Andre Greipel wins Tour Down Under stage one

Andre Greipel beat Caleb Ewan to win the first stage of the 2018 Tour Down Under and take his tally of wins in the race to 17.

Andre Greipel celebrates his 17th Tour Down Under
stage win in the ochre jersey with Jens Voigt
Picture credit: Yuzuru Sunada
Greipel (Lotto Soudal) came from behind to beat  Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott), world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) in Lyndoch.

 This win marks the German's his first Tour Down Under stage win since 2014 and his first win since March 2017 at Paris-Nice - the only highlight of a somewhat disappointing season for the veteran sprinter.

 "It was a nice one", said Greipel, who finished second to Sagan in the People's Choice Classic warm-up race on Sunday night, "It was a pretty fast sprint and I could wait as long as possible."

 Greipel has been away from the Tour Down Under for two years, but explained what appeals to him about the race: "It's always nice to come back here. The races are not that stressful and I also like it if it turns out with victories."

 By winning the first stage, the German also pulls on the first ochre jersey of the 2018 Tour Down Under, but was quick to praise his teammates: "It's always a nice present after winning the first stage, of course, but thanks to my team, they set up the sprint really good. Unfortunately we were already one rider down before the race started so we just made the other teams work to make the chase and we could save until the final and set up a good bunch sprint. 

Greipel takes his first Tour Down Under stage win
since stage six of the 2014 edition
Picture credit: cyclingnews.com
Sagan's lead-out was compromised in the final few kilometres when his primary lieutenant, Sam Bennett, suffered a slipped chain. 

Viviani wasted perfect positioning from his Quick-Step train, who led him through the final bend at the front but launched his sprint far too early with 150-metres still to go. 

 In finishing second it's the first time in three years that Ewan hasn't won the opening stage of his country's premier race.

The Race

Stage one of the opening WorldTour race of the 2018 calendar was the first of three earmarked for the sprinters - 145km from Port Adelaide on the South Australia coast to Lyndoch, a traditional finishing town for the race now in its 20th edition. 

The break contained a diverse group - South African neo-pro Nicholas Dlamini (Dimension Data), Will Clarke of the rescued and newly sponsored EF Education First-Drapac and 2016 Australian National Cross-Country champion, Scott Bowden, representing the University of South Australia (UniSA). The trio worked a five minute gap in the first 10km.

Only Clarke and Dlamini remained out front as the peloton completed the first of three laps of the 26.5km finishing circuit, and the gap was at two minutes 30 seconds. 

Dlamini had claimed the King of the Mountains jersey and was sucked back into the peloton with 30km to go, with Clarke accepting defeat some 20km later as Maciej Bodnar ramped up the pace at the front for Bora-Hansgrohe.

In the final three kilometres Mitchelton-Scott appeared in control for Ewan, but into the last kilometre Viviani's Quick-Step train had taken a much stronger position. 

The peloton flew round the final bend with 200-metres to go - too quickly for two riders who crashed into the far side barriers - and Viviani launched his sprint on the right, with Ewan on the right adopting his Mark Cavendish-esque low sprinting style. 

Greipel used his veteran know-how to tuck in behind the diminutive Ewan for just long enough to gain an aerodynamic advantage, before swinging off into the middle of the road and utilising his explosive power. 

Sagan had followed Greipel's line but needed to have timed his sprint better to get the better of the Lotto Soudal man. 

Stage result

1. André Greipel (Lotto Soudal)
2. Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott)
3. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)
4. Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors)
5. Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates)
6. Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb)
7. Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin)
8. Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale)
9. Ramunas Navardauskas (Bahrain-Merida)
10. Riccardo Minali (Astana)

General classification

1. André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) in 3:50:21
2. Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) at 4"
3. Will Clarke (EF Education First-Drapac) at 4"
4. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 6"
5. Nicholas Dlamini (Dimension Data) at 6"
6. Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin) at 9"
7. Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin) at 9"
8. Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) at 10"
9. Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) at 10"
10. Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) at 10"


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