The break that worked: Cameron Meyer gets a stage win and lead at Tour Down Under

By VeloNews.com
Published Jan. 21, 2011

2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: Meyer gets the win.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: Cavendish is still looking for a stage win.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: With Goss in the jersey, much of the chase work fell to HTC-HighRoad.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: Armstrong lends a hand.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: Vicente Garcia Acosta doing lunch duty.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: The peloton stayed within a minute of the break for much of the day.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: The escapees played it smart and hit the gas near the end.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 5: Lotto and RadioShack moved riders into the chase, but it was too little, too late.
2011 Tour Down Under, Stage 4: With a tight GC, Meyer moved into the leader's jersey, too.

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Meyer gets the stage and has a new jersey waiting for him.

Garmin-Cervélo’s Cameron Meyer gave his team reason to smile at the Tour Down Under when he took the race leader’s ochre jersey after a well-deserved stage win Friday.

Meyer, a world track cycling champion, worked hard to get into the only successful breakaway of the 124-kilometer fourth stage from Norwood to Strathalbyn in the Adelaide Hills.

And the 23-year-old’s efforts paid off as strong headwinds and a lack of collaboration in the peloton conspired to allow the break a clear run to the finish.

Meyer beat Belgian Thomas De Gendt, of Vacansoleil, in a two-up sprint with Dutchman Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank) in third just ahead of former Australian champion Matt Wilson, also of Garmin-Cervélo.

With the main field arriving 24 seconds later, Meyer took the jersey from overnight leader and compatriot Matthew Goss (HTC-HighRoad).

Ten Dam is now second overall at 10 seconds adrift, with Goss in third at 12 ahead of Saturday’s potentially decisive fifth stage which takes in two ascents of the short but steep Willunga Hill.

“It’s just great to get a win for the team,” Meyer said.

“To get the stage win was the first thing I thought about. Yesterday, I missed the split by seven seconds and lost a little bit on GC (general classification), so I thought, ‘It’s going to be hard to make that back.’ To get the stage victory, to throw my hands in the air over the finish line, was just a great feeling.”

The four leaders worked well together but with their lead hovering around the minute mark with 30km to go their chances were viewed as rather slim. It was at that point, though, that the quartet decided to up the pace.

“We had to really play it cool and wait, the peloton can bring it back whenever they want,” added Meyer.

“So we waited until about 20-30km to go and then we really hit the gas, and when we went, we went strong,” added Meyer.

Despite the common interest of being able to contend the stage win, Goss’s HTC-HighRoad teammates were left almost to their own devices as they fought to defend the leader’s jersey.

With strong headwinds hindering the chase, HTC’s lead-out man Mark Renshaw complained that other teams were simply hanging off his team’s coat tails.

“It’s the same old story, we rode all day and we can’t be expected to close the gap and ride all day. Some of the other teams need to have a look at themselves,” said Renshaw.

“We had one guy from Omega-Pharma and a couple of guys from RadioShack but by then it was too late. With a finish like that, everyone knew it was downhill for the last 10 km. It’s a little bit disappointing because we lost the jersey.”

The race finishes with a 90km street race in Adelaide on Sunday, and Goss said he would fight all the way — picking up bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints and at the finish — to get back into the race lead.

“There are sprint seconds, there’s bonus seconds on the line as well tomorrow (Saturday) in Willunga. I will try to take some seconds there and, if need be, the last day in Adelaide,” said Goss.

“There are still plenty of opportunities to get the bonus seconds back, but it’s just a bit more stress.”

