Among pro cyclists, UCI president Pat McQuaid is not loved. At last year’s Tour de France, when asked what motivates the Union Cycliste Internationale and its president, 2010 World Champion Thor Hushovd had a two-word response: “No comment.” Hushovd’s reluctance to express his opinion of the UCI is representative of a peloton that is often suspicious of the goals and motives of their sport’s Switzerland-based governing body.

Yet, while McQuaid, a 62-year-old Irishman who won the Tour of Ireland in both 1975 and 1976 is a frequent target for criticism, his passion for the sport is palpable. As we head into the 2012 season, VeloNews’ Mark Johnson spoke to McQuaid at length to collect his views on the state of pro cycling.

The UCI was formed in 1900 by representatives from national cycling federations from Belgium, Italy, France, the United States, Switzerland, and Italy. Today, McQuaid says its primary role is still unifying international cycling interests under a single governing umbrella. The UCI’s charter, he explains, “is to regulate the sport and to develop the sport.” That worldwide mission is handed down by the International Olympic committee.

Looking back at 2011, and with WorldTour pros already racing in January in Australia and Argentina, McQuaid says he takes satisfaction in the continued globalization of the sport. “Australia, Canada and China shows the sport is going in a very good direction,” he points out, referring to The Santos Tour Down Under, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal and Québec, and the first-year Tour of Beijing event organized by the UCI’s race promotion company, Global Cycling Promotion.

In Europe, “we had a very good Classics season, a very good Grand Tour season, in particular with the Tour de France, which had exceptional television viewership, particularly throughout Europe. It shows that cycling is on a good track.”
One reason McQuaid cites satisfaction with the Grand Tours is that they were free of major doping scandals. “Anti doping continues to be successful, continues to progress. Last year we did about four and a half thousand blood tests both in and out of competition on the top 950 riders that are in our registered testing program, which is an average of almost five tests per rider. It’s substantial and its paying its dividends.”

At least when compared to American pro sports, pro cycling drug testing and penalties really are considerable. It wasn’t until 2011 that a major American pro sport, the National Football League, began conducting blood testing, but the actual implementation is now stalled in discussions with the players’ union. And in Major League Baseball, drug positive tests are punished with penalties that range from 15- to 30-day suspensions for first time offenses with recreational drugs and stimulants. Getting busted for steroids only results in a 50-game suspension (about a third of the season). Cycling bans pros for two years on the first offense and the rider must forfeit their salary.

Partly because of the UCI’s draconian approach to doping penalties, and also due to the changing cultural acceptance of doping among younger pros, McQuaid points out that cycling is becoming a cleaner sport. This progress “makes me feel good,” he says. He adds that “the image of the UCI within the international Olympic movement, within the other international federations, and within the international sports movement and within WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] is extremely high as a federation that is doing its work in anti doping very, very seriously.”

While cycling is by no means beyond its doping past, cycling’s reforms have made it something of a role model for other sports. McQuaid admits that “It is true it could be an example for other major sports, in particular probably American professional sports that could or should be following the UCI example or should be following a much stricter and stronger anti-doping code than they currently do. The two or three major American leagues, they are just about paying lip service to anti doping.”

Yet, the UCI has its own image problems when it comes to enforcing its policies. Most famously, both Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis accused the organization of selectively enforcing tests involving Lance Armstrong. And to add to this perception that the UCI may not be the exemplar it claims to be, during his career Armstrong donated $125,000 to the UCI at the same time he was riding under their governance.

While both Armstrong and the UCI say accusations of underhanded dealings are nonsense, and while neither Hamilton nor Landis have much credibility, the balloons of suspicion have been released. Of these accusations, McQuaid responds that they are “very unfortunate, but the UCI refutes it completely. The UCI will not accept to be accused of corruption. We will act and we are acting because Floyd Landis accused us directly of corruption. We won’t accept that. The UCI has always worked with whatever measures were available to it, and I’m talking about scientific measures, to fight against doping.”

