Stage 6 of the Tour Down Under has been run and won and the winner of the 2010 TDU is Andre Greipel from the HTC – Columbia Team.
Andre won the Tour back in 2008 and is only the second person to win the TDU twice. Stage 6 saw the riders take in 20 laps of a 4.5km circuit through the City streets of Adelaide. The pace was a cracker from the very start with a few break-aways trying to take the win, but they were all quickly swallowed up by the peloton. Chris Sutton from Team Sky took out the stage win, but Greipel finished in the bunch sprint, not losing any time, to take out a well deserved overall Tour win. Greipel won four of the six stages this year with his team doing a fabulous job through Willunga Hill on Stage 5, to keep him in the Leader’s Jersey.
So that not only brings the TDU for 2010 to a close this year, but also Emily and my holiday in Adelaide. Adelaide organisers have once again performed an unbelievable job in putting the TDU event on this year. There were 762,000 spectators that turned out for the TDU this year and this was the biggest crowd in TDU history. This event is growing bigger and bigger each year. The TDU is now the on the official UCI world calendar and it is the biggest cycling event in the Southern Hemisphere. You’ve heard of the Tour de France and the great names that you hear and see riding – more and more of these great names come to the TDU each year. That’s what makes it so great. The Australian and European riders all agree that the crowds are just like the huge crowds overseas and the support is amazing – that’s why they love coming.
What I take away from this year’s TDU is a great appreciation for the power and endurance of these super fit professional athletes. I love seeing the huge numbers of everyday people riding their bikes whilst following the Tour. It’s also great to see so many children getting involved in cycling from such an early age and learning how to take control of their own health and fitness from adolescence. It really is enough to make you want to get out and just ride every day.
The SA Premier mentioned that they have some huge announcements coming up about next year’s Tour Down Under and just this morning I heard that both Frank and Andy Schlek are coming to the 2011 Tour (they placed 5th and 2nd respectively in the 2009 Tour de France. Wow! It’s kind of sad that it’s over, but I’m sure we’ll be back again next year!! I encourage all of you reading this blog to give it a go and come across next year to the TDU – you won’t regret it.
If you want to see all the official results, then go to www.TourDownUnder.com.au