January 22, 2012 (Adelaide, Australia) – Spaniard Alejandro Valverde won Stage 5 – the Queen stage of the Santos Tour Down Under edging out Australian road champion, Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) whose second place atop Old Willunga Hill put him into the race lead. It was Gerrans, however, who pulled through to win the overall 2012 Santos Tour Down Under victory after today’s final Stage 6.

Stage 5
Valverde (Movistar) stopped the clock at 3:45:48, half a wheel ahead of Gerrans as the pair both lunged for the line at the end of the Tour’s first ever hill top finish. Third across the line, two seconds back, was Tiago Machado (RadioShack-Nissan) with Canberra’s Michael Rogers (Sky) a further two seconds back in fourth place.

“I’m super happy, I can’t believe it,” said Valverde. “My team has been genius, I’ve won thanks to them. It’s an emotional moment for me.

“The stage suited me. We’ve put the team at the front and it’s a perfect comeback for me.”

After the bonus seconds were allocated Valverde and Gerrans were equal on time at the top of the standings but a countback of previous stage placings put Gerrans in the Santos Tour Down Under ochre race leader’s jersey to the delight of GreenEDGE team owner Gerry Ryan, fans and team officials in South Australia to celebrate the debut of the first Australian registered team to race the WorldTour.

“I’m rapt to have the lead going into the last stage. It’s such a big deal for GreenEDGE to take the lead into the last stage in their first WorldTour outing so I’m thrilled and really rapt with the whole team’s performance, they have really supported me all week so I really can’t thank the guys enough.”

Gerrans’ team mate and local legend, Stuart O’Grady, who was named Hindmarsh Most Aggressive rider of the day, was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and support from the crowd of 120,000.

“It was seriously like an end of the Tour de France stage. Look at all the people, the stadium, the finish. I would never have dreamed a bike race to be as big in Australia, let alone Adelaide and the people have been absolutely fantastic,” said O’Grady. “Coming up the hill today, it was like the tour.”

O’Grady was one of six riders in the only serious breakaway of the day that established early in the 151km race that covered three laps from McLaren Vale, through Willunga and out to Aldinga Beach before the final two loops took the race up Old Willunga Hill. Joining O’Grady was Briton Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma – Lotto), Belgians Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM), and Kristof Goddaert (AG2R La Mondiale), Tasmanian Nathan Haas (Garmin-Barracuda) and the Tour’s first Japanese entrant Takashi Miyazawa (Saxo Bank).

They contested both Jayco intermediate sprints with Goddaert winning the first sprint at Snapper Point (63.4km) and De Gendt the second at 103.4km.

But while the break rode out to a substantial lead early, the teams of the climbers had no intention of letting them stay away. Halfway up Old Willunga Hill for the first SKODA King of the Mountain they were all caught except for Haas who soloed over the top for the points.

“I thought my team mates are in that group so I thought moving out in front just gave them a sit on, and it would put some pressure on the legs of the other teams and I did that but unfortunately two of our riders got dropped and in the end it was only Jack Bauer,” said Haas who was caught on the descent. “It was inevitable …I knew that I didn’t have the legs to make up the climb the second time.”

As the front of the race regrouped the pace stayed high heading through Willunga for the last time with several attacks being launched. But in the end it was a select group of eight who challenged over the final 200 metres for a place on gthe podium.

UniSA-Australia’s Rohan Dennis, who recently claimed both the under 23 time trial and road race national titles, was in super form today and went all out to hold onto his lead in the SKODA King of the Mountain classification. He was third over the climb the first time and fifth on the stage to end the day with 29 points, five clear of De Gendt and Gerrans.

“The only way to do it is to put yourself in the race. I’m a little bit stuffed now but its all worth it in the end. I guess sometimes you need a little bit of form as well to have that confidence to actually go up the front but sometimes it’s just sort of a gut feeling, just sort of hope for the best,” said Dennis who is racing against some of his boyhood idols. “It’s always a bit of a worry because I know how good they actually are. I’m hoping they’re feeling or hurting as much as what I am. I just need to keep sort of positive when your at the front and you just think they’re hurting as much as you, really just stay as positive as possible.”