Referring to Marion Jones, the track and field athlete who returned her five Sydney Olympic gold medals after admitting that she had been doping, McQuaid points out that athletes in cycling and other sports can work with doctors and scientists to beat the system. “Marion Jones, you know, who claimed to have done so many hundred anti-doping tests during her career and she was never caught positive, she beat the system.”

McQuaid is clearly exasperated by doping athletes who work with scientists and doctors for years to outfox testing protocols, and then point to all their testing negatives as proof of their purity: “You can’t blame that on the UCI. We can only work with what the scientific community provides us with.”

As for the accusations that the UCI protects certain riders, he concludes, “To be accused of not being consistent in our decisions and how we go after dopers is completely unacceptable and there’s no evidence to that effect. There are guys making stories, guys whose careers are over who can say what they want; they’ve obviously no respect for the sport of cycling anymore and they couldn’t care less about it and all they want to do is bring it down and bring people down with it. But the UCI is big enough and strong enough and the sport of cycling is strong enough that guys like that will not bring it down. It’s common practice for some reason in cycling that guys who get caught red handed, so to speak, turn and decide to blame everybody else but themselves.”

In this exclusive interview with one of the world’s best one-day riders, Gerrans talks about his last two years riding at Team Sky; his burning ambition to win one of the three Ardennes Classics (where, following his TDU victory, his odds have shortened from ‘possibly’ to ‘probably’) and how to beat Philippe Gilbert; on a course tailor-made for someone like him, this year’s road world championships in Holland; and whether in the near future, he’d consider targeting week-long stage races such as Paris-Nice or the Tour de Romandie.

TDU video with Jens Voigt – Part II: The bucket list

More videos from the Tour Down Under

But Valverde proved he could still be a factor on the bike, taking a morale-boosting victory in his first stage race since the Tour de Romandie in the spring of 2010.

Valverde kicked his way to victory with a trademark punch atop the Old Willunga Hill in Saturday’s penultimate stage.

Valverde didn’t hold back the pent-up emotions and called the win “the most special” of his career en route to second overall behind winner Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge).

“It’s been excessive emotions, being able to show off all the fury I was keeping inside,” Valverde said after the win. “I couldn’t resist to tears at the finish. To a sentimental value, I’d say this is the most special victory in my career. It’s been hard months of training at home, taking care of myself with no competition … and you remember all of that.”

The victory bodes well for Valverde, who will race next at the Mallora Challenge ahead of his first major goal of the season at Paris-Nice in early March.

Movistar sport director Jose Luis Arrieta said the team leaves Australia “very satisfied” and said the return of Valverde raises the level of the squad.

“The team was at the same level as last year, but with Valverde, everyone shines a little more,” Arrieta said. “Personally, I had no doubt that Valverde wouldn’t be back at his same level. He has something that only a few riders in the world, and when you do your work, and you stay in your place, it’s rare that things don’t go well. When we got here, everyone was asking if he was going to be the same, and everyone was watching him, and there was even more work to score the win.”

“What can I say?” said Greipel, moments after finishing a good bike-length clear of Australian Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and Italian sprint ace, Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD), to claim victory on the final 90-kilometer stage, held in Adelaide’s CBD.

However, in case anyone was wondering, he added: “It looks easy but it’s not.”

“I was nowhere in the front on GC this year but I’m happy with the sprint finishes. I always like to come to South Australia. It’s just nice to start the new season here, rather than train in Europe.”

View TDU video with Jens Voigt — Part I: A Leopard can change its spots

With the mercury regularly rising above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Adelaide Hills this week, riders have been forewarned by their respective teams to drink plenty before, during and after each day’s stage.

But that advice has often led to some being caught short, feeling the need to relieve themselves at the side of the road during the race despite the presence of spectators.

The peloton was reminded Friday morning by organizers of the season’s opening WorldTour event that such behavior, which is fairly common in pro cycling, was not acceptable and they would be fined accordingly.

Under an International Cycling Union (UCI) rule with the heading “Insults, threats, unseemly behavior”, Australia’s Robbie McEwen, Jens Voigt of Germany, New Zealand’s Hayden Roulston and race leader Martin Kohler of Switzerland were among 12 riders handed fines of 50 Swiss francs ($54).

