2019 Tour Down Under

2019 Tour Down Under
2019 UCI World Tour, race 1 of 38
Race details
Dates15–20 January 2019
Stages6
Distance827.5 km (514.2 mi)
Winning time20h 30' 42"[1]
Results
Winner  Daryl Impey (SAF) (Mitchelton–Scott)
  Second  Richie Porte (AUS) (Trek–Segafredo)
  Third  Wout Poels (NED) (Team Sky)
Mountains  Jason Lea (AUS) (UniSA–Australia)
Youth  Chris Hamilton (AUS) (Team Sunweb)
Sprints  Patrick Bevin (NZL) (CCC Team)
  Team UAE Team Emirates
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The 2019 Tour Down Under was a road cycling stage race, that took place between 15 and 20 January 2019 in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It was the 21st edition of the Tour Down Under and the first race of the 2019 UCI World Tour.[2][3]

For the first time in the race's 21-year history,[4] the previous year's winner was able to defend their race title as Mitchelton–Scott's Daryl Impey from South Africa took the overall honours on the final day. Impey had trailed New Zealand's Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) by seven seconds going into the stage, finishing at Willunga Hill, but Bevin lost almost six minutes on the day, due to injuries suffered in a crash the previous day.[5] Although Impey finished third on the stage to Australian Richie Porte of Trek–Segafredo – who won the Willunga stage for the sixth successive year[6] – and Team Sky rider Wout Poels from the Netherlands, Impey won the general classification and the race's final ochre jersey by thirteen seconds from Porte,[1] with Poels a further four seconds arrears (due to the bonus seconds on the finish line) in third place.

Despite not winning the race overall, Bevin took the blue jersey awarded for the sprints classification.[7] In the race's other classifications, UniSA–Australia rider Jason Lea led the mountains classification from the opening day to the finish, edging out Poels on countback,[8] while Chris Hamilton, also from Australia, was the winner of the white jersey for the young rider classification for Team Sunweb,[9] finishing in sixth place overall, after that particular jersey changed hands after every day of racing. The team classification was won by UAE Team Emirates, who led from the opening day onwards, with the team having one stage victory – earned by Jasper Philipsen, who was making his début with a UCI WorldTeam.[10]

  1. ^ a b "General Classification Stage 6" (PDF). MATSport.fr. MATSport Timing. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  2. ^ "UCI reveal WorldTour calendar for 2019". Cycling News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. ^ "2019 Santos Tour Down Under Dates Announced". Tour Down Under. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  4. ^ Bacon, Ellis (20 January 2019). "Impey takes his second Tour Down Under title in a row". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  5. ^ Bacon, Ellis (20 January 2019). "Crowdpleaser Bevin vows to return to Tour Down Under". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  6. ^ Benson, Daniel (20 January 2019). "Impey wins the 2019 Tour Down Under as Porte takes Willunga". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Sprint Classification Stage 6" (PDF). MATSport.fr. MATSport Timing. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. ^ "KOM Classification Stage 6" (PDF). MATSport.fr. MATSport Timing. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Best Young Rider Classification Stage 6" (PDF). MATSport.fr. MATSport Timing. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. ^ Evans, Josh (19 January 2019). "Philipsen left with mixed feelings after first WorldTour victory". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 20 January 2019. The stage victory is the 20-year-old Belgian's first as a WorldTour rider, coming just five days into his WorldTour career after spending the 2018 season with Axel Merckx's Hagens Berman Axeon development team in the United States.