Gerrans Win Tour Downunder

Caleb Ewan capped a near-perfect week for the Orica-GreenEDGE cycling team at the Tour Down Under by winning the final stage.

Team leader Simon Gerrans finished safely in the bunch at the end of the 90km Adelaide Street Race on Sunday afternoon to secure the overall title for a record fourth time. No other rider has won the Tour more than twice.

Ewan burst from five riders back in the final sprint with another withering turn of speed and won easily. The 21-year-old speedster also won the one-off Classic last Sunday and stage one of the Tour.

Gerrans took the overall lead in the Tour when he won stages two and three – the first rider in six years to take out successive stages at the event. Gerrans also won the Tour in 2006, 2012 and 2014.

The 35-year-old made no secret of his ambitions at the Tour after his season last year was ruined by a succession of crashes.

The Australian Orica-GreenEDGE team dominated the Tour, with Australian Jay McCarthy the only rider outside their lineup to hold the race lead.

Gerrans crashed near the end of stage two, which McCarthy won to hold the overall lead for one day. Gerrans immediately bounced back over the next two days and he retained his advantage at Willunga on stage five, despite Richie Porte’s storming win.

Porte’s win meant he improved from 10th to second overall, nine seconds behind Gerrans. That lead was never threatened on the last stage, given its flat terrain and the strength of the Orica-GreenEDGE team.

As always, stage six was marked by long breakaways that were never allowed to gain significant time. The race came back together with two of the 20 laps left and Orica-GreenEDGE set the finish up perfectly for Ewan and Gerrans.

Ewan won by several bike lengths, proving again he was the best sprinter in the race.

“Caleb bookending the race with the first and the last stage wins, obviously the overall,” Gerrans said. “I don’t think we could ask for a lot more. I couldn’t asked for any more of the guys [his team-mates] this week. It’s a great way to start the season.”

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Gerrans Wins Stage 5 Downunder

Simon Gerrans is back, with the Australian cycling star winning stage three of the Tour Down Under and taking the overall lead. The Orica-GreenEDGE leader timed his sprint perfectly at the end of the 139km stage from Glenelg to Campbelltown and beat defending champion Rohan Dennis by a couple of centimetres.

Gerrans leads previous leader Jay McCarthy by three seconds after the Australian finished fourth on the stage. Dennis is also well-placed in third overall at five seconds.

Gerrans’ season last year was ruined by a horror run of crashes and this is his first individual win since 2014. “This is great - it’s been a long time between drinks,” Gerrans said.

The three-time Tour Down Under champion missed last year’s edition because of a broken collarbone. Far from a temporary setback, that injury turned out to be the start of a miserable run of luck.

It had also extended into this year’s race, with Gerrans crashing near the end of stage two when he was positioning to go for the win. But on Thursday, Gerrans survived the frantic run to the base of the crucial Corkscrew climb, less than 10km from the finish.

The riders averaged 93km/h through the valley before a sharp left-hand turn onto the climb and a crash claimed five of them, although none appeared to be hurt seriously.

Gerrans was part of a 10-rider selection that formed over the top of the climb and the fast descent to the finish.

Asked about the new finish, Gerrans replied “yeah, I’m not a fan. It felt like we really had to take our lives into our hands in that final. There was a big crash on the Gorge [before Corkscrew], a couple of very hairy moments on the descent of the Corkscrew. I’m thrilled to be able to have won the stage, but there was some risk involved.”

Gerrans later softened his comments, saying it was a combination of the course and the riders taking high-speed risks. And race director Mike Turtur strongly defended the course, saying it was far from the riskiest that the riders would face during a season.

It has already been a great Tour for Orica-GreenEDGE with two wins from three stages. But Gerrans has made it clear he wants a fourth title.

Earlier on Thursday, Belgian Laurens De Vreese (Astana) attacked by himself and led until the last 21km. Cycling legend Jens Voigt observed that the peloton had let De Vreese dangle out the front of the race in the 35-degree heat “like a slowly-cooked chicken”.

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Gerrans Bikes Treble Downunder

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Australia's Simon Gerrans beat Cadel Evans by one second to win a record third Tour Down Under in Adelaide.

Gerrans, who took the race lead on the penultimate stage, finished alongside compatriot Evans after a bunch sprint on the final stage to wrap up victory.

He said: "This is an Australian team, on Australia Day, in a World Tour event. What else could I ask for?"

Germany's Andre Greipel won the sixth stage while Britain's Geraint Thomas was eighth in the overall standings.

Thomas, who finished third last year, told BBC Sport before this year's race that he would be trying to help his Australian Team Sky team-mate Richie Porte to victory.

Porte won Saturday's fifth stage to climb to fourth overall - a position he maintained in Sunday's final race by finishing in the main bunch.

Orica Greenedge rider Gerrans, who won the race in 2006 and 2012, also crossed the line in the peloton.

He had won the first stage of the race but lost the lead to Evans on stage three before regaining the leaders' ochre jersey on stage five.

"It's been a hard race for me and my team-mates," continued Gerrans.

"I was confident in my team-mates to take me home safely, which they did. Until I crossed the line, I suspected that Diego Ulissi would try and do something, but it went all right."

Italy's Ulissi finished third overall, five seconds adrift.

Greipel won the sprint on the final stage, edging out Australia's Mark Renshaw, with his British Omega Pharma - QuickStep team-mate Andrew Fenn third.

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