Tour Down Under (2012) Photos Jan 15 - 22

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Lance Armstrong is still getting appearance fees (of a different kind) at the Tour Down Under	Eddy Merckx was trying to hit a high note with some of the locals prior to the race	"Feel the Rush"; Team RadioShack being introduced during the Teams Presentation by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen
Alessandro Petacchi signing in on beautiful opening day down under	Alejandro Valverde before his first race in two years after serving his belated doping suspension	Neil Stephens orchestrating Matt Goss and his new team, GreenEDGE
They're underway down under for 30 laps of a 1.7km circuit for 51km in total	There were numerous futile early attacks; this one by Katusha's Luca Paolini	Veterans Stuart O'Grady (GreenEDGE) and Oscar Freire (Katusha) biding their time in the peloton during a pleasant Adelaide evening. This is the start of Freire's last year.
After Lotto-Belisol did much work late in the race, Andre Greipel (Ger) finishes it off ahead of 2nd Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky and 3rd Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin	"I tried to get a lead out train for this season and we got Greg Henderson (2nd salute) in the team" said Andre Greipel post race	Multiple Tour Down Under winner, Andre Greipel (Ger), is on fine form again in January, but, in the past, the winner of the Classic pre-event race hasn't been a good indicator on who will wins the stages

Stage 1:  Prospect → Clare, 149 km  Full Results and Report

Alessandro Ballan (BMC) has body shape well suited for the tuck position as seen here at the morning sign-in prior Stage 1 in Prospect.	The peloton rolling out from the start in Prospect for a flat-lumpy stage that finishes 149 km later in Clare	Break with Eduard Vorganov (Katusha), Marcello Pavarin (Vacansoleil), Rohan Dennis (Uni Sa)
A panoramic of the lumpy course and the peloton on its way to Clare	It was a very hot, expose stage into a strong headwind	After a serious crash at the 1 km marker, we have a diminshed sprint finish
Two riders at the line in Clare	The photo finish clearly shows that Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol beat Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD to the line	However, since Greipel and Petacchi were at opposite sides of the road, it was unclear to them who won the race
Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol finally offers an uncertain victory salute	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD showed some good early season form today	Mr. January, Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol, celebrates another career Tour Down Under stage win
Greipel has won many times down under, but by his appearance, this looks like the first time he's been awarded an Australian Oilskin Coat

Stage 2:  Lobethal → Stirling, 148 km  Full Results and Report

ASO/Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme visiting his first Tour Down Under seen here chatting to former Australian cyclist Phil Anderson. ASO has initiated an agreement to sell the Tour Down Under TV rights.	Team Katusha is dearly missing their luxury motorhome which is back in Europe; Oscar Freire (Katusha) among a van full of teammates prior to the stage 2 start in Lobethal	Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) and his new friend Joey
The ever photogenic Bjarne Riis and the new look of his Saxo Bank team	Spaniards Oscar Friere (Katusha) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) heading to the start line in good spirits. Valverde would later finish fourth and claims he's one of the top candidates for the overall win.	Will Clarke (UniSA) and Martin Kohler (BMC) formed the main break of the day just 1 km after the start in Lobethal
The stage started in Lobethal and wove it's way through the Adelaide Hills to Stirling	Apparently, there was a Tour Down Under record crowd of 110,000 people along the route	Will Clarke (UniSA) ends a heroic ride on the 21 km x 3 circuits in Stirling
Will Clarke (UniSA) broke clear with BMC's Martin Kohler one km into the 148 km stage and soloed the final 90 km for a one minute win over the pack	"This is unbelievable really," said Clarke. "This is the biggest win of my career. It's my first win in the WorldTour. I knew my form was good."	Michael Matthews (Rabobank) had to settle for second this year, one minute back, after winning in Stirling last year
Eddy Merckx and Christian Prudhomme during the podium ceremony	A rare solo win at the Tour Down Under by Will Clarke (UniSA): "[Team Manager] Dave [Sanders] was telling me to go for GC [drop back] but, it's amazing that a breakaway rider can stay away for so long [90 km]. It's sort of my speciality to keep going."	Martin Kohler's (BMC Racing) pre-stage plan succeeded: get in the break, scoop up the bonus seconds and then drop into the pack and claim the Ochre leader's jersey

Stage 3:  Unley → Victor Harbor, 135 km  Full Results and Report

More pre-stage kangeroo photo-ops this morning: Greg van Avermaet (BMC)	Race leader Martin Kohler (BMC)	Robbie McEwen (GreenEdge) has done this before
The rollout from Unley		The peloton heading south along the Adelaide coast
The race caravan and the first rider across the line	Sprint finish as expected in Victor Harbor	The Photo Finish
André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) winding up another victory salute...	André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) wins ahead of Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Equipe Cycliste FDJ - BigMat and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky	André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) applauds his third win this week: The Classic Down Under and Stages 1 and 3. "This victory is for Jurgen Roelandts who unfortunately supports us from the hospital," said Greipel of his team mate who was injured in the crash at the end of the stage into Clare. "We're nearly three riders down but the rest of the team that is not injured has been awesome today."
Back in Ochre; André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) fills out a leader's jersey like no one else in the peloton

