Tour Down Under 2011

Tour Down Under 2011
Host country	Australia
Competition period	January 18-23, 2011
Stages	6 stages
overall length	758 kilometers
Starting field	133 in 19 teams (of which 129 arrived at the finish)
← Tour Down Under 2010	Tour Down Under 2012 →

Final score

First	Cameron Meyer	17:54:27 h
Second	Matthew Goss	+ 0:02 min
Third	Ben Swift	+ 0:08 min
Fourth	Michael Matthews	+ 0:09 min
fifth	Laurens ten Dam	+ 0:10 min
Sixth	Francisco Ventoso	+ 0:17 min
seventh	André Greipel	+ 0:26 min
Eighth	Blel Kadri	same time
Ninth	Allan Davis	+ 0:27 min
Tenth	Luke Roberts	+ 0:28 min
Scoring	Matthew Goss	28 p.
Second	Michael Matthews	20 p.
Third	Thomas De Gendt	20 p.
Mountain scoring	Luke Roberts	60 p.
Second	Ben Hermans	36 P.
Third	Mitchell Docker	32 p.
Young talent evaluation	Cameron Meyer	17:54:27 h
Second	Matthew Goss	+ 0:02 min
Third	Ben Swift	+ 0:08 min
Team evaluation	Movistar team	53:44:56 h
Second	Vacansoleil DCM	+ 0:08 min
Third	ag2r La Mondiale	+ 0:25 min

The 13th Tour Down Under took place from January 16 to 23, 2011. The bike race consisted of six stages , the first starting on January 18th. Two days earlier, the race opened with the Cancer Council Classic , which did not count towards the overall standings. The total distance of the race was 758 kilometers. The Tour Down Under was the first competition of the UCI World Tour 2011 .

The participants

Participating teams

UCI ProTeams Quick Step Omega Pharma Lotto Saxo Bank SunGard ag2r La Mondiale Lampre ISD Liquigas-Cannondale Pro team Astana Team Leopard Trek Rabobank Vacansoleil DCM Katyusha Euskaltel-Euskadi Movistar team Sky ProCycling BMC Racing Team Garmin-Cervélo HTC highroad Team RadioShack Other teams UniSA

The 18 ProTeams who were obliged to provide a team for all competitions of the UCI World Tour 2011 were automatically entitled to start . The Tour Down Under was the first race of the newly founded Leopard-Trek team from Luxembourg . UniSA , an Australian national team made up of Australian Continental drivers from different provinces, took part as the 19th team . Each team consisted of seven drivers.

At the Tour Down Under 2011, the long-time HTC Columbia colleagues André Greipel , from this season at Omega Pharma-Lotto , and Mark Cavendish met for the first time . Cavendish publicly vilified Greipel in 2010. Greipel was also considered a favorite to win the Tour, as he had already won the Tour Down Under twice, most recently in 2010 . The Spaniard José Joaquín Rojas Gil from the Movistar Team , winner of the 2009 junior ranking, was also a candidate for a top position in the overall ranking. Also at the start was the 2009 winner and bronze medalist of the 2010 World Cup , Allan Davis from Pro Team Astana . But other sprinters such as Gerald Ciolek or Francesco Chicchi (both Quick Step ) would have been able to win the tour due to the largely flat profile of the tour. Another prominent participant was the American Tyler Farrar from Garmin-Cervélo .

Several successful Australian professionals also presented themselves at their home race, such as the young Richie Porte from Saxo Bank-SunGard , Michael Rogers , Simon Gerrans and Christopher Sutton (all Sky ) or Mark Renshaw and Matthew Goss (both HTC-Highroad ). Robbie McEwen from Team RadioShack and Stuart O'Grady ( Team Leopard-Trek ), two-time winner of the race, could even be classified as candidates for the overall victory.

The 2011 Tour Down Under was the last international race for seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong ( Team RadioShack ).