Dennis is also the top ranked in the Cycle Instead Young Rider (aged under 26) classification sitting five seconds ahead of Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) on the overall rankings and team manager Dave Sanders is thrilled with the way the composite national team has performed this week.

“I’m very proud of these kids [for holding onto the mountain jersey], I mean these are the best riders in the world, I just got them to believe not to be afraid of them, to race them,” said Sanders. “You’ll either get there or you won’t but you can’t (win) if you don’t have a go.”

Boasson Hagen is leading the Jayco Sprint classification on 46 points, 11 clear of two stage winner and previous race leader, Andre Greipel and hopes to hold onto that jersey and move a little higher up the standings from his current place of sixth at 18 seconds.

“My team did a great job and I managed to get up the climb first time so I felt really good,” said Boasson Hagen “(The second time) was really hard for me, so we managed to get over the top, so I’m so happy and the team did a great job today I thought.”

His team mate Rogers is sitting in fourth place overall at 14 seconds after an exhausting effort.

“The whole hill was pretty tough and there was strong head wind. The goal was to get everything out and scrape the bottom of barrel and I did that and I’m really happy,” said Rogers. “I jumped with 400 metres to go and Valverde and Gerrans got on my wheel and went when I blew. But I am really happy and it’s been a long time since I have been able to scrape the bottom of the barrel. It’s a win for myself and I am really happy.”

The leading team in the Brilliant Blend Team competition is RadioShack-Nissan-Trek who have a 24 seconds buffer over Sky ProCycling.

Stage 6
Victorian Simon Gerrans has sealed a fairytale debut for the fledgling GreenEDGE Australian professional cycling team by claiming overall victory in the 2012 Santos Tour Down Under.

Gerrans joins team mate and local hero Stuart O’Grady and today’s stage winner German Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) as the third rider in the event’s 14 year history to win the trophy twice.

Sunday’s final stage was raced over 20 laps of a street circuit at Elder Park on the banks of the Torrens River north of the Adelaide CBD. The 90-kilometre finale set off with the air temperature at 37 degrees Celsius but the heat from road made racing conditions much hotter.

Thirty-one-year-old Gerrans went into the stage tied on time with Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) but as race leader because of a lower total when the pair’s places on previous stages were tallied. There was also a handful of other riders hoping to improve their positions. But GreenEDGE were up to the challenge and vigilant throughout the stage making sure they covered every move.

“When I was told yesterday that I was getting the leader’s jersey, I didn’t feel any pressure at all, it was just a nice surprise. I knew it would give us a tough job for this last stage, but as it turns out, I can’t be happier,” said Gerran who two weeks ago won the elite men’s road race crown at the nationals. “This is just fantastic. I can’t thank the GreenEdge team enough for this victory.

“We had a tough task today to control Alejandro Valverde who is a classics rider. The last lap was very fast,” said a jubilant Gerrans, whose wife, Rahna, was in Adelaide to witness his win. “It’s an even sweeter victory than my first one here in 2006. It gives me the opportunity to thank for the first time the Ryan family (GreenEDGE team owners Gerry and Andrew) and (GreenEDGE General Manager) Shayne Bannan for putting this team together. It couldn’t be a better start for us.

“I had Robbie McEwen looking after me (and) that was pretty special since it was his last race in Australia,” said Gerrans of his team mate McEwen who holds the record for the most stage wins in the history of the Santos Tour Down Under, 12. Greipel today notched up his 11th stage win.

“What can I say?” said Greipel after flashing across the line a good bike length clear of Australian Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and Italian sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre). “The team Lotto-Belisol has just been amazing in leading me out to my third win of the week.

“It looks easy but it’s not,” he said. “I was nowhere in the front on GC (overall) this year but I’m happy with the sprint finishes. I always like to come to South Australia. It’s just nice to start the new season here rather than train in Europe.”

Further back in the peloton were Valverde and Gerrans who crossed the line 25th and 27th respectively split only by Gerran’s stage finish pilot McEwen who made sure the Spaniard was well marked.