The race continues Saturday with a potentially decisive stage five which finishes on Old Willunga Hill. It finishes Sunday with a 90-kilometer (56-mile) street race in Adelaide.

BMC rider, Kohler, who took the ochre jersey Wednesday from former two-time champion Andre Greipel, handed it back to the Lotto sprinter Thursday after the German’s second stage win.

Greipel, however, was among a 90-man group left struggling after a determined spell of pace-setting on Menglers Hill allowed around 40 riders to go clear of the main peloton.

After a technical finish into the Barossa Valley town of Tanunda, Spanish veteran Oscar Freire took the stage honors to claim his first win of the season, and his first for his new Russian outfit Katusha.

He finished ahead of Germany’s Gerald Ciolek and Italian Daniele Bennati, with overall victory contenders Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) and Michael Matthews (Rabobank) coming close behind.

“It’s great to get this first win of the season for myself and the team I just joined,” said Freire, a former three-time world champion making his race debut on what is his final season.

“It was a difficult finale, but that suited me. I won because the race was made hard.”

After his victory Thursday Greipel claimed that Saturday’s stage finish on Willunga Hill would end his overall race ambitions.

However the German dominated the field at the first intermediate sprint to add three bonus seconds to his eight-second overnight lead on Kohler.

That decision was like a “red flag” to the Australian GreenEdge team, who are keen to secure the win for national champion Simon Gerrans.

With around 23 km (14 miles) to race, they drove the pace hard early on the 3.5 km-long climb to Menglers Hill, and after being joined by the Movistar team of Alejandro Valverde their combined efforts left most of the peloton struggling.

“That was like a red flag for us,” GreenEdge’s Matt White told AFP, referring to Greipel’s earlier sprint.

“On Menglers Hill I used Robbie (McEwen) and Matt (Goss) and Leigh (Howard) just to put the pressure on and make it really intense.

“We wanted to put the sprinters into the red early. Movistar then moved up and took over from us. It split the peloton very early on the climb.”

The stragglers chased, but at the finish most came over the line over six minutes in arrears.

GreenEdge’s efforts kept Gerrans well in contention for a second Tour Down Under victory, but with a number of other contenders only seconds off the pace the team could be in for another tough day on Saturday.

Kohler meanwhile has found himself in the unexpected position of being able to win the overall race.

“I didn’t expect to get the jersey again,” said Kohler.

“I only got it because Greipel was dropped on the climb. After that, we rode hard to make the gap bigger.

“Tomorrow there will 15 riders contending the win at the top of Willunga. Whether I keep the jersey depends a lot on how the race goes.”

In the heart of South Australia’s Barossa wine-growing region, the 35-year-old Spaniard, who recently decided to call this year his last, led home a break of 50 riders who went clear on the final climb of the day, leaving overnight leader, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol), almost eight minutes behind.

“It was a difficult finale,” said Freire. “I knew I had a really good chance to win. The race was hard, (so) it was better for me.

“I’m happy to score the team’s first victory of the year after joining Katusha,” he said, who is in his first race for the Russian outfit, having previously ridden for Rabobank the past nine seasons.

Meanwhile, the ochre leader’s jersey is back on the shoulders of Swiss rider Martin Kohler (BMC Racing), who finished with the lead group of 49 riders and is a mere two seconds ahead of both Australian Michael Matthews (Rabobank) and Freire, in second and third place overall, respectively.

“I didn’t expect to be back in the lead but we dropped André Greipel on the climb and then we were riding hard to make the gap bigger,” Kohler said.

“Tomorrow, there will be 10 or 15 riders contesting the win at the top of Willunga Hill. It’s going to be very hard and I don’t know if I can keep this lead or not, but I’m already happy with what I’m doing here.

Matthews was a little disappointed to not be in the race lead but was looking on the bright side. “The jersey I want is ochre and I’ll try to get it tomorrow,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that I missed it today by only two seconds. (But) not having the jersey today takes a lot of pressure off you, but it’s also better to be ahead of everyone else.”

