For the first time in Tour Down Under history, it’s almost certain an Australian won’t finish in the top ten.
Lotto Belisol lead out man Adam Hansen is currently highest placed in 13th at 15 seconds but it’s hard to see him remaining there when the double-barrelled Old Willunga Hill challenge caps off the race on Saturday.
Behind him are Lachlan Morton (Garmin Sharp, 22nd @ 1:02), a second year pro in his TDU debut, and Jonathan Cantwell (Saxo Tinkoff, 23rd @ 1:29). Cantwell has raced the pro circuit for five years and is capable sprinter.
In 25th is UniSA’s Adam Phelan (1:32), another debut rider at the TDU and then we find our first genuine Aussie star rider (sorry Adam Hansen, no disrespect intended), Simon Gerrans in 37th at 3:26.
That’s five Aussies in the top 40 but not one in the top ten.
Even in the first Tour Down Under in 1999, there were two Aussies in the top ten and there’s been only three in some other years.
This disappointing development has been much discussed in the TDU media centre, with claims the Aussie riders are “hurting” and “angry” at their lack of success and determined to right the situation.
Well they weren’t able to in Stirling on stage three and if Andre Greipel maintains his form, they might not on stages four or six either.
And there are plenty of internationals to take care of stage five.
So we could easily see another first – no Aussie stage wins at a TDU.
But deep down, are the Aussie riders that bothered?
This may be Australia’s only World Tour race, but it is still a January race and the season doesn’t finish until October.
Many have bigger goals to aim for like the Classics, a Grand Tour or even the World Championships.
Even if they are hurting, does it really matter? Does it really matter if, every so often, Aussies don’t do well at the Tour Down Under?
After all this is a World Tour race, featuring 17 international teams and around 100 international riders.
Cycling fans are the first to complain when the World Tour teams don’t send their star non-Australian riders here, or only bring them here for a glorified training camp.
So what if this year the tables have been turned and circumstances (crashes) have meant that most of the favoured names have been eliminated from contention for general classification honours.
It is disappointing that the much anticipated showdown between Simon Gerrans and Philippe Gilbert for the title won’t happen, but that’s sport.
And I think that’s how the riders see it.
Watching stage three unfold, it didn’t really matter to me, because now the race is suddenly wide open and no one knows what is going to happen.
Geraint Thomas leads by five seconds and has a team more than capable of defending that lead but, as we saw on the relentlessly undulating hills around Stirling, the numerous challenges they had to see off to keep that Ochre jersey made for fascinating viewing.
Simon and Will Clarke, Steve Morabito, Tiago Machado, Andrey Amador, Giovanni Visconti, Daryl Impey, Valerio Agnoli and Cameron Wurf all had a serious go at claiming the stage win before succumbing to the power of a Sky lead chase and then Tom-Jelte Slagter’s brilliant final kick.
Collectively that group has ridden 23 Tours Down Under and been pro for an average five years but, regardless of their relative anonymity, the flurry of last lap attacks was fantastic to watch.
Maybe the TDU only being 15 years old means it’s still too young to hold the attention of mainstream sports fans if there are no big names battling it out for the overall win.
I say rather than see the Aussies struggle as a negative, why not enjoy what the internationals bring here?
Some of them have been training here for weeks, a sign of the respect they have for the Tour Down Under, and their performances show that.
Yes, there is a media that needs to sell papers and advertising time, but if we want to embrace the major international sports market, we have to accept that sometimes we’re going to get our collective butts kicked.
It’s a part of growing up and at 15, the Tour Down Under is starting to do that.
We followers should just enjoy the ride.
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