January 21, 2016 (Campbelltown, Australia) – Simon Gerrans has snatched the race lead from fellow Australian Jay McCarthy with a scorching sprint into Campbelltown to win the Thomas Foods Stage 3 of the Santos Tour Down Under. Gerrans, a three time winner of the race, led a select group of ten riders across the finish line, half a wheel in front of defending champion Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) with Canadian Michael Woods (Cannondale) third.

The beachside suburb of Glenelg hosted the start of today’s Thomas Foods Stage 3 that took the race through the Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Hills with the highlight of the action coming on the infamous Corkscrew Road climb that led to a super fast descending final 5.7 kilometres of the stage.

“It was super tough going up to Corkscrew,” said Gerrans after his win.” There are obviously some good climbers in the race and I had to dig deep to stay up there.

“I just came back over the top to the guys in front of me to catch the escapees right at the beginning of the descent,” said Gerrans who yesterday was one of the riders who crashed inside a kilometre from the line after riding a near perfect stage to that point.

Today his Orica GreenEdge team mates again did their job to protect him and set him up for the climb.

“I was in a really good position coming into Corkscrew and thanks to them I got this great result,” he said. “I’m just happy to get the win at the end.”

Overnight leader, McCarthy (Tinkoff), finished fourth, just outside the placings and the time bonuses, which means he now sits three seconds behind Gerrans while Dennis is ranked third at five seconds.

The flag to start the race proper was still moving when Belgian Laurens De Vreese (Astana) launched an attack from the bunch setting himself up for a long, hot, lonely day at the front of the race that today attracted 115 thousand spectators.

He set up a handy lead and was first across the line at the iiNet intermediate sprint at McLaren Flat, 34 kilometres into the stage. The main field upped the pace as headed to the sprint with the favourites keen to grab one of the minor placings and a time bonus.

Movistar’s Juan Lobato del Valle was too quick for McCarthy who claimed a one second bonus for his third place on the line. Gerrans also tried his luck.

“We tried to go for the first intermediate sprint but I didn’t have the legs,” said Gerrans. “I was a bit stiff from the crash yesterday so I wasn’t able to score any points or any seconds in the first sprint.”

De Vreese’s lead, that had come down at the sprint, stretched again after the line and at one stage topped four minutes.

That meant he also collected the second iiNet sprint of the day at Oakbank at 95km while back in the bunch Tinkoff was setting up McCarthy for another burst. This time however, Orica GreenEdge was in the mix to try and stymie McCarthy’s bid for another time bonus.

Ewan outsprinted McCarthy who had to settle for another one second bonus. Gerrans didn’t contest the second intermediate iiNet sprint choosing to rest his legs for the final assault.

As the race headed into the final 20 kilometres De Vreese’s day in the spotlight was over and he was unceremoniously caught, passed and dropped. He did however earn the Alpecin Most Competitive Rider award for his efforts.

“It’s better to go on the attack than do nothing,” said De Vreese. “I tried to have somebody coming up the road with me but someone has to be first to attack.

“It was me and I was alone so it was a long day for me but it became a good training and I’m very happy to get the trophy for the most competitive rider.”

The pace was relentless as the teams of the main contenders worked to position their men at the front for the category one Subaru King of the Mountain climb up Corkscrew Road.

A small group of riders crashed before the climb causing a split in the peloton and leaving anyone not in the front group with no chance of regaining the leaders.

On the climb Colombian Sergio Henao (Team SKY) led Woods over the top after the pair broke clear. Italian Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) was next under the banner with Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and Simon Gerrans the next to crest the hill.

“You’re always thinking about the victory,” said Henao. “If the climb was steeper or longer, I am sure I could have gotten away. We could see the group coming back, so it was important to be there with the leaders.

“I had a good winter training in Colombia, and came here with good condition, he said. “The team is working well, and we will see at Willunga Hill (Saturday). I will try to take the victory there.”

A group of ten riders formed at the front and flew down the descent before making the sharp right hand turn onto the finishing straight to battle for stage honours.

McCarthy was disappointed to relinquish his lead but remains a threat for overall honours.

“Definitely it would have been nice to keep the jersey but in the long picture, I know how much the boys had to work hard,” said McCarthy. “They did a great job today.