The race continues Saturday with the queen stage, and marks the first time the race has finished at the top of a climb with the 151.5km route starting in McLaren Vale and ending atop Old Willunga Hill, which the riders will climb twice.

• 1. Oscar FREIRE GOMEZ, (ESP) Kat, at 3:08:34
• 2. Gerald CIOLEK, (GER) Opq, +0
• 3. Daniele BENNATI, (ITA) Rsh, +0
• 4. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN, (NOR) Sky, +0
• 5. Michael MATTHEWS, (AUS) Rab, +0
• 6. Jose Joaquin ROJAS GIL, (ESP) Mov, +0
• 7. Luke ROBERTS, (AUS) Sax, +0
• 8. Kristijan KOREN, (SLO) Liq, +0
• 9. Sergey LAGUTIN, (UZB) Vcd, +0
• 10. Heinrich HAUSSLER, (AUS) Grm, +0
• 11. Jérémy ROY, (FRA) Fdj, +0
• 12. Javier MORENO BAZAN, (ESP) Mov, +0
• 13. Serge PAUWELS, (BEL) Opq, +0
• 14. Vicente REYNES MIMO, (ESP) Ltb, +0
• 15. José Ivan GUTIERREZ PALACIOS, (ESP) Mov, +0
• 16. Maxim BELKOV, (RUS) Kat, +0
• 17. Simon GERRANS, (AUS) Gec, +0
• 18. Bernard SULZBERGER, (AUS) Aus, +0
• 19. Geraint THOMAS, (GBR) Sky, +0
• 20. Greg VAN AVERMAET, (BEL) Bmc, +0
• 21. Wilco KELDERMAN, (NED) Rab, +0
• 22. Xavier FLORENCIO CABRE, (ESP) Kat, +0
• 23. Angel MADRAZO RUIZ, (ESP) Mov, +0
• 24. Jan BAKELANTS, (BEL) Rsh, +0
• 25. Romain LEMARCHAND, (FRA) Alm, +0
• 26. Eduard VORGANOV, (RUS) Kat, +0
• 27. Adam HANSEN, (AUS) Ltb, +0
• 28. Giampaolo CARUSO, (ITA) Kat, +0
• 29. Federico CANUTI, (ITA) Liq, +0
• 30. Sandy CASAR, (FRA) Fdj, +0
• 31. Biel KADRI, (FRA) Alm, +0
• 32. Martin KOHLER, (SUI) Bmc, +0
• 33. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE, (ESP) Mov, +0
• 34. Rohan DENNIS, (AUS) Aus, +0
• 35. Ryder HESJEDAL, (CAN) Grm, +0
• 36. Michael ROGERS, (AUS) Sky, +0
• 37. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, (ESP) Eus, +0
• 38. Cameron MEYER, (AUS) Gec, +0
• 39. Tiago MACHADO, (POR) Rsh, +0
• 40. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL, (ESP) Rab, +0

Lotto rider Greipel, a former two-time winner of the season’s first WorldTour event, gave up the ochre jersey to Swiss time trial champion Martin Kohler, of BMC, on Wednesday’s uphill finish at Stirling.

TDU Stage 3 video: Greipel, the wizard of Oz

However the German moved back into pole position after outclassing Belarusian Yauheni Hutarovitch (FDJ) and Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) with a powerful drive to the line at the end of a 134.5 km stage from Unley to Victor Harbour.

Already victorious in the pre-race criterium on Sunday, Greipel won the opening stage on Tuesday, when he also lost valuable teammate Jurgen Roelandts to neck injuries in a 15-rider pile-up.

In Roelandts’ absence, Greipel relied on his other teammates — and duly finished off the job in style. But, he was quick to try and lift stricken Roelandts’ spirits.

“This victory is for Jurgen Roelandts, who’s giving us his support from the hospital,” said Greipel, who won his first Tour de France stage in 2011 and finished third at last year’s world championships. ”Although we have three injured riders, we still have a great team.

