Second for on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under after late crash shakes up the sprinters.

After a day for the GC riders yesterday, the Tour Down Under turned its attention to the sprinters again today. After a tough stage where the break dominated, the sprinters stepped up in the finale. Slowed by a crash in the final few kilometres, the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, took second, narrowly missing the win after a strong final push.

Making its way south towards the Fleurieu Peninsula along the St Vincent Gulf coast, the 144km route took in some of the steepest climbs of the Tour Down Under so far. The stage, sponsored by the team’s title sponsor, Hansgrohe, saw the day’s biggest climb, Sellicks Hill, at the 45km mark, as the parcours took riders towards the finish in Victor Harbor. While there were some short, sharp climbs in the finishing circuit, the relatively flat final kilometre suggested the sprinters would contest the win.

From the drop of the flag at the start of the day, the day’s breakaway formed as a quartet went up the road, quickly building an advantage that would reach almost five minutes as the day progressed. However, the peloton was in no hurry to pull the escape group back and this group of four stayed out in front much of the day, taking the King of the Mountain points, as well as the intermediate sprints.

By the 10km to go point, the peloton was within touching distance of the break as the sprinters began their push for the finish. With speeds hitting up to 70km/h, the peloton was a dangerous place to be, with a crash in the last few kilometres, right in front of Peter Sagan. The UCI World Champion skillfully avoided the crash, but was slowed in his ride to the finish line. After threading his way through the trains and pushing hard in the bunch sprint, the Slovakian rider narrowly missing the win, taking second, with Jay McCarthy close behind in 11th spot, protecting his GC position.

Speaking from the finish, Peter was pleased to have finished the day unscathed. “I was ok – there was one very bad crash in the last 3km and then I was really lucky with my team that we didn’t crash because it was a really fast finish. I hope the guys who crashed are ok. I’m

not in the best shape yet, but that’s also a good thing because the season is really long. You have to think positively and we still have time to get in good shape.”

The UCI World Champion was quick to praise the stage’s winner. “Caleb’s riding at home, he’s been training in Australia all winter. I finished the season in October, took a month off to relax and go on holiday, and only started training again in December, and I’m really happy with how I’m riding now. Caleb is really motivated for this race because it’s the first of the season, he’s at home in Australia and he wants to win. He’s a good sprinter and with some of the best sprinters here at the race he’s winning a lot because he’s the best here. We’re doing really well here though – we’re getting some good racing kilometres in, we’re having fun and it’s really good and relaxed. ”

Sports Director, Steffen Radochla, saw how close Peter was to the crash and how lucky he was not to fall himself. “We were lucky not to crash in the finale. It was an impressive sprint from Peter after though – we’re really happy with this result on the stage and we’re looking ahead to the stages to come.”

Stage 4 will be the first of this year’s Tour Down Under not to feature a circuit. The 149.5km, undulating parcours starts just a short distance from the day’s finish, covering some steep climbs in the Adelaide hills over its out and back route. Some late climbs in the closing few kilometres could provide the launchpad for some last-minute attacks before the uphill finish, so there’s every chance of a surprise in the finale.