The stages

The race took place in the province of South Australia around the capital Adelaide . As every year, the Tour Down Under was the focus of the Festival of Cycling , a week-long event that is all about bikes in South Australia. With around 772,000 spectators on the route, the tour experienced a new record visit.

Cancer Council Classic

Result Cancer Council Classic

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	1:05:12 h
2.	Mark Renshaw		HTC highroad	same time
3.	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	same time
4th	Elia Viviani		Liquigas-Cannondale	same time
5.	Christopher Sutton		Sky ProCycling	same time

The 51 kilometer criterion in Adelaide , the capital of South Australia , opened the Tour Down Under 2011. It did not count towards the overall classification or the UCI World Tour and consisted of 30 flat laps of 1.7 kilometers each. Before the Cancer Council Classic, the participating teams were introduced to the audience. In the sprint there was a double victory for the HTC-Highroad team : Goss triumphed ahead of Renshaw.

1st stage, Mawson Lakes - Angaston

Result 1st stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	3:17:08 h
2.	André Greipel		Omega Pharma Lotto	same time
3.	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	same time
4th	Christopher Sutton		Sky ProCycling	same time
5.	Elia Viviani		Liquigas-Cannondale	same time

Overall ranking after the 1st stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	3:16:58 h
2.	André Greipel		Omega Pharma Lotto	+ 0:04 min
3.	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	+ 0:06 min
4th	Mitchell Docker		UniSA	+ 0:07 min
5.	Mathieu Perget		ag2r La Mondiale	same time

The first stage started in Mawson Lakes and led over 138 kilometers to Angaston . Two intermediate sprints and a mountain classification were passed on the mostly flat route. The section ended with a circuit in the destination, which was completed three times.

The Australian Matthew Goss also triumphed on the first stage of the Tour Down Under after winning the Cancer Council Classic. The man from HTC-Highroad defeated the German André Greipel and compatriot Robbie McEwen on the slightly uphill stretch . With the victory prepared by start-up driver Mark Renshaw , Goss also took the lead in the overall, junior and sprint standings. Previously, five outliers determined what happened. Simon Clarke ( Pro Team Astana ), Mitchell Docker (UniSA Australia), the French Mathieu Perget ( ag2r La Mondiale ) and the Spanish Euskaltel professionals Miguel Mínguez and Jon Izaguirre made the intermediate sprints among themselves. Luke Roberts from UniSA secured the lead in the mountain classification .

2nd stage, Tailem Bend - Mannum

Result 2nd stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Ben Swift		Sky ProCycling	3:27:44 h
2.	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	same time
3.	Graeme Brown		Rabobank	same time
4th	Romain Feillu		Vacansoleil DCM	same time
5.	Jürgen Roelandts		Omega Pharma Lotto	same time

Overall ranking after the 2nd stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	6:44:42 h
2.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	same time
3.	Ben Swift		Sky ProCycling	same time
4th	André Greipel		Omega Pharma Lotto	+ 0:04 min
5.	Mitchell Docker		UniSA	same time

The second part of the day was the longest of the Tour Down Under 2011 and led the field from Tailem Bend to Mannum over a stretch of 146 flat kilometers, on which two sprint and one mountain classification were run .

Briton Ben Swift won the stage in the sprint after André Greipel suffered a puncture six kilometers from the finish and overall leader Matthew Goss was involved in a crash. The day's runner-up Robbie McEwen took over the leader's jersey ahead of the simultaneous Swift and Goss. The three-man breakaway group of the day, which was later supplemented by three drivers, made the interim scores of the day among themselves. There was Luke Roberts , who attacked the mountain classification and later caught up with the top. He defended the lead in the mountain classification. Outlier Mitchell Docker took the lead in the sprint standings, for which he had already scored points the day before in an escape group.