“The most important point of today’s race was the one kilometre to go mark, I asked my guys to put me there in fifth or sixth position, and they did.”

Hutarovitch, whose FDJ team are making their return to cycling’s top flight, thought his sprint was enough for the win.

“It was a mad finish, because of all the roundabouts, the wind and the sheer speed,” said Hutarovitch, who finished third on Tuesday’s sprint.

“I went for it with 200 to go and until 20-30 metres to the finish I was still leading and thought I had it.

“Then I just saw Greipel powering past me. I’m encouraged, because I’ve been among the best sprinters in the race. But I would still have preferred to win.”

Thanks to the 10 bonus seconds he picked up for his win, Greipel now has an eight-second lead over Kohler, with Rabobank sprinter Michael Mathews in third at 12.

GreenEdge all-rounder Simon Gerrans, the new Australian champion, is fifth at 16 seconds, with Boasson Hagen on the same time.

Boasson Hagen has come close to beating Greipel twice so far, but his latest bid was hampered by some misfortune.

“I was a bit boxed in in the last couple of hundred metres so it was hard to get through. A Rabobank guy came on the left side, forced me out into the wind and after that it was too hard to pass,” said the Norwegian.

“And when I got to the finish I realised I had a puncture, so that didn’t help.”

The race continues Friday with a 130 km ride from Norwood to Tanunda. However the potential race decider will likely be on Saturday when the fifth stage finishes on Old Willunga hill, which should fully test the climbing abilities of the sprinters who want to win the race.

Greipel, for example, has all but given up hope of a third overall triumph, adding, “I’m happy to be in the lead again, but the time bonus doesn’t matter really because the Willunga stage is too hard for me.”

Down two men, the hulk of a man nevertheless stormed into Victor Harbor Thursday to capture the third stage of the Tour Down Under, and with 10 seconds’ time bonuses, the race lead to boot.

The Lotto-Belisol rider, who won both the Down Under Classic the previous Sunday and two days later, the opening stage to Clare, was simply too fast for FDJ-BigMat’s Yauheni Hutarovich, who lost by half a wheel, and his Norwegian nemesis, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky), who finished third.

“We’re nearly three riders down but the rest of the team that is not injured was awesome today,” said Greipel.

The stage win put the German back into the ochre leader’s jersey with an eight-second buffer from Swiss rider Martin Kohler (BMC Racing). Australian Michael Matthews (Rabobank) finished with the bunch and remains in third place overall, 12 seconds behind.

“I’m happy to get back into the lead but the time bonus isn’t important, in my mind,” Greipel said, who has twice won overall honors (in 2008 and 2010), but concedes he is unlikely to win a third.

“The Willunga stage (Saturday) is too hard for me to win GC this year. With two stage wins, we’ve already reached our goal. We can’t have everything and we just take it day by day.”

In the first five kilometers, a group of three broke away made up of Eduard Vorganov (Katusha) and Belgians Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek) and Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM). They were soon joined by Ireland’s Matthew Brammeier (Omega Pharma-Quickstep).

The break stretched to a maximum lead of around five minutes but the peloton, after failing to catch Clarke yesterday, judged the chase to perfection.

After the sprint at Goolwa, Brammeier tried a solo attack off the front as the peloton reeled in his fellow escapees. He held on for a few more kilometers, but alas for the Irishman, it wasn’t to be his day, and 10km from home, the pace was frenetic as the sprinters jostled for position.

“The one kilometer to go mark was the most important point of today’s stage,” said Greipel.

“I told my teammates, ‘I need to be in fifth or sixth position.’ They did a great job to put me there and I finished it off.”

De Gendt’s efforts along the road moved him up to fourth overall, 14 seconds off Greipel’s lead. “The legs are not so good but I will try to attack. I think tomorrow is best for me just to stay in the peloton and then Old Willunga Hill is going to be so hard, but I am going to try and be in the front.”

Meanwhile, Matthews still leads the best young rider classification but was disappointed with his efforts, as he and Mark Renshaw reversed roles due to the former’s position on the overall standings.

