the place.”
Cavendish and Sutton were the last two riders up, and limped in to the finish to have their injuries assessed. Up front, Team Sky’s plan was changing to Henderson and then to Swift, and despite a surge by McEwen up the inside with 150 metres to go, the young Briton had enough speed to get back on terms and to nab the victory. He was predictably delighted with the result.
"It's the biggest win of my career, without a doubt, but it all It felt a bit unreal to be honest because our plan changed three times in the final four kilometres,” he said. “Fortunately we were all able to think on our feet though and everything turned out brilliantly.”
He’s now level on time with McEwen and Goss, and could well fight for the leader’s jersey in the days ahead. The team will pull in behind him and will hopefully be able to rely on Geraint Thomas, who crashed heavily after leading Swift out. Fighting for the overall win in the race is a big goal for Team Sky, and so too for the RadioShack squad of still-speedy, still-hungry Robbie McEwen.
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Santos Tour Down Under, January 18-23 (UCI WorldTour):
Stage 2, January 19: Tailem Bend – Mannum:
1, Ben Swift (Team Sky) 146 kilometres in 3 hours 27 mins 44 secs
2, Robbie McEwen (Team Radio Shack)
3, Graeme Brown (Rabobank Cycling Team)
4, Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
5, Jurgen Roelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
6, Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step Cycling Team)
7, Michael Matthews (Rabobank Cycling Team)
8, Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha Team)
9, Francisco Ventoso (Team Movistar)
10, Allan Davis (Astana)
11, Kristof Goddaert (Ag2r La Mondiale)
12, Manuele Mori (Lampre - ISD)
13, Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas-Cannondale)
14, Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad)
15, Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
16, Jonathan Cantwell (UNI SA - Australia)
17, Nikolay Trusov (Katusha Team)
18, Wesley Sulzberger (UNI SA - Australia)
19, Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Team Movistar)
20, Greg Henderson (Team Sky)
21, Davide Vigano (Leopard Trek)
22, Inaki Isasi (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
23, Luke Roberts (UNI SA - Australia)
24, Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
25, Francesco Reda (Quick Step Cycling Team)
26, Blel Kadri (Ag2r La Mondiale)
27, Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale)
28, Ivan Velasco (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
29, Rob Ruijgh (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
30, Sebastian Haedo (Saxo Bank Sungard)
31, Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing Team)
32, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
33, Gerald Ciolek (Quick Step Cycling Team)
34, Jon Izaguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
35, Steve Houanard (Ag2r La Mondiale)
36, Davide Cimolai (Liquigas-Cannondale)
37, Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale)
38, Eduard Vorganov (Katusha Team)
39, Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
40, Simone Ponzi (Liquigas-Cannondale)
41, Mathew Hayman (Team Sky)
42, Lance Armstrong (Team Radio Shack)
43, Marcel Sieberg (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
44, Davide Malacarne (Quick Step Cycling Team)
45, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team)
46, Bruno Pires (Leopard Trek)
47, Matthew Goss (HTC-Highroad)
48, Luis Pasamontes (Team Movistar)
49, Stuart O'Grady (Leopard Trek)
50, Alberto Ongarato (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
51, Tom Leezer (Rabobank Cycling Team)
52, Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
53, Robbie Hunter (Team Radio Shack)
54, Andriy Grivko (Astana)
55, Gregory Rast (Team Radio Shack)
56, Martin Kohler (BMC Racing Team)
57, Nicki Sörensen (Saxo Bank Sungard)
58, Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Astana)
59, Julien Vermote (Quick Step Cycling Team)
60, Juan Horrach (Katusha Team)
61, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia)
