Wearing the blue jersey of the points classification, by proxy, Matt Walls couldn’t repeat his performance of day 1 (3rd) on Wednesday. In Tanunda, after 128 kilometres, another sprint did conclude the second stage of the Tour Down Under. However, the Briton and his lead-out man Lewis Askey were unable to find their way to the front in the last hectometres, and the sprinter had to settle for tenth place on the line. Thursday, the GC riders will be expected in Uraidla.
Except for the last day in the streets of Adelaide, the peloton of the Tour Down Under tackled the shortest stage of the race on Wednesday. Just one hundred and twenty-eight kilometres were to be covered around Tanunda, but the climb of Menglers Hills (2.8 km at 6.6%), featuring three times on the course, including with just twenty-three kilometres to go, was supposed to spice up the day’s menu. Supposedly. In fact, the day turned out to be calmer than expected, first with a three-man breakaway including Fergus Browning, Patrick Konrad, and Georg Zimmermann, which the peloton serenely controlled. “It was a traditional scenario,” said Jussi Veikkanen. “We expected a bit more racing given the course and the wind, but that didn’t happen.” The break was also reeled in quite early, forty-five kilometres from the finish, while the tension was increasing as the final time up Menglers Hills approached.
“Matt and Lewis were on the same page,” Jussi Veikkanen
But there again, the battle didn’t last long, for a very simple reason. “There was quite a strong headwind on the last climb, which calmed everyone down,” explained Jussi. “A few teams wanted to make it hard, the leader Sam Welsford was dropped and ended up in a small group, but it all came back together afterwards. The climb didn’t do that much damage, and I think a lot of riders were also saving themselves for tomorrow.” Lewis Askey and Rémy Rochas proved attentive on the climb, while Quentin Pacher had to make an intense chase after a mechanical problem on the way back to Tanunda. “It was close,” said Jussi. “The commissaires had already blocked the cars because Welsford was dropped, and Quentin ended up with the leader and his teammates after changing bikes. He came back but it was a close call.” As for the Australian, he took advantage of his return to the peloton to take part in the sprint… and win it.
Well positioned by Clément Davy, Lewis Askey and Matt Walls were however unable to make their effort in the last kilometre, and the English sprinter couldn’t find his way through and really fight for the top positions. “Some riders slowed down in front of Matt, he got boxed in and couldn’t do his sprint,” Jussi commented. “He had some regrets at the finish. It’s a shame but that’s part of cycling. Lewis and Matt had a good chat at the finish, they were on the same page, so it’s a good thing. Let’s move forward!” Before another potential sprint, they will have to face the punchy finish towards Uraidla on Thursday, where a 2,700-metre climb averaging almost 8% will come just six kilometres from the finish. “The third and fifth stages are the hardest,” Jussi recalled. “We can’t win the Tour Down Under tomorrow, but we can lose it. We’ll need to be up there.”