“The boys had a really good lead-out for me and I just couldn’t hold the wheel in the last couple of kilometers,” he said. “It just got a bit messy and Mark Renshaw held the lead-out but I just wasn’t there to finish it (off).”

Thursday’s fourth stage travels 130km from Norwood in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs to Tanunda in the Barossa wine region.

• 1. André GREIPEL, (GER) Ltb, + 3:21:55
• 2. Yauheni HUTAROVICH, (BLR) Fdj, +0
• 3. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN, (NOR) Sky, +0
• 4. Mark RENSHAW, (AUS) Rab, +0
• 5. Robbie MCEWEN, (AUS) Gec, +0
• 6. Jacopo GUARNIERI, (ITA) Ast, +0
• 7. Heinrich HAUSSLER, (AUS) Grm, +0
• 8. Daniele BENNATI, (ITA) Rsh, +0
• 9. Manuel BELLETTI, (ITA) Alm, +0
• 10. Christopher SUTTON, (AUS) Sky, +0
• 11. Matteo TRENTIN, (ITA) Opq, +0
• 12. Michael MATTHEWS, (AUS) Rab, +0
• 13. Romain FEILLU, (FRA) Vcd, +0
• 14. Jonathan CANTWELL, (AUS) Sax, +0
• 15. Gerald CIOLEK, (GER) Opq, +0
• 16. Steele VON HOFF, (AUS) Aus, +0
• 17. Jose Joaquin ROJAS GIL, (ESP) Mov, +0
• 18. Xavier FLORENCIO CABRE, (ESP) Kat, +0
• 19. William BONNET, (FRA) Fdj, +0
• 20. Simon GERRANS, (AUS) Gec, +0
• 21. Julien VERMOTE, (BEL) Opq, +0
• 22. Kristof GODDAERT, (BEL) Alm, +0
• 23. Geraint THOMAS, (GBR) Sky, +0
• 24. Michael ROGERS, (AUS) Sky, +0
• 25. Thomas PALMER, (AUS) Aus, +0
• 26. Linus GERDEMANN, (GER) Rsh, +0
• 27. Luke ROBERTS, (AUS) Sax, +0
• 28. Jan BAKELANTS, (BEL) Rsh, +0
• 29. Jack BAUER, (NZL) Grm, +0
• 30. Wouter MOL, (NED) Vcd, +0
• 31. Martijn MAASKANT, (NED) Grm, +0
• 32. Danilo HONDO, (GER) Lam, +0
• 33. Hayden ROULSTON, (NZL) Rsh, +0
• 34. Mirko SELVAGGI, (ITA) Vcd, +0
• 35. Sergey LAGUTIN, (UZB) Vcd, +0
• 36. Kristijan KOREN, (SLO) Liq, +0
• 37. Serge PAUWELS, (BEL) Opq, +0
• 38. Bernard SULZBERGER, (AUS) Aus, +0
• 39. Ryder HESJEDAL, (CAN) Grm, +0
• 40. Biel KADRI, (FRA) Alm, +0

“This is unbelievable really. This is the biggest win of my career, (and) it’s my first win in the WorldTour,” said Clarke. “I knew my form was good.”

The 26-year-old broke away in the opening kilometers of the stage with Swiss rider Martin Kohler (BMC Racing), and by the 30km mark, they amassed an eight-minute-plus lead on the peloton.

Courtesy of finishing first in the two intermediate sprints, Kohler’s six bonus seconds elevated him into virtual race leadership, two seconds ahead of overnight leader, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) – a margin that would set in stone by day’s end.

“It was a little bit surprising and if nobody was following, why not (attack)?” said Kohler.

“It means a lot, because it is my first leader’s jersey and it is one of my favorite days here in Australia. But it is early in the season; for sure it’s good to be already in good shape, but I know it’s going to be hard (with the fifth stage to Willunga Hill), which is a longer stage with an uphill finish and is different and more tough than other years.

“It’s going to be really hard for me to defend the jersey because I think the last two days I have lost a little bit of energy,” he said.