“I’m just really happy and proud to be part of this team here at the Santos Tour Down Under. I’m not retiring today, that was my last Aussie race officially, but the season’s not done. I am still going to race for another four months after this,” said McEwen. “It’s a fantastic way to go out as far as Australia racing is concerned. I joined the team and was really excited about being a part of the GreenEDGE project racing in an Aussie team, our national team. It was all about winning the jersey and that’s the success for the team, it feels like a personal win to be a part of it.”

Despite not being on the top step of the podium Valverde was satisfied to have won the Tour’s first ever hilltop finish yesterday.

“I am very happy with finishing second in the Santos Tour Down Under,” said Valverde. “The outcome is much better than I expected when I came to Australia. Today was a super fast stage with a bit of wind that made it even more difficult. I’m very happy.”

At the end of the 803km six day event both Gerrans and Valverde remained deadlocked on 20:46:12 but Gerrans’ stage placings added up to a total of 102 and Valverde’s 175 giving the Australian the win.

“I certainly am [happy],” said GreenEDGE Team Director, Matt White, who last year steered Cameron Meyer to victory. “To win the Santos Tour Down Under with our newly crowned National Champion, we couldn’t have written a better script. [I’m] elated, just elated.”

Third place overall went to Portuguese rider Tiago Machado (RadioShack-Nissan) who was eight seconds back with Canberra’s Michael Rogers (Sky Pro Cycling) fourth at 14 seconds. On the same time as Rogers in fifth place was 21 year old Rohan Dennis (UniSA-Australia) who recently claimed both the under 23 time trial and road race national titles.

Dennis was in superb form this week to claim the SKODA King of the Mountain classification and the Cycle Instead Best Young Rider (under 26) trophy.

“I wasn’t sure I was actually going to finish this race,” said Dennis explaining the effect on him of the fast start to the stage. “I was pretty happy it slowed down, I think everybody was. With that surge at the start it almost slowed it down and made it a little bit easier towards the end.”

Dennis was also given the Tanya Denver Award as the highest placed South Australian overall.

Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen had hoped to climb higher in the overall rankings today but an attack from Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Nissan) netted the Belgian some crucial bonus seconds in the Jayco intermediate sprints and pushed Boasson Hagen back to seventh. Bakelants’ audacious attack also saw him named the Hindmarsh Most Aggressive rider of the stage.

But Sky’s Boasson Hagen did hold onto his lead in the Jayco Sprint Classification to claim the trophy with 56 points, six ahead of Greipel.

“I got the jersey but I would like to be more up in the final stage, but I managed to keep the jersey so that’s a good thing,” said Boasson Hagen. “It’s an early start to the season and to be on top form now is difficult. I’m happy to be on OK form and I can still get better.”

The Brilliant Blend Team trophy was awarded to RadioShack-Nissan-Trek who were 24 seconds ahead of Sky ProCycling after the times of the top three ranked riders from each team were tallied.

“We like to win a team GC and on top of that we managed to place Tiago, we are pretty happy with the outcome of the race,” said team captain Jens Voigt.

The final word goes to the man considered the most successful cyclist of all time, Belgian legend Eddy Merckx who was a special guest at this year’s event.

“It was a great race and I will be thanking everybody, everything was great,” said Merckx.