Stage 4

1. Cameron Meyer, Garmin-Cervélo, in 2:57:55
2. Thomas De Gendt, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
3. Laurens ten Dam, Rabobank, at 0:03
4. Matthew Wilson, Garmin-Cervélo, at 0:10
5. Matthew Goss, HTC-Highroad, at 0:24
6. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Movistar, s.t.
7. Ben Swift, Sky Procycling, s.t.
8. Jurgen Roelandts, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
9. Nikolay Trusov, Katusha, s.t.
10. Romain Feillu, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
11. Jonathan Cantwell, UniSA-Australia, s.t.
12. Denis Galimzyanov, Katusha, s.t.
13. Baden Cooke, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
14. Elia Viviani, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
15. Andre Greipel, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
16. Davide Vigano, Leopard Trek, s.t.
17. Marco Bandiera, Quickstep, s.t.
18. Francisco Ventoso, Movistar, s.t.
19. Allan Davis, Astana, s.t.
20. Graeme Brown, Rabobank, s.t.
21. Manuele Mori, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
22. Gorka Izagirre, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
23. Brett Lancaster, Garmin-Cervélo, s.t.
24. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, s.t.
25. Greg Henderson, Sky Procycling, s.t.
26. Michael Matthews, Rabobank, s.t.
27. Luke Roberts, UniSA-Australia, s.t.
28. Hayden Roulston, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
29. Alexander Kristoff, BMC, s.t.
30. Sergey Lagutin, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
31. Alessandro Ballan, BMC, s.t.
32. Kristof Goddaert, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
33. Tom Leezer, Rabobank, s.t.
34. Mathew Hayman, Sky Procycling, s.t.
35. Robbie McEwen, Radio Shack, s.t.
36. Ruben Perez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
37. Simon Zahner, BMC, s.t.
38. Juan Jose Haedo, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
39. Ivan Velasco, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
40. Steve Houanard, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
41. Serguei Ivanov, Katusha, s.t.
42. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
43. Stuart O’Grady, Leopard Trek, s.t.
44. Jose Ivan Gutierrez, Movistar, s.t.
45. Sebastian Haedo, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
46. Simon Gerrans, Sky Procycling, s.t.
47. Mirko Selvaggi, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
48. Julien Loubet, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
49. Addy Engels, Quickstep, s.t.
50. Luis Pasamontes, Movistar, s.t.
51. Francesco Reda, Quickstep, s.t.
52. Blel Kadri, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
53. Andriy Grivko, Astana, s.t.
54. Ben Hermans, Radio Shack, s.t.
55. Mathieu Perget, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
56. Jon Izaguirre, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
57. Martin Kohler, BMC, s.t.
58. David Lopez, Movistar, s.t.
59. Inaki Isasi, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
60. Yuriy Krivtsov, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
61. Angel Madrazo, Movistar, s.t.
62. Davide Cimolai, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
63. Francesco Chicchi, Quickstep, s.t.
64. Manuel Cardoso, Radio Shack, s.t.
65. Vitaliy Buts, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
66. Simone Ponzi, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
67. Michael Rogers, Sky Procycling, s.t.
68. Maxim Gourov, Astana, s.t.
69. Rob Ruijgh, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
70. Davide Malacarne, Quickstep, s.t.
71. Aitor Perez Arrieta, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
72. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy, Astana, s.t.
73. Tanel Kangert, Astana, s.t.
74. Eduard Vorganov, Katusha, s.t.
75. Juan Horrach, Katusha, s.t.
76. Miguel Minguez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
77. Cameron Wurf, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
78. David Tanner, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
79. Jack Bobridge, Garmin-Cervélo, s.t.
80. Luke Durbridge, UniSA-Australia, at 0:39
81. Danny Pate, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
82. Bruno Pires, Leopard Trek, at 0:41
83. Alan Marangoni, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
84. Simon Clarke, Astana, s.t.
85. Lance Armstrong, Radio Shack, s.t.
86. Kristijan Koren, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
87. Amael Moinard, BMC, s.t.
88. Richie Porte, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
89. Nicki Sorensen, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
90. Adam Hansen, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
91. Marcel Sieberg, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
92. Aleksandr Kuschynski, Katusha, at 0:45
93. Alberto Ongarato, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
94. Olivier Kaisen, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 0:58
95. Jurgen Van De Walle, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
96. Bert Grabsch, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
97. Matteo Bono, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
98. Mark Cavendish, HTC-Highroad, at 1:00
99. Stefan Denifl, Leopard Trek, s.t.
100. Travis Meyer, Garmin-Cervélo, at 1:06
101. Daniele Righi, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
102. Gregory Rast, Radio Shack, at 1:12
103. Robbie Hunter, Radio Shack, s.t.
104. Markel Irizar, Radio Shack, s.t.
105. Tyler Farrar, Garmin-Cervélo, at 1:41
106. Gerald Ciolek, Quickstep, at 0:24
107. Wesley Sulzberger, UniSA-Australia, at 2:09
108. Alessandro Spezialetti, Lampre-ISD, at 2:10
109. Fabio Sabatini, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
110. Mitchell Docker, UniSA-Australia, s.t.
111. Daniel Sesma, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
112. Alfredo Balloni, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
113. Coen Vermeltfoort, Rabobank, s.t.
114. Julien Vermote, Quickstep, s.t.
115. Timothy Roe, BMC, s.t.
116. Jos van Emden, Rabobank, s.t.
117. Stijn Vandenbergh, Katusha, at 0:24
118. Julian Dean, Garmin-Cervélo, at 2:10
119. Brian Vandborg, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 4:26
120. Vicente Reynes, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
121. Martin Mortensen, Leopard Trek, s.t.
122. Martin Pedersen, Leopard Trek, s.t.
123. John Murphy, BMC, s.t.
124. Jose Vicente Garcia, Movistar, s.t.
125. Bernhard Eisel, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
126. Pieter Weening, Rabobank, s.t.
127. Joost Van Leijen, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
128. Valentin Iglinskiy, Astana, s.t.
129. Dimitri Champion, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
130. Michael Hepburn, UniSA-Australia, s.t.
131. William Clarke, Leopard Trek, s.t.