Kohler dropped back to the bunch after claiming his sprint bonuses, leaving Clarke alone in front for the final 90km. “I was dying in the last 10 kilometers,” said Clarke.

“It’s amazing that a breakaway rider can stay away for so long. It’s sort of my specialty to keep going.”

Thursday, the race leaves the cosmopolitan shopping hub of Unley for a 134.5km route that takes in the breathtaking countryside of both the McLaren Vale and the picturesque coastal scenes of the Fleurieu Peninsula. The finish is in the seaside town of Victor Harbor.

Realizing life in advertising was nothing like Mad Men and buoyed by the Olympic Games in his Australian hometown of Sydney, Anthony Tan turned his back on a lucrative copywriting career in 2000 in pursuit of something more cerebral. Combining wordsmithing with his experiences as an A-Grade club racer and an underwhelming season competing in Europe, a career as a cycling scribe beckoned… More than a dozen Grand Tours and countless Classics later, it’s where he still is today. He has been a contributor to VeloNews since 2006. In 2010, he won Cycling Australia’s media award for best story. Follow him on Twitter: @anthony_tan

• 1. Martin KOHLER , (SUI) Bmc, in 15:03:34
• 2. Michael MATTHEWS , (AUS) Rab, +2
• 3. Oscar FREIRE GOMEZ , (ESP) Kat, +2
• 4. Gerald CIOLEK , (GER) Opq, +6
• 5. Simon GERRANS , (AUS) Gec, +8
• 6. Daniele BENNATI , (ITA) Rsh, +8
• 7. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN , (NOR) Sky, +8
• 8. Jan BAKELANTS , (BEL) Rsh, +8
• 9. Eduard VORGANOV , (RUS) Kat, +8
• 10. Rohan DENNIS , (AUS) Aus, +9
• 11. Biel KADRI , (FRA) Alm, +10
• 12. Jose Joaquin ROJAS GIL , (ESP) Mov, +11
• 13. Xavier FLORENCIO CABRE , (ESP) Kat, +12
• 14. Luke ROBERTS , (AUS) Sax, +12
• 15. Sergey LAGUTIN , (UZB) Vcd, +12
• 16. Kristijan KOREN , (SLO) Liq, +12
• 17. Michael ROGERS , (AUS) Sky, +12
• 18. Serge PAUWELS , (BEL) Opq, +12
• 19. Romain LEMARCHAND , (FRA) Alm, +12
• 20. Giampaolo CARUSO , (ITA) Kat, +12
• 21. Adam HANSEN , (AUS) Ltb, +12
• 22. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE , (ESP) Mov, +12
• 23. Bernard SULZBERGER , (AUS) Aus, +12
• 24. Heinrich HAUSSLER , (AUS) Grm, +12
• 25. Linus GERDEMANN , (GER) Rsh, +12
• 26. Alessandro BALLAN , (ITA) Bmc, +12
• 27. José Ivan GUTIERREZ PALACIOS , (ESP) Mov, +12
• 28. Ryder HESJEDAL , (CAN) Grm, +12
• 29. Vicente REYNES MIMO , (ESP) Ltb, +12
• 30. Julien VERMOTE , (BEL) Opq, +12
• 31. Greg VAN AVERMAET , (BEL) Bmc, +12
• 32. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL , (ESP) Rab, +12
• 33. Jack BAUER , (NZL) Grm, +12
• 34. Tiago MACHADO , (POR) Rsh, +12
• 35. Sandy CASAR , (FRA) Fdj, +12
• 36. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI , (ESP) Eus, +12
• 37. Federico CANUTI , (ITA) Liq, +12
• 38. Angel MADRAZO RUIZ , (ESP) Mov, +12
• 39. Cameron MEYER , (AUS) Gec, +12
• 40. Sergio Miguel Moreira PAULINHO , (POR) Sax, +12

