Cycling News

TDU Stage 4 - Greipel has the goods in Goolwa

Big German reinforces overall ahead of penultimate stage

After a tough day in Stirling on Thursday, the sprinters were back on top in Goolwa as Andr Greipel (HTC-Columbia) ensured the fast men would remain atop the standings with victory in stage four of the Tour Down Under. The victory extended Greipels general classification lead by six seconds, while a second place finish by Robbie McEwen (Team Katusha) put the Australian in the same position overall.

Greipels third victory of 2010 came at the end of a windy day that took riders south of Adelaide and forced them to contend with cross and headwinds, which meant any breakaways never stood a chance. From Greipels point of view a lead-out from Matthew Goss, the newest addition to the teams lead-out train, meant his rivals never stood a chance.

"Matthew Goss. If you have riders like him then no one can pass us," said Greipel. "We deserve the win because we always ride from the front."

A long, flat sprint to finish the 149.5 kilometre stage was made all the more tricky by weather conditions. Riders were challenged by a stiff 15 knot crosswind on the run to the finish line. "The sprint was tough, especially the last five or six kilometres coming in," said McEwen. "We got a big crosswind from the right which put us in the left gutter. It just blew the bunch to pieces."

Alejandro Valverdes (Caisse dEpargne) general classification hopes were one thing severely dented by the wind. The Spanish rider was blown from fourth overall down to 26th, with the 17 seconds lost on todays stage plus Greipels time bonus putting him 41 seconds behind.

Source: CyclingNews.com
Subject: Racing

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