3rd stage, Unley - Stirling

Result 3rd stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Michael Matthews		Rabobank	3:11:47 h
2.	André Greipel		Omega Pharma Lotto	same time
3.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	same time
4th	Simon Gerrans		Sky ProCycling	same time
5.	Luke Roberts		UniSA	same time

Overall ranking after the 3rd stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	9:56:25 h
2.	André Greipel		Omega Pharma Lotto	+ 0:02 min
3.	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	+ 0:04 min
4th	Michael Matthews		Rabobank	same time
5.	Ben Swift		Sky ProCycling	same time

The third stage of the Tour Down Under, which included the mandatory sprint ratings and a mountain rating , was 129 kilometers long . At the end of the day, the finish line in Stirling was passed three times. On this circuit the road climbed towards the destination.

The Australian Michael Matthews secured his first success as a professional in the sprint . With the third stage rank, Matthew Goss took over the leader jersey again. Aljaksandr Kuschynski ( Katjuscha ), the Spaniard Luis Pasamontes ( Movistar ), the Belgian Thomas De Gendt ( Vacansoleil-DCM ) and the Australian Luke Durbridge ( UniSA ) formed the group of the day and made the interim scores among themselves.

4th stage, Norwood - Strathalbyn

Result 4th stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Cameron Meyer		Garmin-Cervélo	2:57:55 h
2.	Thomas De Gendt		Vacansoleil DCM	same time
3.	Laurens ten Dam		Rabobank	+ 0:03 min
4th	Matthew Wilson		Garmin-Cervélo	+ 0:10 min
5.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	+ 0:24 min

Overall ranking after the 4th stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Cameron Meyer		Garmin-Cervélo	12:54:30 h
2.	Laurens ten Dam		Rabobank	+ 0:10 min
3.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	+ 0:12 min
4th	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	+ 0:15 min
5.	André Greipel		Omega Pharma Lotto	+ 0:16 min

The route on the fourth stage was 124 kilometers between Norwood and Strathalbyn. As on the other sections, two sprint and one mountain classification were held on a predominantly flat route.

The group of the day was only found after the first sprint classification, which reached the field as a whole. The original sextet, from which Blel Kadri fell back halfway through the race, never had a lead of more than 2:30 minutes, but in the end, day winner Cameron Meyer from Garmin-Cervélo saved 24 seconds to the finish thanks to the help of his teammate Matthew Wilson and took it over Leader jersey, while the second Thomas De Gendt ( Vacansoleil-DCM ) took the lead in the sprint classification. The peloton led Matthew Goss to the finish.

5th stage, McClaren Vale - Willunga

Result 5th stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Francisco Ventoso		Movistar team	3:06:10 h
2.	Michael Matthews		Rabobank	same time
3.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	same time
4th	José Joaquín Rojas Gil		Movistar team	same time
5.	Luke Roberts		UniSA	same time

Overall ranking after the 5th stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Cameron Meyer		Garmin-Cervélo	16:00:40 h
2.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	+ 0:08 min
3.	Laurens ten Dam		Rabobank	+ 0:10 min
4th	Michael Matthews		Rabobank	+ 0:12 min
5.	Francisco Ventoso		Movistar team	+ 0:17 min

As in previous years, the fifth part of the day was the “queen's stage” of the Tour Down Under. On the 131 kilometers, the Willunga Hill, which had to be climbed twice, was the most difficult ascent of the tour. The two mountain classifications of the day were carried out on the summit, and there were two sprints on the route.

The breakaway group of the day was set on the first passage of the hill. On the descent, a leading group formed, in which Lance Armstrong rode among others , but this group was caught up again. On the second ascent of the decisive climb of the tour, Ben Hermans from Team RadioShack , Richie Porte from Saxo Bank-Sungard and Jack Bobridge from Garmin-Cervélo came together to form a new leadership group. But this was also set by her pursuers shortly before the goal. The Spaniard Francisco Ventoso won the sprint of the 15-strong leading group . With his third day rank, Matthew Goss made up time on leader Cameron Meyer , who was also in the group, thanks to the credits , and took over the sprint classification again from Thomas De Gendt with the same points .

