Gerrans wins on Old Willunga
Australian on Aussie team wins Tour Down Under stage on Australia Day
Like a French rider triumphing on the Bastille Day stage of the Tour de France, Australian rider Simon Gerrans won the queen stage of the Santos Tour Down Under on Australia Day. The two-time TDU champion Gerrans also gave Australian-based Orica-GreenEdge its first victory in the home tour.
Gerrans latched on to Tom-Jelte Slagter (The Netherlands/Blanco) as he bridged over to a leading duo on the second and final ascent of Old Willunga Hill. Gerrans then attacked Slagter and held off a late charge from the young Dutchman, who takes over the ochre leader’s jersey from Sky’s Geraint Thomas.
Slagter, winner of stage three in Stirling, leads Movistar’s Javier Moreno (Spain) by seventeen seconds with only tomorrow’s criterium – 20 laps of a 4.5 kilometre circuit in North Adelaide – left to race.
Victory in the first WorldTour contest of the year would be a big boost for Blanco, formerly Rabobank, who lost its title sponsorship last fall and suffered subsequent revelations that doping was common practice on the team.
