2014 Tour Down Under Explained

2014 Tour Down Under
Series:	2014 UCI World Tour
Race No:	1
Season No:	28
Date:	21–26 January 2014
Stages:	6
Distance:	815.5
Unit:	km
Time:	19h 57' 35"
Speed:	40.9
First:	Simon Gerrans
First Nat:	Australia
First Color:	orange
Second:	Cadel Evans
Second Nat:	Australia
Third:	Diego Ulissi
Third Nat:	Italy
Mountains:	Adam Hansen
Mountains Nat:	Australia
Mountains Color:	white
Sprints:	Simon Gerrans
Sprints Nat:	Australia
Sprints Color:	blue
Youth:	Jack Haig
Youth Team:	UniSA-Australia
Youth Nat:	Australia
Youth Color:	grey
Previous:	2013
Next:	2015

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 in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and was the first race of the 2014 UCI World Tour.^[1]

The race was won for a record third time by Australian national champion Simon Gerrans of the team,^[2] after taking 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.^[3] Gerrans also won the opening stage of the race in Angaston.^[4] Gerrans' winning margin over runner-up Cadel Evans of the was one second, and 's Diego Ulissi completed the podium, four seconds behind Evans and five seconds in arrears of Gerrans.^[5] Like Gerrans, Ulissi and Evans both won stages of the race, winning in Stirling and Campbelltown respectively, while Evans also held the race lead for two days. The other stages were won by rider André Greipel (two wins) and Richie Porte, who won the queen stage at Willunga Hill.

The race's other classifications were swept by Australian riders, as Gerrans' consistent finishes – five top-five stage finishes from six stages – across the week ensured that he won the blue jersey for the sprints classification,^[6] while rider Adam Hansen was the winner of the mountains classification.^[7] UniSA-Australia's Jack Haig was the winner of the young rider classification,^[8] finishing seventeenth overall, while the teams classification was won by Gerrans' outfit, also placing Daryl Impey inside the top ten overall.^[9]

Schedule

List of stages

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	21 January		135km (84miles)			Flat stage
2	22 January		150km (90miles)		Medium-mountain stage
3	23 January		145km (90miles)		Hilly stage
4	24 January		148.5km (92.3miles)		Flat stage
5	25 January		151.5km (94.1miles)		Medium-mountain stage
6	26 January		85.5km (53.1miles)		Flat stage

Participating teams

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 team received a wildcard invitation and together with a selection of Australian riders forming the UniSA-Australia squad, this formed the event's 20-team peloton.

The 20 teams invited to the race were:

UniSA-Australia

Stages

Stage 1

21 January 2014 — Nuriootpa to Angaston, 135km (84miles)^[10]

Stage 1 Result^[11] Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

General Classification after Stage 1^[12] Rider Team Time 1 2 + 5" 3 + 7" 4 + 10" 5 + 11" 6 + 11" 7 + 11" 8 + 11" 9 + 11" 10 + 11"

Stage 2

22 January 2014 — Prospect to Stirling, 150km (90miles)^[13]

Stage 2 Result^[14] Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

General Classification after Stage 2 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 7" 3 + 11" 4 + 13" 5 + 13" 6 + 16" 7 + 17" 8 + 17" 9 + 17" 10 + 17"

Stage 3

23 January 2014 — Norwood to Campbelltown, 145km (90miles)^[15]

Stage 3 Result^[16] Rider Team Time 1 2 + 15" 3 + 15" 4 + 15" 5 + 15" 6 + 15" 7 + 15" 8 + 15" 9 + 15" 10 + 15"

General Classification after Stage 3 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 12" 3 + 15" 4 + 27" 5 + 29" 6 + 29" 7 + 33" 8 + 33" 9 + 33" 10 + 33"

Stage 4

24 January 2014 — Unley to Victor Harbor, 148.5km (92.3miles)^[17]

Stage 4 Result^[18] Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

General Classification after Stage 4 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 7" 3 + 14" 4 + 23" 5 + 29" 6 + 29" 7 + 33" 8 + 33" 9 + 33" 10 + 33"

Stage 5

25 January 2014 — McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill, 151.5km (94.1miles)^[19]

Stage 5 Result^[20] Rider Team Time 1 2 + 10" 3 + 10" 4 + 14" 5 + 14" 6 + 14" 7 + 17" 8 + 17" 9 + 17" 10 + 21"

General Classification after Stage 5 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 1" 3 + 5" 4 + 10" 5 + 27" 6 + 30" 7 + 34" 8 + 37" 9 + 37" 10 + 37"

Stage 6

26 January 2014 — Adelaide (criterium), 85.5km (53.1miles)^[21]

Stage 6 Result^[22] Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

Final General Classification Rider Team Time 1 2 + 1" 3 + 5" 4 + 10" 5 + 27" 6 + 30" 7 + 34" 8 + 37" 9 + 37" 10 + 47"

Classification leadership table

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.^[23] 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.^[23] 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 white jersey.^[23] 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 grey, green and pink jersey.^[23] This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1988 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, and each member of the winning team received a red jersey on the final podium. Additionally, a green jersey was awarded on the podium each day, for the most aggressive rider, or riders, of that day's stage.