“I’m gonna keep going for it as hard as I can,” said McCarthy who still leads the Europcar Young Rider classification. “It’s all new to me to be going for the overall classification at this level but I’ve done it before as an under 23 and at the Tour of Turkey so I know how to handle the pressure.

“If my legs can do it, I’ll be able to do it,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy says being out of the lead will ease the pressure on his Tinkoff team mates who will not have to defend the jersey in tomorrow’s Bupa Stage 4 where crosswinds are expected to create challenging conditions.

Third places Woods was thrilled to be in thick of the action today.

“I spoke with my sport director before coming here, and he said do not put limits on yourself,” said Woods. “I was feeling good on the climb, and had the self-confidence to keep going.

“I’ve always watched the Tour Down Under on TV, and heard Phil Liggett calling the races, and now I am doing it myself. It’s like a dream come true.”

Results
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 3:37:34
2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
3. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale
4. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff
5. Steve Morabito (Sui) FDJ
6. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lotto Soudal
7. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
9. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
10. Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Esp) Team Movistar
11. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Esp) Astana 00:13
12. Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale
13. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek–Segafredo 00:22
14. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
15. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale
16. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
17. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
18. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
19. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Giant–Alpecin
20. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha
21. Georg Preidler (Aut) Giant–Alpecin
22. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana
23. Jesús Herrada (Esp) Team Movistar
24. José Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Team Movistar
25. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
26. Davide Malacarne (Ita) Astana
27. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
28. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx–Quick-Step
29. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Team Dimension Data
30. George Bennett (Nzl) LottoNL–Jumbo
31. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
32. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
33. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek–Segafredo
34. Chris Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
35. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre–Merida
36. Carlos Verona (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
37. Louis Meintjes (Rsa) Lampre–Merida
38. Rein Taaramäe (Est) Team Katusha
39. Nathan Earle (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling 00:43
40. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky
41. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL–Jumbo
42. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling 01:16
43. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
44. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team 01:21
45. Nathan Haas (Aus) Team Dimension Data
46. Patrick Shaw (Aus) UniSA-Australia
47. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
48. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal
49. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
50. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
51. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre–Merida
52. Jascha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Movistar 01:43
53. Patrick Lane (Aus) UniSA-Australia 01:51
54. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
55. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff
56. Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx–Quick-Step 32:00
57. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
58. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL–Jumbo
59. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica–GreenEdge 01:00
60. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica–GreenEdge
61. Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) Team Katusha
62. Steele von Hoff (Aus) UniSA-Australia
63. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa)
64. Gavin Mannion (USA) Drapac Pro Cycling 03:09
65. Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Soudal 03:47
66. Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
67. Carter Jones (USA) Giant–Alpecin
68. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Team Movistar
69. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha 04:45
70. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana
71. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek–Segafredo
72. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek–Segafredo
73. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek–Segafredo
74. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
75. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal 05:02
76. Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale
77. Murilo Fischer (Bra) FDJ
78. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre–Merida
79. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha
80. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Movistar 05:34
81. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
82. Jaco Venter (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
83. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale
84. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 05:58
85. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff 06:00
86. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff 06:39
87. Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff
88. Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
89. Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Lampre–Merida 06:58
90. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Dimension Data
91. Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre–Merida
92. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ 07:30
93. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 07:32
94. Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling 07:35
95. Marcel Aregger (Sui) IAM Cycling
96. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team
97. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale
98. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
99. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky
100. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge
101. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
102. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana
103. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 07:41
104. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 08:30
105. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge
106. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
107. Simon Geschke (Ger) Giant–Alpecin
108. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana
109. Koen De Kort (Ned) Giant–Alpecin
110. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek–Segafredo
111. Adam Blythe (Gbr) Tinkoff
112. Cheng Ji (Chn) Giant–Alpecin
113. Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
114. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 08:43
115. Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team Katusha 08:58
116. Martijn Keizer (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 09:01
117. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
118. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
119. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) AG2R La Mondiale
120. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) UniSA-Australia
121. Sean Lake (Aus) UniSA-Australia
122. Songezo Jim (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
123. Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
124. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
125. Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM Cycling
126. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana
127. Juan José Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Team Movistar
128. Bert De Backer (Bel) Giant–Alpecin
129. Davide Martinelli (Ita) Etixx–Quick-Step 09:40
130. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge
131. Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling 10:22
132. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale
133. Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 12:30
134. Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek–Segafredo
135. Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Dimension Data 13:07
136. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff 13:11
137. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre–Merida

