Jonker wraps up Tour Down Under as Cooke takes final stage
- By VeloNews.com
- Published Jan. 25, 2004
- Updated Jan. 12, 2009 at 11:58 AM UTC
It’s not quite the Champs-Élysées, but for the tens of thousands who turned out for the final stage of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under on Sunday it was a race finale to rival anything on the world stage.
Not only did top sprinters Baden Cooke and Robbie McEwen take the top-two finish spots for the day, one of Adelaide’s favorite sons, Patrick Jonker, duly bowed out a winner after a distinguished 14-year career in the pro ranks.
Jonker, 34, earmarked this year’s event as his last as a professional cyclist, and in a fairytale ending he achieved a dream result.
For so long a domestique to the elite, Jonker’s previous best result in a major international stage race was a 12th in the 1996 Tour de France. With fellow South Australian Stuart O’Grady missing this year, Jonker took it upon himself to step into the breach to try to deliver a hometown victory. And he did it in style.
Adopting more aggressive tactics, Jonker attacked on the opening road stage on Tuesday to set up his victory, and then followed it up with another aggressive ride the next day.
With a solid buffer of 1:39, he and his UniSA teammates were then able to dictate terms for the remainder of the event.
On Saturday, fellow South Australian Luke Roberts helped Jonker negotiate a testing 3km climb to the top of Old Willunga Hill, and he went into Sunday’s final stage – an 81km criterium in Adelaide’s Central Business District – with a healthy 1:34 advantage.
Only a major catastrophe would have stopped him keeping the leader’s yellow jersey to the end, but the man himself refused to accept the inevitable until the final lap of the 4.5km circuit.
“You could puncture, you could crash, you’re never sure of victory,” Jonker said. “It’s not over until you cross the line and when I got under that last kilometer, I took it easy, I knew it was all over then.
“I’ve won stage races in Europe before but this is the most important because it’s (in front of) my home crowd. It’s where I started riding my bike when I was 12 years old, and now I’m officially retired and in the yellow jersey, so I couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario.”
Jonker acknowledged the work of his teammates; the first time a composite outfit – this time sponsored by the University of South Australia – has prevailed in the six-year history of the event, in winning by 1:13 from McEwen.
“The team did a fantastic job,” he said. “Everyone was nervous this morning because in bike racing you can lose it in the last 5km and things turned out well; they didn’t have any bad luck.
“I’m extremely satisfied the way it has ended. I’ve had some bad luck, some bad moments, but this makes up for it.”
Cooke could also thank his FDJeux.com teammates for his success, and said he learned from last year when he finished second to Graeme Brown in the final stage.
“I was hoping I wasn’t seeing déjà vu because twice in the last two years the team’s done absolutely perfect lead-outs with Brad McGee and the other boys and both times I ran second,” he said. “I was just hoping to God I wasn’t going to get the same lead-out and get the same position.
“The last few years I hit out from the bottom of the dip and just got run over at the end, and this year I left if about 50m longer.”
Cooke said he looked on Jonker as a mentor and always sought his advice when riding overseas.
“In the last few years whenever I’ve seen Patty he’s been in smaller teams but I remember what he’s done in the past,” he said. “And even racing against each other he’s always given me advice or said ‘Cookie, I think you’re doing this wrong’ or `You need to do this with your team.’
“I think he would be a great director for a team; he’s got a lot of experience and someone who’s got a huge amount of knowledge about the sport.”
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Results
Results
1. Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com 81km in 1:43:19 (47kph)
2. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo
3. Allan Davis (Aus) Team Australia
4. Mark Renshaw (Aus) FDJeux.com
5. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance
6. Rudi Kemna (Ned) Bankgiroloterij
7. Graeme Brown (Aus) Panaria-Margres
8. Aurelien Clerc (Swi) Quick:Step-Davitamon
9. Antonio Fisher Murillo (Bra) Domina Vacanze
10. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Panaria-Margres
11. Sergio Marinangeli (Ita) Domina Vacanze
12. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Domina Vacanze
13. Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo
14. Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Credit Agricole
15. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) Domina Vacanze
16. Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze
17. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
18. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole
19. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Team Australia, all s.t.
20. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com, at 0:06
21. Julian Dean (Nzl) Credit Agricole
22. Matthe Pronk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, both s.t.
23. Matthew Wilson (Aus) FDJeux.com, at 0:09
24. Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA, at 0:17
25. Remco Van Der Ven (Ned) Bankgiroloterij
26. Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA
27. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick:Step-Davitamon
28. Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA
29. David McKenzie (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
30. Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij
31. Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole
32. Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
33. Nick Gates (Aus) Lotto-Domo
34. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r Prevoyance
35. Ben Day (Aus) Team Australia
36. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) United Water
37. Hans De Clercq (Bel) Lotto-Domo
38. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Lotto-Domo
39. Paolo Valoti (Ita) Domina Vacanze
40. Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance
41. Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole
42. David McPartland (Aus) Team Australia
43. Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r Prevoyance
44. Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
45. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Team Australia
46. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole
47. Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2r Prevoyance
48. Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
49. Russell Van Hout (Aus) UniSA
50. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Bankgiroloterij
51. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Panaria-Margres, all s.t.
52. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) FDJeux.com, at 0:26
53. Nicholas Vogondy (Fra) FDJeux.com
54. Siro Camponogara (Ita) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
55. Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water, at 0:31
56. Thomas Lovkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com, at 0:33
57. Lorenzo Cardellini (Ita) Domina Vacanze, at 0:37
58. Ashley Humbert (Aus) United Water, at 0:39
59. Adrian Laidler (Aus) UniSA
60. Glenn D’Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo
61. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Lotto-Domo
62. Allan Iacuone (Aus) Team Australia
63. Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze
64. Scott Davis (Aus) Panaria-Margres, at 0:43
65. Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, at 0:46
66. Kirk O’Bee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, at 0:51
67. Piotr Wadecki (Pol) Lotto-Domo, at 0:53
68. Addy Engels (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 0:54
69. Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole, at 1:03
70. Frank Van Dulmen (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 1:54
71. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Quick:Step-Davitamon, at 2:09
72. Jose Pecharroman Fabian (Spa) Quick:Step-Davitamon
73. Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Quick:Step-Davitamon
74. Steve Cunningham (Aus) UniSA, at 4:39
75. Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
76. Jose Garrido Lima (Spa) Quick:Step-Davitamon
77. Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole
78. Frederic Amorison (Bel) Quick:Step-Davitamon
79. Julien Smink (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 5:44
80. James Hannam (Aus) UniSA
DNF Sergey Matveyev (Ukr) Panaria-Margres
DNF Richard Moffat (Aus) United Water
DNF Jeff Louder (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
DNF Fabio Gilioli (Ita) Panaria-Margres
DNF Ryan Sullivan (Aus) United Water
DNF Mark Jamieson (Aus) United Water
Final overall standings
1. Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 16:32:19
2. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo, at 1:13
3. Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com, at 1:21
4. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com, at 1:28
5. Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze
6. Antonio Fisher Murillo (Bra) Domina Vacanze, at 1:29
7. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Panaria-Margres, at 1:30
8. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole, at 1:31
9. Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA, at 1:47
10. Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA, at 2:56
11. David McKenzie (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, at 3:00
12. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick:Step-Davitamon
13. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) Domina Vacanze, at 3:51
14. Ben Day (Aus) Team Australia, at 3:58
15. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Team Australia, at 4:06
16. Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance, at 4:08
17. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Panaria-Margres, at 4:23
18. David McPartland (Aus) Team Australia, at 4:28
19. Matthe Pronk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 5:29
20. Paolo Valoti (Ita) Domina Vacanze:01
21. Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo, at 6:03
22. Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole, at 6:15
23. Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, at 6:27
24. Frederic Amorison (Bel) Quick:Step-Davitamon 11:27
25. Aurelien Clerc (Swi) Quick:Step-Davitamon 12:38
26. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Lotto-Domo 17:09
27. Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance 17:28
28. Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole 31:46
29. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Lotto-Domo 33:16
30. Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2r Prevoyance 33:44
31. Glenn D’Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo 33:55
32. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Quick:Step-Davitamon 35:08
33. Jose Pecharroman Fabian (Spa) Quick:Step-Davitamon
34. Allan Davis (Aus) Team Australia 35:15
35. Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 36:00
36. Matthew Wilson (Aus) FDJeux.com 37:35
37. Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r Prevoyance 37:46
38. Russell Van Hout (Aus) UniSA
39. Jose Garrido Lima (Spa) Quick:Step-Davitamon 37:47
40. Thomas Lovkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com 38:09
