Remember that father-daughter duo I met yesterday at the stage finish? They were nice enough to let me tag along with them for today's stage!
Normally the team vehicles all park about 100 meters behind the start line but today the road was just too short for that, so the lead up to the start line was packed with parked cars. This made it difficult to get autographs but it did give me a view I rarely see when I'm autograph hunting: the riders and staff preparing for the day's ride. Below: Daryl Impey relaxing in the passenger seat.
The boys of Tinkoff waiting.
A soigneur prepares a pantyhose-style bag of ice to shove down the back of Steele Von Hoff's jersey while Anthony Giacoppo rides by.
We hustled up the street to catch the start. The street was lined with fans standing 3 and 4 people deep!
Everyone was at the stage, even Crikey Cadel the Croc.
From Norwood it was just a few kilometers to reach the finish in Campbelltown, though the peloton would have a much longer journey, clocking in at 145km and including the legendarily steep Corkscew Hill.
There was another big crowd on hand to cheer on the riders.
As at all races, the sponsors hand out all kinds of stuff. In my experience at other races, 98% of it is completely useless crap (the one huge exception being a poncho from Eneco Tour which was a lifesaver in the Pyrenees during the Vuelta) but there's been some surprisingly good stuff here at the TDU, starting with cowbells. This guy did not stop ringing his once, even when the woman next to him gave him an unamused look.
The afternoon turned muggy as I looked down the straightaway towards the final kilometer banner.
If a rider is in good position going up Corkscrew Hill and is able to stay away during the fast and technical descent, he stands a good shot at taking the stage. The announcer wasn't the greatest (he couldn't seem to correctly identify Simon Gerrans, who was wearing the leader's ochre jersey, and he can't even come close to pronouncing half of the names in the peloton) but there was one fact he got certainly got right: Cadel Evans had escaped the peloton and was gaining distance on the nearest chase group on the climb! He descended well and comfortably claimed the stage.
It was another 15 seconds before Garmin's Nathan Haas out sprinted Diego Ulissi to take second place.
Like yesterday, the peloton had splint into multiple groups. Below: Simon Geschke and Jack Bauer lead in a group one minute behind Evans.
After crossing the finish line, the riders had some room to slow down and pull a U turn. Below: Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey ride back to the team van.
One bunch finishes while other riders turn in to the team vans.
Nathan Haas now sits fourth in the general classification.
Soigneurs had drinks ready to hand to their riders at the finish.
Cadel Evans had his own handler to look after him.
Kevin Reza, covered in salt after a sweaty day in the saddle.
Andre Greipel and Marcel Sieberg ride back to their Adalaide hotel.
Once Jerome Cousin, a member of the earlier breakaway and today's final rider, finished, the race organizers opened the road and fans poured in to watch the awards ceremony.
Evans took the overall lead from Gerrans. Thanks to a 10 second time bonus for winning the stage, Evans has a 12 second advantage over his fellow Aussie.
Jens Voigt spent much of the day in a breakaway and was rewarded with the jersey for most competitive rider.
Kenny Elissonde, who looks all of 14 years old, received the best young rider jersey. I'm not entirely sure how it happened but somehow his presentation jersey was backwards. Young rider, indeed!
Simon Gerrans in the sprint leader's jersey.
Adam Hansen continued to hold the King of the Mountains jersey and certainly enjoyed receiving his podium kisses, even handing off his flowers beforehand to truly relish the moment.
An Italian journalist called in his story.
I mentioned earlier that some of the free swag has been pretty good. Here's a shot of what I'm currently hanging on to: a polka dot hat of quality cotton, a pencil case, a cowbell, a water bottle with caribiner, and a pair of snazzy, yellow-tinted bicycle glasses that draws in professional photographers and makes strangers ask, “Where can I get those?!”
Today's 4 autographs: 13 Matthew Harley Goss, 114 Kenny Elissonde, 134 Thomas Dekker, and 135 Lachlan Morton.