100th career win for André Greipel as Tom-Jelte Slagter wins Santos Tour Down Under

Tom Jelte Slagter of Blanco Pro Cycling, who took his first pro win on Thursday, has secured the overall title in the Santos Tour Down Under, while Lotto Belisol’s André Greipel has made it 100 wins as a professional in Adelaide today, 14 of them coming in this race. After losing the overall lead to Slagter yesterday, Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas targeted the points jersey today – and won that, as well as the day’s combativity prize and a podium place on GC.

It was a convincing win again by Greipel, his third of this year’s race. On the 20th and final lap of the 4.5 kilometre circuit in the South Australian capital, his Lotto-Belisol team were in control at the front of the race, Sky being the only team to have men in numbers.

The pace being forced by Lotto inside the final kilometre meant the peloton behind was starting to break up, but suddenly Mark Renshaw of Blanco Pro Cycling burst through a gap in a bid to take the stage win.

Greipel, the most successful sprinter in the history of this race, simply switched the afterburners on and overhauled him, with Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen third.

“He surprised me a little bit,” said Greipel of Renshaw afterwards. “ I was also planning to kick but yeah he started early and so I had a bit more slip stream. He did a really good sprint but I had some power left."

Geraint Thomas, who had held the race leader’s jersey since winning Stage 2 but surrendered it yesterday to Slagter, finished sixth and won two of today’s intermediate sprints, placing third in the other to take the points jersey – what’s more, the bonus seconds he won took him to third overall.

"Yesterday was very disappointing, and we looked at the results and we realised there was still a chance of getting third," he explained afterwards Thomas. "We didn't want to just give up and throw it away. There was still one more day today and we were up for it, balls to the wall.

"They [the team] did that for me," he said. "It was unbelievable how they rode and the lead-outs. I am not the best sprinter in the world, punch-wise, especially when I am tired and don't have much kick. I just followed Edvald (and nabbed the points on the line. It was a perfect day for us."

The 23-year-old Slagter extended his lead at the top of the general classification from 13 seconds to 17 seconds, as he finished in the group of 15 riders that crossed the line ahead of the rest of the peloton.

"I’m not looking at my age, we’re all in the same peloton where more and more young riders are performing," commented Slagter, who had made his race-winning attack on the summit finish at Old Willunga Hill yesterday.

"Today I’m not thinking that I’m young but that I have won the Santos Tour Down Under and that’s a wonderful feeling! I’m really proud of what the Blanco team has done all week," he added. "It’s really nice here. For sure I’ll come back to Adelaide. I want to have the same start to the season in the future."

Movistar’s Javier Moreno, who finished second overall, took the mountains jersey while RadioShack-Loepard won the team prize.

Santos Tour Down Under Stage 6 result  
  
1  GREIPEL, André Lotto      Belisol                 1:52:59
2  RENSHAW, Mark             Blanco                    st
3  BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald     Sky Procycling            st
4  GOSS, Matthew             ORICA GreenEDGE           st
5  FARRAR, Tyler             Garmin Sharp              st
6  THOMAS, Geraint           Sky Procycling            st
7  LODEWYCK, Klaas           BMC                       st
8  MARKUS, Barry             Vacansoleil-DCM           st
9  HUTAROVICH, Yauheni       AG2R La Mondiale          st
10 van HUMMEL, Kenny         Vacansoleil-DCM           st
11 ROJAS GIL, Jose Joaquin   Movistar                  st
12 FENN, Andrew              Omega Pharma-Quick-Step   st
13 SUTTON, Christopher       Sky Procycling            st
14 SLAGTER, Tom Jelte        Blanco                    st
15 FERRARI, Roberto          Lampre-Merida             st
16 DEMPSTER, Zakkari         UNI SA - Australia       0:04
17 APPOLLONIO, Davide        AG2R La Mondiale          st
18 DE KORT, Koen             Argos-Shimano             st
19 HENDERSON, Greg           Lotto Belisol             st
20 IZAGIRRE, Gorka           Euskaltel Euskadi         st
  
Final Overall Standings  
  
1  SLAGTER, Tom Jelte        Blanco                18:28:32
2  MORENO BAZAN, Javier      Movistar                  0:17
3  THOMAS, Geraint           Sky Procycling            0:25
4  IZAGIRRE, Ion             Euskaltel Euskadi         0:32
5  HERMANS, Ben              Radioshack Leopard        0:34
6  KELDERMAN, Wilco          Blanco                    st
7  IZAGIRRE, Gorka           Euskaltel Euskadi         0:36
8  PIETROPOLLI, Daniele      Lampre-Merida             st
9  MACHADO, Tiago            Radioshack Leopard        0:38
10 VEIKKANEN, Jussi          FDJ                       0:41