GC

1. Cameron Meyer, Garmin-Cervélo, at
2. Laurens ten Dam, Rabobank, at 0:10
3. Matthew Goss, HTC-Highroad, at 0:12
4. Robbie McEwen, Radio Shack, at 0:15
5. Andre Greipel, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 0:16
6. Michael Matthews, Rabobank, at 0:18
7. Ben Swift, Sky Procycling, s.t.
8. Blel Kadri, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0:26
9. Francisco Ventoso, Movistar, at 0:27
10. Allan Davis, Astana, at 0:28
11. Manuele Mori, Lampre-ISD, s.t.
12. Elia Viviani, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
13. Greg Henderson, Sky Procycling, s.t.
14. Luke Roberts, UniSA-Australia, s.t.
15. Alessandro Ballan, BMC, s.t.
16. Davide Vigano, Leopard Trek, s.t.
17. Gorka Izagirre, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
18. Sergey Lagutin, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
19. Simon Gerrans, Sky Procycling, s.t.
20. Jose Ivan Gutierrez, Movistar, s.t.
21. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Movistar, s.t.
22. Simone Ponzi, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
23. Baden Cooke, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
24. Julien Loubet, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
25. Ben Hermans, Radio Shack, s.t.
26. Stijn Vandenbergh, Katusha, s.t.
27. Mathieu Perget, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0:32
28. Simon Zahner, BMC, s.t.
29. Yuriy Krivtsov, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0:33
30. Romain Feillu, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 0:35
31. Jurgen Roelandts, Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.
32. Inaki Isasi, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
33. Mirko Selvaggi, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
34. Francesco Reda, Quickstep, s.t.
35. Stuart O’Grady, Leopard Trek, s.t.
36. Ivan Velasco, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
37. David Lopez, Movistar, s.t.
38. Andriy Grivko, Astana, s.t.
39. Hayden Roulston, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
40. Mathew Hayman, Sky Procycling, s.t.
41. Addy Engels, Quickstep, s.t.
42. Serguei Ivanov, Katusha, s.t.
43. Cameron Wurf, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
44. Brett Lancaster, Garmin-Cervélo, s.t.
45. Jonathan Cantwell, UniSA-Australia, at 0:41
46. Ruben Perez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
47. Rob Ruijgh, Vacansoleil-Dcm, s.t.
48. Steve Houanard, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
49. Martin Kohler, BMC, s.t.
50. Juan Horrach, Katusha, s.t.
51. Tanel Kangert, Astana, s.t.
52. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, s.t.
53. Jack Bobridge, Garmin-Cervélo, s.t.
54. Davide Cimolai, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 0:58
55. Manuel Cardoso, Radio Shack, at 0:59
56. Tom Leezer, Rabobank, at 1:00
57. Denis Galimzyanov, Katusha, at 1:14
58. Miguel Minguez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:19
59. Richie Porte, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 1:31
60. Kristijan Koren, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 1:32
61. David Tanner, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 1:34
62. Nicki Sorensen, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 1:35
63. Gerald Ciolek, Quickstep, at 1:38
64. Alberto Ongarato, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 1:46
65. Angel Madrazo, Movistar, at 1:48