62, David Lopez (Team Movistar)
63, Simon Gerrans (Team Sky)
64, Maxim Gourov (Astana)
65, Tanel Kangert (Astana)
66, Hayden Roulston (HTC-Highroad)
67, Aleksandr Kuschynski (Katusha Team)
68, Cameron Wurf (Liquigas-Cannondale)
69, Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
70, Julien Loubet (Ag2r La Mondiale)
71, Manuel Cardoso (Team Radio Shack)
72, Stijn Vandenbergh (Katusha Team)
73, Mathieu Perget (Ag2r La Mondiale)
74, Alan Marangoni (Liquigas-Cannondale)
75, Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
76, André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
77, Angel Madrazo (Team Movistar)
78, Daniel Sesma (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
79, Serguei Ivanov (Katusha Team)
80, Marco Bandiera (Quick Step Cycling Team)
81, Joost Van Leijen (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
82, Alfredo Balloni (Lampre - ISD)
83, Martin Pedersen (Leopard Trek)
84, Aitor Perez Arrieta (Lampre - ISD)
85, Martin Mortensen (Leopard Trek)
86, Luke Durbridge (UNI SA - Australia)
87, Ben Hermans (Team Radio Shack)
88, Coen Vermeltfoort (Rabobank Cycling Team)
89, Kristijan Koren (Liquigas-Cannondale) at 22 secs
90, Matthew Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo)
91, Bert Grabsch (HTC-Highroad)
92, William Clarke (Leopard Trek)
93, Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
94, Richie Porte (Saxo Bank Sungard)
95, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard)
96, Vitaliy Buts (Lampre - ISD)
97, Addy Engels (Quick Step Cycling Team)
98, Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank Cycling Team)
99, Dimitri Champion (Ag2r La Mondiale)
100, Simon Zahner (BMC Racing Team)
101, Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank Sungard)
102, Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana)
103, Julian Dean (Garmin-Cervelo)
104, Brett Lancaster (Garmin-Cervelo)
105, Jack Bobridge (Garmin-Cervelo)
106, Jos van Emden (Rabobank Cycling Team)
107, Markel Irizar (Team Radio Shack)
108, Michael Hepburn (UNI SA - Australia)
109, Alessandro Spezialetti (Lampre - ISD) at 1 min 20 secs
110, Timothy Roe (BMC Racing Team) at 1 min 24 secs
111, Alexander Kristoff (BMC Racing Team)
112, Michael Rogers (Team Sky) at 1 min 34 secs
113, Bernhard Eisel (HTC-Highroad) at 1 min 56 secs
114, Danny Pate (HTC-Highroad)
115, Brian Vandborg (Saxo Bank Sungard)
116, Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank Sungard)
117, José Vicente Garcia (Team Movistar) at 2 mins 1 secs
118, Jose Joaquin Rojas (Team Movistar)
119, Matteo Bono (Lampre - ISD) at 2 mins 10 secs
120, Daniele Righi (Lampre - ISD)
121, Stefan Denifl (Leopard Trek)
122, Olivier Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 2 mins 13 secs
123, John Murphy (BMC Racing Team)
124, Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
125, Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
126, Simon Clarke (Astana) at 3 mins 16 secs
127, Jurgen Van De Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 3 mins 42 secs
128, Travis Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
129, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo)
130, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) at 3 mins 47 secs
131, Chris Sutton (Team Sky) at 4 mins 28 secs
132, Pieter Weening (Rabobank Cycling Team) at 5 mins 13 secs
133, Bernard Sulzberger (UNI SA - Australia)
Teams:
1, UNI SA – Australia, 10 hours 23 mins 12 secs
2, Rabobank
3, Euskaltel-Euskadi
4, Team Sky
5, Katusha
6, Quickstep
7, Vacansoleil-DCM
8, Ag2r La Mondiale
9, Movistar
10, Liquigas-Cannondale
11, Radio Shack
12, Leopard Trek
13, Astana
14, Omega Pharma-Lotto
15, HTC-Highroad
16, BMC
17, Lampre - ISD
18, Saxo Bank Sungard
19, Garmin-Cervelo, all same time
Sprints:
1, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard) 6 pts
2, Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale) 4
3, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia) 2
Mount Pleasant:
1, Simon Zahner (BMC Racing Team) 6 pts
2, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia) 4
3, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard) 2
