ADELAIDE, Australia (CT) – Peter Sagan. Caleb Ewan. Andre Greipel. Elia Viviani — some are calling it the strongest sprint field in the Santos Tour Down Under’s 20-year history. And in the first battle of the sprinters, it was the world champion Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) that came out on top, winning Sunday’s People’s Choice Classic.
It unfolded much as expected — a break got up the road and built a small lead before being reeled back in ahead of a bunch sprint. Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) was looking for three wins on the trot, while Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) was looking to kick-start another successful visit to Adelaide. Instead it was Sagan that proved too strong, hitting the front late — as he often does — but also just in time.
He’s the man to beat in the sprints now, and there will be a few. Stages 1, 3 and 6 should end in a sprint, and stage 2 might as well. Whether the big-name sprinters can survive the uphill ramp into Stirling remains to be seen.
Bring on the Tour Down Under …
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- Peter Sagan is back at the Tour Down Under in 2018 and rocking some new shades …
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- … not to mention some new shoes and socks.
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- Damien Howson and Daryl Impey have a chat before the race begins.
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- Mark Renshaw (left) holds the record for the most Tour Down Under starts and finishes — a staggering 15, of the race’s 19 editions so far.
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- Richie Porte is probably the rider to beat for the overall. Note his name on his sunglasses.
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- Former TDU winners Simon Gerrans (left; four wins) and Andre Greipel (right; two wins) have a laugh before the race gets underway.
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- Former winner Tom-Jelte Slagter with race director Mike Turtur.
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- Mat Hayman isn’t just the oldest rider in the race at 39 years old, he’s also among the tallest.
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- The race gets underway.
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- The first breakaway gets up the road.
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- Two more riders come across.
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- It started off easily in the peloton.
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- Australian criterium champion Caleb Ewan was well positioned behind his Mitchelton-Scott teammates.
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- Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin) took a flyer from the break as the peloton bore down, but the break would be caught on lap 18 of 22.
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- The teams of the sprinters came together in the closing laps.
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- Caleb Ewan (far right) started his sprint a little early.
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- Kristoffer Halvorsen (Sky) hit the barriers in the messy sprint …
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- … and hit the deck hard. He broke his hand in the incident and will miss the TDU proper.
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- Peter Sagan takes out the People’s Choice Classic ahead of Greipel and Ewan.
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- The champ is back! Will we be seeing more of the Slovakian showman on the podium in the week ahead?