66. Alan Marangoni, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 1:59
67. Mitchell Docker, UniSA-Australia, at 2:15
68. Wesley Sulzberger, UniSA-Australia, at 2:20
69. Fabio Sabatini, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 2:21
70. Julien Vermote, Quickstep, at 2:27
71. Marcel Sieberg, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 2:51
72. Michael Rogers, Sky Procycling, at 3:08
73. Aitor Perez Arrieta, Lampre-ISD, at 3:09
74. Bruno Pires, Leopard Trek, at 3:26
75. Thomas De Gendt, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 3:30
76. Luis Pasamontes, Movistar, at 3:38
77. Jon Izaguirre, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 3:39
78. Alexander Kristoff, BMC, s.t.
79. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy, Astana, s.t.
80. Amael Moinard, BMC, at 3:56
81. Lance Armstrong, Radio Shack, s.t.
82. Adam Hansen, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 4:03
83. Stefan Denifl, Leopard Trek, at 4:15
84. Robbie Hunter, Radio Shack, at 4:27
85. Alessandro Spezialetti, Lampre-ISD, at 4:40
86. Nikolay Trusov, Katusha, at 4:47
87. Jos van Emden, Rabobank, s.t.
88. Simon Clarke, Astana, at 4:55
89. Luke Durbridge, UniSA-Australia, at 5:01
90. William Clarke, Leopard Trek, at 5:16
91. Maxim Gourov, Astana, at 5:32
92. Vitaliy Buts, Lampre-ISD, at 5:43
93. Travis Meyer, Garmin-Cervélo, at 5:51
94. Davide Malacarne, Quickstep, at 5:56
95. Jurgen Van De Walle, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 6:32
96. Alfredo Balloni, Lampre-ISD, at 6:33
97. Olivier Kaisen, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 6:40
98. Timothy Roe, BMC, at 6:49
99. Matthew Wilson, Garmin-Cervélo, at 6:53
100. Graeme Brown, Rabobank, at 7:00
101. Kristof Goddaert, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 7:07
102. Marco Bandiera, Quickstep, s.t.
103. Aleksandr Kuschynski, Katusha, at 7:22
104. Michael Hepburn, UniSA-Australia, at 7:41
105. Dimitri Champion, Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.
106. Daniel Sesma, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 8:21
107. Julian Dean, Garmin-Cervélo, at 8:28
108. Tyler Farrar, Garmin-Cervélo, at 8:38
109. Sebastian Haedo, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 8:40
110. Martin Pedersen, Leopard Trek, at 8:49
111. Vicente Reynes, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 9:18
112. Danny Pate, HTC-Highroad, at 9:59
113. Eduard Vorganov, Katusha, at 10:54
114. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, s.t.
115. Francesco Chicchi, Quickstep, s.t.
116. Valentin Iglinskiy, Astana, at 11:09
117. Brian Vandborg, Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
118. Markel Irizar, Radio Shack, at 11:42
119. Gregory Rast, Radio Shack, s.t.
120. Martin Mortensen, Leopard Trek, at 11:50
121. Juan Jose Haedo, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 12:27
122. Bert Grabsch, HTC-Highroad, at 12:39
123. Coen Vermeltfoort, Rabobank, at 13:25
124. John Murphy, BMC, at 13:56
125. Daniele Righi, Lampre-ISD, at 14:25
126. Joost Van Leijen, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 14:56
127. Bernhard Eisel, HTC-Highroad, at 15:14
128. Pieter Weening, Rabobank, at 16:19
129. Matteo Bono, Lampre-ISD, at 16:20
130. Mark Cavendish, HTC-Highroad, at 17:20
131. Jose Vicente Garcia, Movistar, at 19:00

FILED UNDER: News / Road TAGS: Cameron Meyer / Garmin-Cervelo / Tour Down Under

Stage 4

GC

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