TDU Stage 1 – David Tanner «Heinrich Haussler can do great things at this Santos Tour Down Under»

The Tour Down Under has opened up the season’s first WorldTour event for IAM Cycling, and not without its surprises.  On the Australian roads between Tanunda and Campbelltown, a group of four riders escaped the peloton.  At the finish, Jack Bobridge managed to win the stage ahead of his three companions and a fast charging peloton to take the first leader’s jersey of the race.

For the members of IAM Cycling, this first stage of the Tour Down Under bodes well for the rest of the race, according to Kjell Carlström.  “The day was rather quiet, at least for the first part of the stage,” said the sports director.

“Then we put Stef Clement at the front to work with Giant.  But in the end, just after the little climb, we made the mistake of letting a small group of 4 get free.  They rode à bloc and we never got back on terms with them.  Even just before the finish, the peloton was maybe 50 meters away, but even then, we could not get them back.”

Despite this misjudgment, Carlström saw nothing to alarm him throughout the day.  “Heino had very good legs.  We’ll try again tomorrow; I’m not worried.”  The rest of the team are equally confident.  “For the Tour Down Under, we really need to take the stages one day at a time,” David Tanner said.  “Checking out the stages, the second day is one that is good for me personally, and Heino can do great things too.  The second stage will be tougher than today, so we will have to be strong on the front and we will be there.”