Stage	Winner	General classification	Mountains classification	Sprint classification	Young rider classification	Team classification	Aggressive rider
1	Simon Gerrans	Simon Gerrans	Adam Hansen	Simon Gerrans	Carlos Verona		Will Clarke
2	Diego Ulissi
3	Cadel Evans	Cadel Evans	Kenny Elissonde		Jens Voigt
4	André Greipel	Jack Haig	Cameron Wurf
5	Richie Porte	Simon Gerrans		Jens Voigt
6	André Greipel	Will Clarke
Final		Simon Gerrans	Adam Hansen	Simon Gerrans	Jack Haig		–

Notes and References

1. News: Rupert. Guinness. Matt White names his favourites. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 14 January 2014. 18 January 2014.
2. News: Rupert. Guinness. Historic third win for cyclist Simon Gerrans in Tour Down Under. The Age. Fairfax Media. 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014.
3. News: Simon Gerrans clinches his third Tour Down Under title. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Australian Associated Press. 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014.
4. News: Australian champion Simon Gerrans outsprints André Greipel to take early lead. The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 21 January 2014. 26 January 2014.
5. News: Australia's Simon Gerrans wins in Adelaide. BBC Sport. BBC. 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014.
6. News: Wizard of Oz Simon Gerrans makes history with a hat-trick of Australia wins. Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014.
7. News: Second win for Greipel. . Belgian Cycling Project. 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014. 3 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140203093406/http://www.lottobelisol.be/en/tdu-second-win-for-greipel-1625.htm. dead.
8. News: Locals dominate Tour Down Under. Roger. Vaughan. Wide World of Sports. Nine Network

   ninemsn

   . 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140131164815/http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8789690. 31 January 2014. dead.
9. News: Simon Gerrans Makes History With Third Santos Tour Down Under Title. . GreenEDGE Cycling. 26 January 2014. 26 January 2014. 29 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140129071556/http://www.greenedgecycling.com/news/simon-gerrans-makes-history-in-adelaide-with-third-tour-down-under-title. dead.
10. Web site: San Remo Pasta Stage 1: Nuriootpa to Angaston – 135.0 km. Tour Down Under. Events South Australia. 18 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202233716/http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/documents/San_Remo_Pasta_STDU_2014_Stage_1.pdf. 2014-02-02. dead.
11. News: 2014 Santos Tour Down Under results, stage 1. VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc.. 21 January 2014. 21 January 2014. 9 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140409080640/http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/01/news/results-santos-tour-down-under-stage-1_314100. dead.
12. News: Simon Gerrans takes big win over Andre Greipel. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 21 January 2014. 21 January 2014. Zeb. Woodpower. https://web.archive.org/web/20140123232538/http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-1/results. 2014-01-23. dead.
13. Web site: BikeExchange.com.au Stage 2: Prospect to Stirling – 150.0 km. Tour Down Under. Events South Australia. 18 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140124011956/http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/documents/STDU_2014_Stage_2_profiles_LR.pdf. 2014-01-24. dead.
14. News: Diego Ulissi surprises with Tour Down Under stage win. 22 January 2014. Zeb. Woodpower. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 23 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140123234009/http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-2/results. 2014-01-23. dead.
15. Web site: Thomas Foods Stage 3: Norwood to Campbelltown – 145.0 km. Tour Down Under. Events South Australia. 18 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140211035858/http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/documents/the-festival/Thomas_Foods_STDU_2014_Stage_3.pdf. 2014-02-11. dead.
16. News: Cadel Evans takes stirring solo win and overall lead. 23 January 2014. Zeb. Woodpower. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 23 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140125080656/http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-3/results. 2014-01-25. dead.
17. Web site: Bupa Stage 4: Unley to Victor Harbor – 148.5 km. Tour Down Under. Events South Australia. 18 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202233658/http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/documents/STDU14_Bupa_Stage_4_profile_LR.pdf. 2014-02-02. dead.
18. News: Andre Greipel claims 15th Tour Down Under stage win . 24 January 2014 . Zeb . Woodpower . . . 24 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120121210053/http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-4/results . 21 January 2012 .
19. Web site: Pure Blonde Stage 5: McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill – 151.5 km. Tour Down Under. Events South Australia. 18 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140219061421/http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/documents/the-festival/Pure_Blonde_STDU14_Stage5.pdf. 2014-02-19. dead.
20. News: Richie Porte solos to Tour Down Under win . 25 January 2014 . Zeb . Woodpower . . . 25 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120125200455/http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-5/results . 25 January 2012 .
21. Web site: Be Safe Be Seen MAC Stage 6: Adelaide Street Circuit – 85.5 km. Tour Down Under. Events South Australia. 18 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140219061455/http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/documents/the-race/STDU_2014_MAC_Stage_6_Adelaide_Street_Circuit.pdf. 2014-02-19. dead.
22. News: Final day victory for Andre Greipel at the Tour Down Under . 26 January 2014 . Zeb . Woodpower . . . 26 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120123113125/http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-6/results . 23 January 2012 .
23. News: Tour Down Under: Jersey Guide. Velostage.com. Velostage. 29 January 2013.