Results
Stage 5
1. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar 3:45:48
2. Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE
3. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan 0:02
4. Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:04
5. Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 0:07
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:12
7. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar 0:13
8. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
9. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Barracuda 0:26
10. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha
11. Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:29
12. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:32
13. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:43
14. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling 0:55
15. Angel Madrazo (Esp) Movistar 1:05
16. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 1:18
17. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC
18. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar
19. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC 1:50
20. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:22
21. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank 2:23
22. Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Esp) Katusha
23. José Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) Movistar
24. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Procycling
25. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 2:25
26. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol
27. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
28. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas – Cannondale
29. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ – BigMat 2:33
30. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Rabobank 2:35
31. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre – ISD
32. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda 2:55
33. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 3:15
34. Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:23
35. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 3:31
36. Jesse Sergent (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
37. Oscar Freire (Esp) Katusha
38. Hayden Roulston (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
39. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda
40. Jay Mccarthy (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
41. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
42. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC
43. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
44. Gorka Izagirre Inausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4:02
45. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ – BigMat
46. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC
47. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil -DCM
48. David Lopez (Esp) Movistar 5:31
49. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
50. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
51. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda 5:46
52. Martin Elmiger (Sui) AG2R La Mondiale 5:48
53. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha
54. Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEDGE 6:38
55. Vincente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto-Belisol 7:09
56. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
57. Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
58. Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
59. Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM
60. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM
61. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda
62. Mattéo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
63. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana
64. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
65. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
66. Lachlan Norris (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
67. Sérgio Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank
68. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha
69. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank
70. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7:41
71. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil -DCM 9:50
72. Andrew Fenn (GBR) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 9:52
73. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
74. Stuart O’grady (Aus) GreenEDGE
75. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto-Belisol 10:52
76. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
77. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
78. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling 12:02
79. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
80. Matt Goss (Aus) GreenEDGE
81. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
82. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
83. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
84. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana
85. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank
86. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank
87. Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
88. Adrián Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
89. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
90. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo Bank
91. Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Astana 13:33
92. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar
93. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
94. Greg Henderson (NZL) Lotto-Belisol 14:02
95. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC 16:42
96. Dmitri Muravyev (Kaz) Astana
97. Robbie Mcewen (Aus) GreenEDGE
98. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol
99. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ – BigMat
100. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol
101. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
102. Stefano Agostini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
103. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
104. Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
105. Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil -DCM
106. Leigh Howard (Aus) GreenEDGE
107. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
108. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
109. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil -DCM
110. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD
111. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
112. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil -DCM
113. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC
114. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
115. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre – ISD
116. Luke Durbridge (Aus) GreenEDGE
117. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana
118. Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre – ISD
119. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
120. William Clarke (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
121. Victor Cabedo (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
122. Tom Palmer (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
123. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda
124. Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda
125. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
126. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana
127. Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
128. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC
129. Alex Dowsett (GBR) Sky Procycling
130. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

Stage 6
1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 1:56:48
2. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
3. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
4. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ – BigMat
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
7. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil -DCM
8. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
9. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
10. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
11. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
12. Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil -DCM
13. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
14. Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling
15. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
16. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Barracuda
17. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana
18. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
19. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
20. Andrew Fenn (GBR) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
21. Greg Henderson (NZL) Lotto-Belisol
22. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda
23. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
24. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
25. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar
26. Robbie Mcewen (Aus) GreenEDGE
27. Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE
28. Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank
29. José Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) Movistar
30. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
31. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha
32. Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
33. Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Esp) Katusha
34. Angel Madrazo (Esp) Movistar
35. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan
36. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
37. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC
38. Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
39. Mattéo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
40. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
41. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
42. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
43. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar
44. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
45. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar
46. Jay Mccarthy (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
47. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
48. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha
49. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC
50. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil -DCM
51. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas – Cannondale
52. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank
53. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
54. Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
55. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol
56. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC
57. Vincente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto-Belisol
58. Jesse Sergent (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
59. Hayden Roulston (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
60. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank
61. Adrián Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
62. Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
63. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
64. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Rabobank 0:16
65. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana
66. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Procycling 0:17
67. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
68. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
69. Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM
70. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha
71. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
72. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
73. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
74. Martin Elmiger (Sui) AG2R La Mondiale
75. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
76. William Clarke (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
77. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank 0:27
78. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol
79. Luke Durbridge (Aus) GreenEDGE 0:30
80. Matt Goss (Aus) GreenEDGE
81. Alex Dowsett (GBR) Sky Procycling
82. Stuart O’grady (Aus) GreenEDGE
83. Sérgio Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank 0:36
84. David Lopez (Esp) Movistar
85. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
86. Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
87. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC
88. Oscar Freire (Esp) Katusha
89. Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Astana
90. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda
91. Gorka Izagirre Inausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
92. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM
93. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC
94. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana
95. Lachlan Norris (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
96. Tom Palmer (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
97. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:41
98. Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
99. Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre – ISD
100. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
101. Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
102. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 0:54
103. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 0:58
104. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto-Belisol 1:02
105. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo Bank
106. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 1:05
107. Stefano Agostini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
108. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
109. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
110. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
111. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil -DCM
112. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC
113. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD
114. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil -DCM
115. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ – BigMat
116. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre – ISD
117. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC 1:38
118. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank 1:42
119. Leigh Howard (Aus) GreenEDGE
120. Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEDGE 2:15
121. Dmitri Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 2:43
122. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 2:44
123. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda 2:48
124. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 3:03
125. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4:28
126. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre – ISD 5:02
DNF Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda
DNF Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
DNF Victor Cabedo (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi

