Tour Down Under *SPOILERS*

[thom]

Cadel wins stage 3, dropping Richie Porte on the corkscrew and descending thereafter to victory.
He gets the GC lead by 12 secs I think

 

[smutchin]

This race just got interesting.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

This race just got interesting.

Steady on!!

 

[smutchin]

Yeah, OK, fair point.

 

[SWSteve]

It isn't fascinating, but I'm enjoying Greipel's work at the front. He's a pretty small fella as well

 

[thom]

Greipel wins in a sprint - Cadel Evans' lead down to 7 seconds.

 

[VamP]

Stage 5 should be a lot of fun. Not enough fun to stay up for, but I am looking forward to seeing the Willunga double highlights.

 

[smutchin]

Greipel wins in a sprint

He made that look rather easy - you might have expected Viviani to be a wee bit closer.

Stage 5 is sponsored by "Pure Blonde" so it's a shame we won't be seeing Kittel anywhere near the front.

 

[montage]

Ulissi is looking in great form. Starting to blossom after showing great potential over the last year or two? A very exciting young rider. Could be one to watch in the Giro this year!

And is Cadel Evans back as a contender as well after his awful season last year? Hmmmm. Interesting!

I think it is hard to draw too many conclusions from the TDU. Last year G won a stage and everybody assumed he would win all the classics, likewise with Slagter

 

[smutchin]

I think it is hard to draw too many conclusions from the TDU.

Agreed, and I'm not putting my mortgage on Evans any time soon, but Ulissi is a top class young talent and is starting to look like the real deal. Only question for me is whether he gets a chance to shine in his own right or ends up being a lieutenant for Rui Costa this year.

And to be fair to G, he had some rotten luck last year. I still love him. In a manly, heterosexual way, of course. Grrr!

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Ulissi is developing into a decent all-rounder, it will be interesting to see how he gets on if given the opportunity in bigger races

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Porte rides solo to stage 5 win, Gerrans now back on top of GC

 

[smutchin]

Gerrans did well. It was predictable enough that Porte was going to make his move today but he couldn't make it count in GC. Looks like Gerrans has this in the bag now, barring catastrophe. And he's got the points jersey too!

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Gerrans is bloddy impressive. Sprints, TT's and climbs with the best on anything but HC.

 

[Keith Oates]

Gerrans gets the GC and Greipel the stage. The pace for the whole race was fairly high!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. 13:36:15 CST
   Stage 6 result
   1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 1:55:16
   2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling
   3 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling
   4 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano
   5 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
   6 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica Greenedge
   7 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp
   8 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
   9 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
   10 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica Greenedge