GC after Stage 3
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 10:28:12
2. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff 00:03
3. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 00:05
4. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale 00:11
5. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 00:15
6. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lotto Soudal
7. Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Esp) Team Movistar
8. Steve Morabito (Sui) FDJ
9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
10. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
11. Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale 00:28
12. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Esp) Astana
13. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre–Merida 00:31
14. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale 00:37
15. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
16. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Giant–Alpecin
17. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Team Dimension Data
18. José Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Team Movistar
19. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha
20. Davide Malacarne (Ita) Astana
21. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
22. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
23. Carlos Verona (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
24. Georg Preidler (Aut) Giant–Alpecin
25. Jesús Herrada (Esp) Team Movistar
26. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx–Quick-Step
27. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
28. George Bennett (Nzl) LottoNL–Jumbo
29. Louis Meintjes (Rsa) Lampre–Merida
30. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek–Segafredo
31. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek–Segafredo
32. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
33. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana
34. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
35. Rein Taaramäe (Est) Team Katusha
36. Chris Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
37. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
38. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky 00:58
39. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL–Jumbo
40. Nathan Earle (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
41. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling 01:31
42. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
43. Patrick Shaw (Aus) UniSA-Australia 01:36
44. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
45. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
46. Nathan Haas (Aus) Team Dimension Data
47. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal
48. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
49. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
50. Jascha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Movistar 01:58
51. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 02:06
52. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff
53. Patrick Lane (Aus) UniSA-Australia
54. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL–Jumbo 02:47
55. Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx–Quick-Step
56. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
57. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa) 03:15
58. Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) Team Katusha 03:16
59. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica–GreenEdge
60. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica–GreenEdge
61. Gavin Mannion (USA) Drapac Pro Cycling 03:24
62. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre–Merida 03:27
63. Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling 04:02
64. Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Soudal
65. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Team Movistar
66. Carter Jones (USA) Giant–Alpecin
67. Steele von Hoff (Aus) UniSA-Australia 04:40
68. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana 05:00
69. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
70. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
71. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 05:12
72. Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale 05:17
73. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale 05:49
74. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Movistar
75. Jaco Venter (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
76. Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ 06:54
77. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff
78. Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff
79. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre–Merida 07:08
80. Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Lampre–Merida 07:13
81. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 07:18
82. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal 07:43
83. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 07:47
84. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 07:56
85. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek–Segafredo 08:27
86. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 08:30
87. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana 08:39
88. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 08:58
89. Juan José Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Team Movistar 09:14
90. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) UniSA-Australia 09:16
91. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
92. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana
93. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek–Segafredo
94. Songezo Jim (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
95. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ 09:26
96. Murilo Fischer (Bra) FDJ 09:55
97. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale 10:16
98. Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling 10:37
99. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff 10:53
100. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 10:58
101. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky 11:21
102. Simon Geschke (Ger) Giant–Alpecin 11:49
103. Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre–Merida 11:51
104. Sean Lake (Aus) UniSA-Australia 12:21
105. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana 12:28
106. Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek–Segafredo 12:45
107. Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
108. Adam Blythe (Gbr) Tinkoff 13:01
109. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha 13:16
110. Koen De Kort (Ned) Giant–Alpecin 13:23
111. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
112. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff 13:26
113. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step 13:48
114. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) AG2R La Mondiale 13:54
115. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Dimension Data 13:57
116. Davide Martinelli (Ita) Etixx–Quick-Step 14:11
117. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky 14:40
118. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek–Segafredo 15:12
119. Bert De Backer (Bel) Giant–Alpecin 15:39
120. Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling 15:49
121. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 16:01
122. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 16:06
123. Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
124. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 16:29
125. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek–Segafredo 16:44
126. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
127. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 17:09
128. Marcel Aregger (Sui) IAM Cycling 17:35
129. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale 18:32
130. Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale 19:23
131. Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM Cycling 19:28
132. Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Dimension Data 21:13
133. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre–Merida 21:25
134. Martijn Keizer (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 22:44
135. Cheng Ji (Chn) Giant–Alpecin 22:58
136. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 24:40
137. Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team Katusha 25:00