• 1. William CLARKE , (AUS) Aus, at 3:58:35
• 2. Michael MATTHEWS , (AUS) Rab, at 1:02
• 3. Simon GERRANS , (AUS) Gec, at 1:02
• 4. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE , (ESP) Mov, at 1:02
• 5. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN , (NOR) Sky, at 1:02
• 6. Oscar FREIRE GOMEZ , (ESP) Kat, at 1:02
• 7. Greg VAN AVERMAET , (BEL) Bmc, at 1:02
• 8. Luke ROBERTS , (AUS) Sax, at 1:02
• 9. Gerald CIOLEK , (GER) Opq, at 1:02
• 10. Heinrich HAUSSLER , (AUS) Grm, at 1:02
• 11. Cameron MEYER , (AUS) Gec, at 1:02
• 12. Sergey LAGUTIN , (UZB) Vcd, at 1:02
• 13. Jan BAKELANTS , (BEL) Rsh, at 1:02
• 14. Linus GERDEMANN , (GER) Rsh, at 1:02
• 15. Tiago MACHADO , (POR) Rsh, at 1:02
• 16. Bernard SULZBERGER , (AUS) Aus, at 1:02
• 17. Michael ROGERS , (AUS) Sky, at 1:02
• 18. Xavier FLORENCIO CABRE , (ESP) Kat, at 1:02
• 19. Kristijan KOREN , (SLO) Liq, at 1:02
• 20. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI , (ESP) Eus, at 1:02
• 21. Biel KADRI , (FRA) Alm, at 1:02
• 22. Eduard VORGANOV , (RUS) Kat, at 1:02
• 23. Giampaolo CARUSO , (ITA) Kat, at 1:02
• 24. Julien VERMOTE , (BEL) Opq, at 1:02
• 25. Jussi VEIKKANEN , (FIN) Fdj, at 1:02
• 26. Jonathan CANTWELL , (AUS) Sax, at 1:02
• 27. Ryder HESJEDAL , (CAN) Grm, at 1:02
• 28. Alessandro BALLAN , (ITA) Bmc, at 1:02
• 29. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL , (ESP) Rab, at 1:02
• 30. Rohan DENNIS , (AUS) Aus, at 1:02
• 31. Romain LEMARCHAND , (FRA) Alm, at 1:02
• 32. Serge PAUWELS , (BEL) Opq, at 1:02
• 33. Jose Joaquin ROJAS GIL , (ESP) Mov, at 1:02
• 34. Romain FEILLU , (FRA) Vcd, at 1:02
• 35. Sandy CASAR , (FRA) Fdj, at 1:02
• 36. André GREIPEL , (GER) Ltb, at 1:02
• 37. Nathan HAAS , (AUS) Grm, at 1:02
• 38. Javier MORENO BAZAN , (ESP) Mov, at 1:02
• 39. Martin KOHLER , (SUI) Bmc, at 1:02
• 40. Danilo HONDO , (GER) Lam, at 1:02
• . , , at

The Belgian was taken to the hospital immediately following the crash, ending his participation in the stage race.

Although he narrowly avoided the crash himself, race leader André Greipel will feel the results of the crash in the coming stages with the loss of his fellow Lotto-Belisol teammate. “I am lucky that I won today, there was a massive crash with 800 metres to go,” said Greipel.  ”My pedal got touched, and I lost positions from about fifth to 20th, but I managed to bridge the gap.”

Greipel has a third overall win on his mind, but Roelandts’ crash will put added strain on his team. “We lost one rider, Roelandts, and it will be hard to defend the title,” said Greipel, a German sprint specialist who won the race in 2008 and 2010.  ”He’s one of my main lead-out guys, one of the strongest for the GC (general classification) because he can climb and sprint good.”

Greipel criticized the race organizers for what he believed was an unsafe final sprint. “We did 150km today, and why do we have to do a downhill sprint?” said Greipel after the race. “We did 75km per hour. If something happens you cannot react.”

In temperatures that were said to have reached 124 degrees F according to AFP, Greipel took the ochre leader’s jersey in a photo finish against Lampre rider Alessandro Petacchi, after also winning the pre-race criterium on Sunday.

Although his participation in the Tour Down Under has come to an end this season, Roelandts is expected to be able to get back on the bike “between three and six weeks,” according to Lotto-Belisol.