Stage 4:  Norwood → Tanunda, 130 km  Full Results and Report

Aussie pride	Stage 4 was a lumpy, twisty route north from Norwood to Tanunda	There were several KOMs (hills) along the way that unhitched several high placed riders
This may look like André Greipel crossing the line first again, but he wasn't in the mix today...	The sprint finish in Tanunda with the 35 year old Spaniard, Oscar Freire (Katusha), leading home a break of 50 riders that went clear on the final climb of the day. Overnight leader Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) finished over four minutes behind.	Oscar Freire (Katusha) wins ahead of 2nd Gerald Ciolek (Omega Pharma QuickStep) and 3rd Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan)
A blurry photo of the photo finish confirming Gerald Ciolek (Omega Pharma QuickStep) crossed ahead of Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan)	Oscar Freire (Katusha) gets his first win for his new team while Gerald Ciolek dips his head for the often seen runner-up hunch	Oscar Freire (Katusha), a three time world champ and three time winner of Milan-Sanremo, thrives on hard, fast sprinter stages like today
Race leader no longer; André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) lost over four minutes today. Freire and Greipel are too different types of sprinters needless to say.	The 35 year-old Oscar Freire (Katusha) looking like the seasoned pro he is	Martin Kohler (BMC Racing) is back in Ochre after taking the leader's jersey off of André Greipel's shoulders for the second time this week. "I didn't expect to be back in the lead but we dropped Andre Greipel on the climb and then we were riding hard to make the gap bigger," said Kohler. "Tomorrow there will be ten or fifteen riders contesting the win at the top of Willunga Hill. It's going to be very hard and I don't know if I can keep this lead or not but I'm already happy with what I'm doing here."
Michael Matthews (Rabobank) is just two seconds off the race lead, but for now he'll continue to wear the gaudy, best young rider's jersey

Stage 5:  McLaren Vale → Old Willunga Hill, 152 km  Full Results and Report

Euskaltel-Euskadi hasn't done anything too exciting this week. With today's Old Willunga Hill hilltop finish, they should have faired better than Gorka Inausti's 44th place + 4:02.	BMC Racing meanwhile was preparing to defend the race leader's jersey worn by Martin Kohler (bending over in the shade)	Eddy Merckx still likes to sign in each morning
The peloton on Aldinga Beach	Aldinga Beach	BMC leading the peloton inland towards Willunga
Another gorgeous day for cycling and taking pictures	The crowd on Old Willunga Hill preparing for the first of two passes	Nathan Haas (Garmin - Barracuda) was first man to the top of Old Willunga Hill...
... much to the delight of his home crowd	Movistar and Simon Gerrans leading the peloton	The scene at the top with a large temporary grandstand for the first ever hilltop finish in 14 years of the Tour Down Under
Next time around, it was Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) battling for the stage win	Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) had the inside position around the final corner, but Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) still came around him for the win	Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) wins his first race in his first event since serving his two-year suspension
Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) was hoping to win the stage and the overall today, but settled for second	Tiago Machado (RadioShack) hung on for third after leading a two man break with Rohan Dennis the second and final time up Old Willunga Hill	It was an emotional win for Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
Martin Kohler (BMC) displaying a different kind of emotion after losing over one minute and the race leader's jersey	Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is back	Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) was unaware of the tiebreaker with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) that put him in leader's jersey. From the UCI rulebook, If the two riders are tied on time and if there are no individual time trial stages, the placings obtained in each stage shall be added to determine who has the highest finishes throughout the event. That puts Gerrans in the race lead with one stage to go and it's unlikely Valverde will gain any bonus time on the final stage given the number of excellent sprinters GreenEDGE has in the race.
Stuart O'Grady found his way onto the podium as well for one of the subjective awards	After his fine performance leading a two man break the final time up Old Willunga Hill, Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA - Australia is now the best young rider in the race

Stage 6:  Adelaide, 90 km (Circuit)  Full Results and Report

The sun was shining again for the sixth and final stage with race leader Simon Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) smiling about his chances although he was technically tied on time with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)	The rollout for 20 laps of the 4.5km circuit (90km) in Adelaide in gusty conditions today	Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) had lots of sprinter teammates ready to consume the time bonuses, if necessary, to ensure his overall win
André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) wins for the fourth time this week (including his Classic Down Under win) ahead of 2nd Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and 3rd Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD)	Tour Down Under career win #11 for André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) putting him one shy of Robbie McEwen's record of 12	Simon Gerrans joins Stuart O'Grady as of three two-time winners of the Tour Down Under
Simon Gerrans celebrates with his new GreenEDGE teammate Cameron Meyers, last year's overall winner	Record crowds again this year, topping 100,000 every single day... I believe	André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) opens and closes the Tour Down Under with sprint wins (four in total including the Classic Down Under). A dominating performance which in other years would have won him the overall...
Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) on the strength of steady finishes all week and his second place finish on Old Willunga Hill captures his second (2006, 2012) Tour Down Under title.	Although he won the Queen Stage and finished tied on time with Simon Gerrans, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) lost the tiebreaker and settles for 2nd overall. At the end of the 803km, six day event both Gerrans and Valverde remained deadlocked at 20:46:12 but Gerrans' stage placings added up to a total of 102 and while Valverde had 175 overall points giving the Australian the win.	Tiago Machado (RadioShack-Nissan) was third overall + 0:08
The jersey winners: Simon Gerrans (overall), Edvald Boasson Hagen (sprint points), Jan Bakelandts (most aggressive rider stage 6), Rohan Dennis (best young rider)	RadioShack-Nissan-Trek won the team classification (best three placed riders) by 24 seconds ahead of Team Sky. "We like to win a team GC and on top of that we managed to place Tiago, we are pretty happy with the outcome of the race," said team captain Jens Voigt (second from left).