Final Overall GC
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE 20:46:12
2. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar
3. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan 0:08
4. Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:14
5. Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
6. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:16
7. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:18
8. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar 0:23
9. Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:29
10. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha 0:32
11. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Barracuda 0:34
12. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:42
13. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:47
14. Angel Madrazo (Esp) Movistar 1:15
15. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC 1:16
16. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar 1:27
17. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 1:28
18. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:30
19. Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Esp) Katusha 2:33
20. José Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) Movistar
21. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank
22. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas – Cannondale 2:35
23. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
24. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC 2:36
25. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ – BigMat 3:00
26. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Rabobank 3:01
27. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol 3:02
28. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ – BigMat 3:11
29. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda 3:22
30. Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:33
31. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 3:41
32. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC
33. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
34. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 3:42
35. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre – ISD 3:50
36. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha 3:58
37. Oscar Freire (Esp) Katusha 4:07
38. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil -DCM 4:12
39. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda 4:17
40. Gorka Izagirre Inausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4:48
41. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan 5:37
42. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC 6:16
43. Vincente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto-Belisol 7:19
44. Sérgio Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank 7:55
45. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 8:09
46. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Procycling 8:30
47. Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEDGE 9:01
48. Jay Mccarthy (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 11:25
49. Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 12:53
50. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ – BigMat 13:02
51. Martin Elmiger (Sui) AG2R La Mondiale 14:00
52. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha 14:16
53. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling 15:21
54. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM 15:40
55. Hayden Roulston (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan 16:06
56. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 17:15
57. Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM 18:13
58. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil -DCM 18:41
59. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ – BigMat 18:47
60. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
61. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana 19:07
62. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 19:57
63. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
64. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 19:59
65. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi 20:04
66. David Lopez (Esp) Movistar 21:09
67. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 21:20
68. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 21:28
69. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling 21:32
70. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank 22:12
71. Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Astana 22:30
72. Jesse Sergent (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan 23:51
73. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 24:04
74. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda 24:11
75. Andrew Fenn (GBR) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 24:32
76. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil -DCM 24:37
77. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
78. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
79. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank 25:17
80. Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre – ISD 25:18
81. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 25:33
82. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 25:41
83. Adrián Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 25:52
84. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 25:53
85. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil -DCM 26:19
86. Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 26:55
87. Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 27:26
88. Mattéo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 27:29
89. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana 27:46
90. Lachlan Norris (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 28:05
91. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 28:34
92. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 28:35
93. Stefano Agostini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
94. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD
95. Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 28:39
96. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto-Belisol 29:52
97. Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana 30:19
98. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda 31:08
99. William Clarke (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 31:49
100. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda 32:37
101. Matt Goss (Aus) GreenEDGE 32:38
102. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank 32:49
103. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 33:16
104. Stuart O’grady (Aus) GreenEDGE 33:39
105. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar 33:53
106. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ – BigMat 36:52
107. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
108. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 37:02
109. Greg Henderson (NZL) Lotto-Belisol 37:12
110. Tom Palmer (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 37:38
111. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 38:00
112. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC 38:40
113. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC 38:44
114. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana 38:53
115. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank 39:34
116. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo Bank 39:55
117. Dmitri Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 40:22
118. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank 40:30
119. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre – ISD 42:21
120. Robbie Mcewen (Aus) GreenEDGE 43:33
121. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC
122. Leigh Howard (Aus) GreenEDGE 45:15
123. Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil -DCM 46:23
124. Alex Dowsett (GBR) Sky Procycling 46:53
125. Luke Durbridge (Aus) GreenEDGE 47:01
126. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 50:01