Santos Tour Down Under

The 25th edition of Australia’s oldest and most important World Tour race came to a conclusion on the streets of Adelaide, where a short, criterium-like stage awaited the riders. With the general classification pretty much set in stone following the Willunga Hill finish, the only thing in play was the stage victory.

The peloton had to cover 20 laps of a local circuit, for a total of 90 kilometers, and the race got off to a fast start, a three-man group quickly putting some daylight between them and the bunch. Soudal Quick-Step’s Casper Pedersen was there and delivered an impressive effort, helping the move increase their lead to 50 seconds.

Two laps from the finish, the powerful Dane dropped his companions and continued by himself in Adelaide, leaving everything out there and making the peloton work hard in order to bring him back with just two kilometers to go. This immense ride resulted in Casper making a visit to the podium after the race, to receive the prize for the most combative rider of the stage.

“We knew the chances of staying away weren’t that big, but I wanted to give it a try because you never know what can happen or how the peloton plays a stage like this. I’m in a good shape for this month of the season, I felt good out there and I am delighted with my effort and with getting on the podium at the end of the stage”, Casper said at the finish.

A crash in the final tricky corner of the day left a small group in contention going into the final kilometer, and Andrea Raccagni – who turned 21 on Sunday – managed to produce a strong sprint and score his first top ten at World Tour level, as Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) took the win. Nothing changed on the general classification, which meant that Junior Lecerf finished 20th overall, a good start to the season for the young Belgian.

With the Tour Down Under now done and dusted, the Soudal Quick-Step boys will switch their attention to the two one-day races scheduled in Australia next week, Surf Coast Classic and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, the season’s second World Tour appointment.

Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images