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Davis wins Tour Down Under, Chicchi takes final stage
Armstrong: “On track, if not ahead of schedule”
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He chose not to sprint ─ he didn’t have to ─ but regardless, Allan Davis’ 33rd place behind stage winner Francesco Chicchi Sunday in Adelaide saw him crowned winner of the 2009 Tour Down Under.
It’s been a monumental week for the bull terrier from Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, who, from this moment onwards, can definitively put the past behind him and move on to what many are predicting bigger and better things. “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride,” Davis told VeloNews, in reference to the past two seasons that saw his career in virtual limbo.
Stage 6: Adelaide City Council Street Circuit, 81km
Winner: Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas) wins 85-man sprint ahead of Robbie McEwen (Katusha) and Graeme Brown (Rabobank).
Final GC: Allan Davis (Quick Step), Stuart O’Grady (Saxo Bank), José Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne).
Average speed of winner: 47.647 kph.
Sprints winner: Allan Davis (Quick Step), 30 points.
Mountains Winner: Markel Irizar (Euskatel-Euskadi), 54 points.
Best young rider (Under 25): José Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne).
Final peloton: 122 riders.
“I’m not going to sit here and dwell about the past ─ I’m just happy what’s happened this week, and happy about the future. I (now) want to achieve my goals more than ever, so that’s all I’m concentrating on now, completing all my goals that I had set at the start of my professional career,” said Davis, where March’s Milan-San Remo and the September world road championships remain two of his unfulfilled childhood dreams. “There’s a special spot in my heart for both events,” he said, having finished second and fifth in those, respectively.
Based on his maturity at 28-years-old and the form displayed at the Tour Down Under, the 2009 edition of La Classicissima may well be his to have.
After 81 heart-racing kilometers Sunday ─ the circuit race cut short to 18, 4.5-kilometer laps due to live television coverage requirements, and dominated by a 13-man break that was caught inside two laps to go ─ the final sprint on Adelaide’s King William Road was not without controversy. The final 200 meters appeared to be a two-up drag race between Katusha’s Robbie McEwen and Rabobank’s Graeme Brown, but a tussle between the two that saw Brown pull his foot and left Liquigas’ Chicchi to profit from the mistake.
Said an angry McEwen: “They (the commissaries) think he clipped out of his pedal. But that’s not [what happened] ─ he rode into my handlebar and he came out of his pedal.
“He (Brown) basically ruined my sprint ─ I was passing him on the right, giving him a wide berth, and (Brown) decided he wanted to step into me. He’s hit my handlebars as I was coming past him, then came out of his pedal ─ nearly brought us both down ─ and it left Chicchi to win the stage, so it’s a bit disappointing,” McEwen said.
Brown responded: “In fact he hit me ─ he hit me in the shoe. “In the end, it wasn’t that bad because the commissaries didn’t do anything. This is just Robbie complaining because he didn’t win.
"If what he says about my riding style is true, why isn't it in the commissaire's report?" Brown added.
Apart from the previous Sunday’s Cancer Council Classic that he won, McEwen said he’s experienced a week of frustration. It’s in stark contrast to Davis of Quick Step ─ who Lance Armstrong repeatedly described as “invincible” here ─ and while the TDU may have finished with its sixth bunch sprint in as many days, because of or rather in spite of it, the race evolved into a highly tactical affair.
Davis, as André Greipel did last year, took full advantage of his fine form and finishing prowess to pry open his lead in the days leading to Saturday’s crucial smack-down on Old Willunga Hill. On that day in the historic McLaren Vale region, the Queenslander never panicked, limiting his losses on the three-kilometer, 7.5 per cent drag that was tackled twice, and rode within himself where he was surrounded by the warmth of his team-mates. He then used that loyalty to bridge back to the lead group, going as far as winning that stage too, and extended his lead to an unbeatable 25 seconds over Saxo Bank’s Stuart O’Grady and 30 seconds from José Joaquin Rojas of Caisse d'Epargne, which is how the final classification ended.
Was there a point where Davis thought he may never reach the highest level again?
“No ─ I knew it would all pass over,” he told VeloNews, “I just had to weather the storm.
“I had no doubt it’d pass over because I had nothing to do with the whole (Operación Puerto) saga. I just didn’t know how long it would take. It cost me a lot on the financial side of things… I’m not going to dwell on it; I’m trying to forget about it myself. But it’s made me a lot stronger than I was,” said Davis.
Armstrong back in business
Armstrong himself said he was feeling stronger than how he felt at the start of the week ─ going as far as having a dig to bridge to a lead group of six with two laps remaining. And while the move came to nought, the 37-year-old said after a minor adjustment to the angle of his saddle, Sunday was the best he’d felt all week long.
“I can’t lie ─ I felt pretty good today, so I thought I’d give it a go,” Armstrong said. “It helps when you have good legs. I actually felt the best today out of the entire week, so when you feel good, you have good legs, you gotta go for it, don’t you? It’s amazing when you get that seat angle right, it opens up the legs and (I) felt much better.”
What can only be described as an overwhelming reaction to his comeback ─ crowd estimates for the week totaled 740,000; kick-starting his global cancer awareness campaign with construction of a A$34 million cancer research facility named in his honor; proven ability to recover well after consecutive days’ hard racing; a new baby on the way; and if he’s good enough, a crack at winning the Centenary Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Armstrong is back, and back in a big way.
“I’d say we’re on track, if not ahead of schedule,” Armstrong said. “(My form is) definitely advanced (compared to previous years) because we’re doing the Giro, so you got to consider it’s two months’ advance that (one needs to accelerate) your conditioning ─ so the biggest fear is to try and figure out how June goes, and see if we can do the Giro, have a baby in June, and do the Tour in July.”
Related
- Final GC Results
Graham Watson stage 6 gallery- NEW ARTICLES: The Comeback Kid: Will Duggan Down Under | Evans sizes up Astana's chances in July | Best Young Rider Jose Rojas looks toward a winning season in Europe | Armstrong heads home
VIDEOS: Stage 5 Highlights |
Quick Step director Rick Van Slyke |
UniSA's Matt Wilson |
Silence Lotto's Matt Lloyd |
Best Young Rider Jose Roja |
Young star Jack Bobridge |
Stage winner Alan Davis |
A look at Wilunga Hill with Jens Voigt, Paul Sherwin and Stuart O'Grady
