User:Formula164457/sandbox/2014 Tour Down Under
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| 2014 UCI World Tour, race 1 of 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 21–26 January 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 815.5 km (506.7 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 19h 57' 42" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2014 Santos Tour Down Under was the 16th edition of the Tour Down Under stage race. It took place from 21 to 26 January and was the first race of the 2014 UCI World Tour.
The race was won by Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra of the Astana team, after taking back the lead on the penultimate stage of the race and held the race leader's ochre jersey to the finish, the next day, in Adelaide. Westra also won the third stage of the race in Campbelltown where he had taken the race lead, before losing it the next stage to José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar Team) thanks to sprint bonuses. Westra's winning margin over runner-up Richie Porte from Team Sky and third-placed Lampre–Merida's Diego Ulissi was three seconds. Like Westra, Porte won one stage of the race, winning the queen stage at Willunga Hill. Rojas won the opening stage in Angaston and held the race lead for three days. The other stages were won by German sprinters André Greipel (Lotto–Belisol) and Marcel Kittel (Giant–Shimano) in Victor Harbor and Adelaide, respectively, and Jan Bakelants who won the second stage at Stirling for Omega Pharma–Quick-Step.
The race's other classifications were swept by Australian riders, as Gerrans' consistent finishes across the week ensured that he won the blue jersey for the sprints classification on equal points with Rojas. Gerrans was still classified ahead by virtue of placing higher in the general classification. Tinkoff–Saxo rider Rory Sutherland was the winner of the mountains classification and Garmin–Sharp's Rohan Dennis was the winner of the young rider classification, finishing ninth overall, while the teams classification was won by Gerrans' Orica–GreenEDGE outfit.
Participating teams
[edit]As the Tour Down Under is a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Australian teams Avanti Racing Team and Drapac Professional Cycling received a wildcard invitation, completing the event's 20-team peloton.
The 20 teams invited to the race were:
Pre-race favourites
[edit]Among the starting list, three riders were picked as general classification favourites. These were Australians Richie Porte (Team Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) and Simon Gerrans (Orica–GreenEDGE). Other noted possible contenders were Lieuwe Westra (Astana), Robert Gesink (Belkin Pro Cycling), Diego Ulissi (Lampre–Merida), José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar Team) and Frank Schleck (Trek Factory Racing). The start list also featured several top sprinters, with the likes of Francesco Gavazzi (Astana), Elia Viviani (Cannondale), Marcel Kittel (Giant–Shimano), Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida), Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE), Mark Renshaw (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step) and Tour Down Under regular André Greipel (Lotto–Belisol all looking to test each other early into the season. 2013 winner Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky), does not feature in the startlist with his team's leadership handed to Porte.
Race parcours
[edit]| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 January | Nuriootpa to Angaston | 135 km (84 mi) |  |
Flat stage |  José Joaquin Rojas (ESP)
|
| 2 | 22 January | Prospect to Stirling | 150 km (93 mi) |  |
Medium-mountain stage |  Jan Bakelants (BEL)
|
| 3 | 23 January | Norwood to Campbelltown | 145 km (90 mi) |  |
Hilly stage |  Lieuwe Westra (NED)
|
| 4 | 24 January | Unley to Victor Harbor | 148.5 km (92 mi) | |
Flat stage |  André Greipel (GER)
|
| 5 | 25 January | McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill | 151.5 km (94 mi) | |
Medium-mountain stage |  Richie Porte (AUS)
|
| 6 | 26 January | Adelaide | 95 km (59 mi) | |
Flat stage | Marcel Kittel (GER)
|
Classification leadership table
[edit]In the 2014 Tour Down Under, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, the leader received an ochre jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2014 Tour Down Under, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.
Additionally, there was a sprints classification, which awarded a blue jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 15 points, with one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a green jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1990 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time. Additionally, the most aggressive rider, or riders, of each stage were recognized on the podium.
| Stage | Winner | General classification
|
Mountains classification
|
Sprint classification
|
Young rider classification
|
Team classification | Aggressive rider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | José Joaquin Rojas | José Joaquin Rojas | Rory Sutherland | José Joaquin Rojas | Carlos Verona | Lampre–Merida | Bernard Sulzberger |
| 2 | Jan Bakelants | Bernard Sulzberger | |||||
| 3 | Lieuwe Westra | Lieuwe Westra | Lieuwe Westra | Rohan Dennis | Orica–GreenEDGE | Jens Voigt | |
| 4 | André Greipel | José Joaquin Rojas | George Bennett | ||||
| 5 | Richie Porte | Lieuwe Westra | Rory Sutherland | Simon Gerrans | Laurent Didier | ||
| 6 | Marcel Kittel | Bernard Sulzberger | |||||
| Final | Lieuwe Westra | Rory Sutherland | Simon Gerrans | Rohan Dennis | Orica–GreenEDGE | Bernard Sulzberger | |
- Notes
- In stages 2, 3, and 5, Simon Gerrans, who was second in the sprints classification, wore the blue jersey, because José Joaquin Rojas (in first place), wore the ochre jersey as leader of the general classification during those stages.
- In stages 4 and 5, Rory Sutherland, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the green jersey, because Lieuwe Westra (in first place), wore the ochre jersey as leader of the general classification during those stages.
Final standings
[edit]| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Denotes the leader of the General classification | 
|
Denotes the leader of the Mountains classification |
|
Denotes the leader of the Sprints classification | 
|
Denotes the leader of the Young rider classification |