41. Nick Gates (Aus) Lotto-Domo 39:51
42. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Domina Vacanze 40:06
43. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 40:23
44. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) FDJeux.com 43:04
45. Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 43:23
46. Hans De Clercq (Bel) Lotto-Domo 44:41
47. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 44:50
48. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Team Australia 44:55
49. Kirk O’Bee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 45:30
50. Nicholas Vogondy (Fra) FDJeux.com 49:14
51. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance 49:57
52. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r Prevoyance, at 1:04:36
53. Mark Renshaw (Aus) FDJeux.com, at 1:04:44
54. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
55. Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole, at 1:04:58
56. Lorenzo Cardellini (Ita) Domina Vacanze, at 1:05:21
57. Ashley Humbert (Aus) United Water, at 1:05:23
58. Allan Iacuone (Aus) Team Australia, at 1:06:11
59. Addy Engels (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 1:06:29
60. Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Quick:Step-Davitamon, at 1:06:53
61. Rudi Kemna (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 1:11:32
62. Julian Dean (Nzl) Credit Agricole, at 1:11:38
63. Sergio Marinangeli (Ita) Domina Vacanze, at 1:11:41
64. Remco Van Der Ven (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 1:11:46
65. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) United Water, at 1:11:49
66. Piotr Wadecki (Pol) Lotto-Domo, at 1:12:25
67. Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze, at 1:13:51
68. Frank Van Dulmen (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 1:14:17
69. Graeme Brown (Aus) Panaria-Margres, at 1:15:56
70. Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance, at 1:16:13
71. Siro Camponogara (Ita) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team, at 1:16:22
72. Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Credit Agricole, at 1:16:23
73. Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole, at 1:16:59
74. Adrian Laidler (Aus) UniSA, at 1:17:00
75. Scott Davis (Aus) Panaria-Margres, at 1:17:51
76. Julien Smink (Ned) Bankgiroloterij, at 1:18:26
77. Steve Cunningham (Aus) UniSA, at 1:20:44
78. Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
79. James Hannam (Aus) UniSA, at 1:21:24
80. Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water, at 1:27:06
Final Sprints classification
1. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo 36 pts
2. Aurelien Clerc (Swi) Quick:Step-Davitamon 30
3. David McPartland (Aus) Team Australia 18
4. Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com 16
5. Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 16
6. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com 14
7. Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 10
8. Mark Renshaw (Aus) FDJeux.com 10
9. Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 10
10. Ben Day (Aus) Team Australia 8
11. Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance 8
12. Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 6
13. Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 6
14. Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water 6
15. Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA 6
16. Rudi Kemna (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 6
17. Remco Van Der Ven (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 6
18. Antonio Fisher Murillo (Bra) Domina Vacanze 4
19. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Team Australia 4
20. Glenn D’Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo 4
21. Allan Davis (Aus) Team Australia 4
22. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 4
23. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) FDJeux.com 4
24. Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Credit Agricole 4
25. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Panaria-Margres 2
26. Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA 2
27. Frederic Amorison (Bel) Quick:Step-Davitamon 2
28. Addy Engels (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 2
29. Graeme Brown (Aus) Panaria-Margres 2
Final Mountains classification
1. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Panaria-Margres 32 pts
2. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) Domina Vacanze 28
3. David McPartland (Aus) Team Australia 24
4. Allan Davis (Aus) Team Australia 16
5. Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 16
6. Lorenzo Cardellini (Ita) Domina Vacanze 16
7. Russell Van Hout (Aus) UniSA 14
8. Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 12
9. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Panaria-Margres 12
10. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick:Step-Davitamon 12
11. Matthew Wilson (Aus) FDJeux.com 12
12. Nick Gates (Aus) Lotto-Domo 12
13. Kirk O’Bee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12
14. Graeme Brown (Aus) Panaria-Margres 12
15. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Team Australia 8
16. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com 6
17. Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2r Prevoyance 6
18. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 6
19. Luke Roberts (Aus) UniSA 4
20. Gene Bates (Aus) UniSA 4
21. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Domina Vacanze 4
22. Addy Engels (Ned) Bankgiroloterij 4
23. Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water 4
U23 rider classification
1. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com 16:33:47
2. Thomas Lovkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com 36:41
3. Mark Renshaw (Aus) FDJeux.com, at 1:03:16
4. Ashley Humbert (Aus) United Water, at 1:03:55
5. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) United Water, at 1:10:21
6. James Hannam (Aus) UniSA, at 1:19:56
7. Peter Dawson (Aus) United Water, at 1:25:38
Teams classification
1. UniSA 49:41:53
2. FDJeux.com, at 1:48
3. Domina Vacanze, at 1:57
4. Team Australia, at 5:09
5. Lotto-Domo 8:46
6. Credit Agricole 8:47
7. Ag2R Prevoyance 11:18
8. Quick Step-Davitamon 11:48
9. Panaria-Margres 45:22
10. Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 47:25
11. Bankgiroloterij, at 1:13:55
12. United Water, at 2:50:38
FILED UNDER: Race Report / Race Result / Road TAGS: Tour Down Under