Finish – Mannum:
1, Ben Swift (Team Sky) 8 pts
2, Robbie McEwen (Team Radio Shack) 6
3, Graeme Brown (Rabobank Cycling Team) 4
KOM - Dawesley Hill:
1, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia) 16 pts
2, Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale) 12
3, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard) 8
4, Luke Roberts (UNI SA - Australia) 6
5, Simon Zahner (BMC Racing Team) 4
General classification:
1, Robbie McEwen (Team Radio Shack) at 6 hours 44 mins 42 secs
2, Matthew Goss (HTC-Highroad)
3, Ben Swift (Team Sky)
4, André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 4 secs
5, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia)
6, Graeme Brown (Rabobank Cycling Team) at 6 secs
7, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard)
8, Mathieu Perget (Ag2r La Mondiale) at 7 secs
9, Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
10, Simon Zahner (BMC Racing Team)
11, Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale) at 8 secs
12, Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 10 secs
13, Manuele Mori (Lampre - ISD)
14, Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha Team)
15, Allan Davis (Astana)
16, Francisco Ventoso (Team Movistar)
17, Greg Henderson (Team Sky)
18, Inaki Isasi (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
19, Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale)
20, Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas-Cannondale)
21, Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing Team)
22, Kristof Goddaert (Ag2r La Mondiale)
23, Michael Matthews (Rabobank Cycling Team)
24, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
25, Luke Roberts (UNI SA - Australia)
26, Jonathan Cantwell (UNI SA - Australia)
27, Blel Kadri (Ag2r La Mondiale)
28, Eduard Vorganov (Katusha Team)
29, Wesley Sulzberger (UNI SA - Australia)
30, Francesco Reda (Quick Step Cycling Team)
31, Jurgen Roelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
32, Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
33, Stuart O'Grady (Leopard Trek)
34, Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
35, Davide Vigano (Leopard Trek)
36, Simone Ponzi (Liquigas-Cannondale)
37, Rob Ruijgh (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
38, Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
39, Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Team Movistar)
40, Gerald Ciolek (Quick Step Cycling Team)
41, Simon Gerrans (Team Sky)
42, Davide Malacarne (Quick Step Cycling Team)
43, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team)
44, Luis Pasamontes (Team Movistar)
45, Julien Loubet (Ag2r La Mondiale)
46, Alberto Ongarato (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
47, Ivan Velasco (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
48, Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad)
49, Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step Cycling Team)
50, Aleksandr Kuschynski (Katusha Team)
51, Steve Houanard (Ag2r La Mondiale)
52, Martin Kohler (BMC Racing Team)
53, Juan Horrach (Katusha Team)
54, Jon Izaguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
55, Andriy Grivko (Astana)
56, Ben Hermans (Team Radio Shack)
57, David Lopez (Team Movistar)
58, Manuel Cardoso (Team Radio Shack)
59, Nikolay Trusov (Katusha Team)
60, Lance Armstrong (Team Radio Shack)
61, Nicki Sörensen (Saxo Bank Sungard)
62, Jose Joaquin Rojas (Team Movistar)
63, Tanel Kangert (Astana)
64, Cameron Wurf (Liquigas-Cannondale)
65, Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank Sungard)
66, Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank Cycling Team)
67, Julian Dean (Garmin-Cervelo)
68, John Murphy (BMC Racing Team)
69, Mathew Hayman (Team Sky)
70, Hayden Roulston (HTC-Highroad)
71, Julien Vermote (Quick Step Cycling Team)
72, Bruno Pires (Leopard Trek)
73, Aitor Perez Arrieta (Lampre - ISD)
74, Tom Leezer (Rabobank Cycling Team)
75, Serguei Ivanov (Katusha Team)
76, Addy Engels (Quick Step Cycling Team)
77, Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana)
78, Marco Bandiera (Quick Step Cycling Team)
79, Bernard Sulzberger (UNI SA - Australia)