Stage 6, Adelaide City Council Street Circuit

Result 6th stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Ben Swift		Sky ProCycling	1:53:47 h
2.	Greg Henderson		Sky ProCycling	same time
3.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	same time
4th	Robbie McEwen		Team RadioShack	same time
5.	Juan José Haedo		Saxo Bank SunGard	same time

Overall ranking after the 6th stage

	driver	nation	team	time
1.	Cameron Meyer		Garmin-Cervélo	17:54:27 h
2.	Matthew Goss		HTC highroad	+ 0:02 min
3.	Ben Swift		Sky ProCycling	+ 0:08 min
4th	Michael Matthews		Rabobank	+ 0:09 min
5.	Laurens ten Dam		Rabobank	+ 0:10 min

The Tour Down Under 2011 ended with a 90-kilometer criterion over 20 laps in Adelaide . The route was flat and included a mountain classification on the lap as well as intermediate sprints at the finish line.

On the final stage, as in the previous year, there was a double victory for the Sky team , with Ben Swift winning the mass sprint ahead of teammate Greg Henderson . Although Matthew Goss was able to win important bonus seconds in the first intermediate sprint and third of the day, he was two seconds short of taking over the overall leader's jersey.

Stage overview

stage	date	Start finish	km	Stage winner	Leader
Cancer Council Classic	January 16	Adelaide	51	Matthew Goss
1st stage	January 18th	Mawson Lakes - Angaston	138	Matthew Goss	Matthew Goss
2nd stage	January 19th	Tailem Bend – Mannum	146	Ben Swift	Robbie McEwen
3rd stage	January 20th	Unley - Stirling	129	Michael Matthews	Matthew Goss
4th stage	21th January	Norwood - Strathalbyn	124	Cameron Meyer	Cameron Meyer
5th stage	22nd of January	McClaren Vale - Willunga	131	Francisco Ventoso
6th stage	January 23	Adelaide City Council Street Circuit	90	Ben Swift

Ratings

The following points were distributed for the special ratings:

Intermediate sprints

1: 3 seconds, 6 points

2: 2 seconds, 4 points

3: 1 seconds, 2 points

Finish sprint

1: 10 seconds, 8 points

2: 06 seconds, 6 points

3: 04 seconds, 4 points

Mountain ratings

1: 16 points

2: 12 points

3: 8 points

4: 6 points

5: 4 points

Ratings in the course of the tour

The table shows the leader in the respective classification after the respective stage.

	Overall rating	Sprint scoring	Mountain scoring	Young talent evaluation	Team evaluation
1st stage	Matthew Goss	Matthew Goss	Luke Roberts	Matthew Goss	Sky ProCycling
2nd stage	Ben Swift	Mitchell Docker			UniSA
3rd stage	Matthew Goss	Matthew Goss			Sky ProCycling
4th stage	Cameron Meyer	Thomas De Gendt		Cameron Meyer	Garmin-Cérvelo
5th stage		Matthew Goss			Movistar team
6th stage

Final score

The multiple track world champion Cameron Meyer celebrated the greatest success of his career in road cycling with the success of his home tour. He secured the overall victory largely through his successful breakaway attempt on the fourth stage. Through this he also took the lead in the UCI world rankings. But Matthew Goss also proved that he can keep up with the best sprinters in the world - he won the Cancer Council Classic and the first stage, and also won the jersey of the best on points. The young Michael Matthews and Ben Swift also celebrated stage wins and showed their class. The German André Greipel was not able to build on his previous success , he finished seventh in the overall standings and was second twice on the day. Above all, the Australians were in shape at their home race. Except for the team ranking, all special ratings went to Australians, four of the six daily sections were won by Australians.

Web links

• Official website
• Results on Radsport-News.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Andreas Zellmer: Fernduell Greipel / Cavendish for tour nomination. In: Kölnische Rundschau. May 7, 2010, archived from the original on September 17, 2011 ; Retrieved January 2, 2011 .