80, Robbie Hunter (Team Radio Shack)
81, Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Astana)
82, Angel Madrazo (Team Movistar)
83, Vitaliy Buts (Lampre - ISD)
84, Luke Durbridge (UNI SA - Australia)
85, William Clarke (Leopard Trek)
86, Daniel Sesma (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
87, Stefan Denifl (Leopard Trek)
88, Richie Porte (Saxo Bank Sungard)
89, Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
90, Martin Pedersen (Leopard Trek)
91, Joost Van Leijen (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
92, Stijn Vandenbergh (Katusha Team)
93, Alfredo Balloni (Lampre - ISD)
94, Gregory Rast (Team Radio Shack)
95, Markel Irizar (Team Radio Shack)
96, Matthew Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo)
97, Martin Mortensen (Leopard Trek)
98, Dimitri Champion (Ag2r La Mondiale)
99, Alexander Kristoff (BMC Racing Team)
100, Michael Hepburn (UNI SA - Australia)
101, Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
102, Jack Bobridge (Garmin-Cervelo)
103, Brett Lancaster (Garmin-Cervelo)
104, Brian Vandborg (Saxo Bank Sungard)
105, Davide Cimolai (Liquigas-Cannondale) at 27 secs
106, Marcel Sieberg (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 28 secs
107, Kristijan Koren (Liquigas-Cannondale) at 32 secs
108, Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 38 secs
109, Alan Marangoni (Liquigas-Cannondale)
110, Maxim Gourov (Astana) at 55 secs
111, Coen Vermeltfoort (Rabobank Cycling Team)
112, Bert Grabsch (HTC-Highroad) at 1 min 21 secs
113, Alessandro Spezialetti (Lampre - ISD) at 1 min 30 secs
114, Timothy Roe (BMC Racing Team) at 1 min 34 secs
115, Jos van Emden (Rabobank Cycling Team) at 1 min 35 secs
116, Sebastian Haedo (Saxo Bank Sungard) at 1 min 43 secs
117, Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank Sungard)
118, Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 1 min 47 secs
119, Danny Pate (HTC-Highroad) at 2 mins 6 secs
120, Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 2 mins 9 secs
121, José Vicente Garcia (Team Movistar) at 2 mins 11 secs
122, Michael Rogers (Team Sky) at 2 mins 37 secs
123, Matteo Bono (Lampre - ISD) at 2 mins 59 secs
124, Daniele Righi (Lampre - ISD)
125, Simon Clarke (Astana) at 3 mins 23 secs
126, Bernhard Eisel (HTC-Highroad) at 3 mins 34 secs
127, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) at 3 mins 52 secs
128, Travis Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
129, Jurgen Van De Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
130, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) at 3 mins 57 secs
131, Olivier Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 4 mins 0 secs
132, Chris Sutton (Team Sky) at 4 mins 38 secs
133, Pieter Weening (Rabobank Cycling Team) at 5 mins 23 secs
Teams classification:
1, Team Sky, 20 hours 14 mins 36 secs
2, UNI SA - Australia
3, Vacansoleil-DCM
4, Rabobank
5, Liquigas-Cannondale
6, Euskaltel-Euskadi
7, BMC
8, Katusha
9, Movistar
10, Quickstep
11, Radio Shack
12, Ag2r La Mondiale
13, Leopard Trek
14, Astana
15, Omega Pharma-Lotto
16, HTC-Highroad
17, Garmin-Cervelo
18, Lampre - ISD
19, Saxo Bank Sungard, all same time
Sprint classification:
1, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia) 12 pts
2, Robbie McEwen (Team Radio Shack) 10
3, Matthew Goss (HTC-Highroad) 8
4, Ben Swift (Team Sky) 8
5, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard) 8
6, Mathieu Perget (Ag2r La Mondiale) 6
7, Simon Zahner (BMC Racing Team) 6
8, André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) 6
9, Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 6
10, Simon Clarke (Astana) 6
11, Graeme Brown (Rabobank Cycling Team) 4
12, Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale) 4
Mountains classification:
1, Luke Roberts (UNI SA - Australia) 22 pts
2, Mitchell Docker (UNI SA - Australia) 16
3, David Tanner (Saxo Bank Sungard) 12
4, Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r La Mondiale) 12
5, Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 12
6, Julien Loubet (Ag2r La Mondiale) 8
7, Blel Kadri (Ag2r La Mondiale) 6
8, Simon Zahner (BMC Racing Team) 4