January 18, 2007 – Belgian riders Steven Caethoven, 25, and his Chocolade Jacques team mate Pieter Ghyllebert, 24, stole the march on local hero Stuart O’Grady (Team CSC) today to post a one-two finish across the line at the end of the 150km second stage of the 2007 Tour Down Under from Mannum, through the Adelaide Hills to historic Hahndorf.

Caethoven stopped the clock at 3h36m29s with Ghyllebert and O’Grady one second behind him after the field put on a stunning display for the 85,000 fans who flocked to the circuit and delivered welcome news to his Belgian based fans shivering at home in the European winter.

The Chocolade Jacques team had been in the thick of the attacking action from the gun and their aggression paid off when they ended up with four riders in the lead group of twelve that contested the final sprint.

“Pieter Ghyllebert he launched me and behind me there was a gap … I don’t know why but it was easy for me,” said Caethoven of the 15th win of his four year professional career . “We got the King of the Mountain jersey yesterday (Sergey Pauwels) and today we got a stage win so the pressure’s off a little bit now.

“It’s just fantastic so early in the season, it’s a very big win and very important, it gives me a lot of confidence, said the Flemish cyclist who lives not far from Ghent. “Of course, it was four against one, but Stuart (O’Grady) was very strong and we had to give everything to beat him… he was very, very, very strong today

“There were constant attacks and in fact we had three little groups and they all came together – we had four guys, (at least) one in each group,” said Caethoven.

O’Grady, who was named the Century 21 Most Aggressive Rider of the stage, was a key player today especially towards the end of the race when he launched an attack which saw him joined by Victorian Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) and Spaniard Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel). The trio had been with a leading group of 15 but couldn’t hold off the Chocolade Jacques counter attack which swept them up 400 metres from home.

Despite the effort O’Grady still found the speed to get in the placings which was some consolation for the South Australian and two time winner of the event.

“You can break it down any way you want, but at the end of the day, I was in an ‘offensive’ mood from the start, I was a bit disappointed after yesterday and wanted to put a bit of pain on the bunch and try to put the leaders under a bit of pressure,” said O’Grady. “I did almost everything right, it was just unfortunate to fall upon four guys from the same team in the finish after such a hard day.

“That’s racing, it’s the beauty of having numbers at the finish…four in one group – when I saw that, I knew you’ve got everything cut out against you, you have to be ultra-aggressive,” he said. “I was kind-of hoping I’d be able to pull something from out of the hat and jump back in and beat them in the sprint.

“Actually, I’m pretty happy, it was a long-hard day and the form is probably better than I expected, actually,” said O’Grady who has team mate Lars Bak sitting in third overall, seven seconds off the lead. “We’re not here to finish third and eighth overall, we’re here to try to win the race, we’re going to do everything we can.”

The stage results had little impact on the overall rankings with all the main contenders safely ensconced in the main field which rode home 17m19s behind the stage winner. Tasmanian Karl Menzies (UniSA – Australia) is still wearing the leader’s ochre jersey and is one second ahead of Swiss rider Martin Elmiger (AG2R-Preovoyance) in second.

“It wasn’t too bad – they (UniSA Australia team) had to work pretty hard for 10 or 20km when there was a break with a GC rider (threat to my lead) in it at the start,” said Menzies. “But then they had a whole lot of time off, they rested up after the climb and they only rode tempo at the end.

“They’re world-class riders, they’re strong boys,” he said. “I wish they could push me all the way up Willunga (Stage 4 climb) that’s the only thing. They won’t be able to help me too much there but awesome team as they showed today. Awesome team and we can only see what happens.”

The race was again aggressive from the start with an early attack at 15 kilometres which saw 20 riders go off the front but with second placed overall Elmiger in the group there was no way it would succeed.

At the first ‘SA Lotteries’ intermediate sprint at Tungkillo (25.7km) 1997 world champion, Laurent Brochard (FRA – Bouyges Telecom) attacked to claim the maximum bonus seconds and points with Tasmanian Wes Sulzberger (AUS – SouthAustralia.com-AIS) second and CSC debutant Matt Goss (AUS) third. Five other riders joined them soon after and they worked together to gain a lead of almost one minute by the 28km mark.

The group held the advantage to the second intermediate sprint at Mt Torrens (44km) where Sulzberger claimed the honours ahead of Brochard with Giampaolo Cheula (ITA – Barloworld) third.

The race came back together by the 53km mark but as they approached the ‘A Brilliant Blend’ King of the Mountain at Lenswood the action hotted up. Over the top it was Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-Prevoyance) picking up the maximum points ahead of Navigators rider Sergey Lagutin (UZB) and his team mate Hilton Clarke (AUS). The pressure applied on the climb left the race in bits and in the wake of the climb seven riders had formed a leading group with 14 others in pursuit. The two groups came together at 85 kilometres to form a 21 strong attack.

The race headed through Hahndorf for the first of three 20 kilometre circuits with six less riders in the lead group and by the time they crossed at the bell with one circuit to go the attacks were coming thick and fast before twelve riders regrouped to contest the final sprint.

In the other classifications Luke Roberts (AUS-CSC) is tied on ten points for the ‘SA Lotteries’ Sprint Classification with three other riders but is higher ranked overall and takes over the lead.

Belgian Serge Pauwels (Chocolade Jaques) is tied on 16 points with Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-Prevoyance) but is ahead overall so holds onto the leader’s jersey in the ‘A Brilliant Blend’ King of the Mountain rankings. SouthAustralia.com-AIS rider Simon Clarke from Victoria still leads the ‘Share the Road’ Best Young Rider and his team has taken over the lead in the Bartercard Teams Classification.

Tomorrow’s the 110 remaining riders will depart from the Adelaide Hills town of Stirling at 11.00am for the 128 kilometre stage to Victor Harbor. Sydney Olympic track champion, Brett Aitken (UniSA – Australia) today abandoned the race after working hard early to chase down the attack of Elmiger for his team leader, Menzies, and ‘overcooking’ his effort.

The Tour Down Under is an internationally accredited race, endorsed by the world cycling federation, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and is owned and managed by Events South Australia, a division of the South Australian Tourism Commission.

The 2007 Tour Down Under runs from the 17 — 21 January 2007. For further information please visit the official website at www.tourdownunder.com.au

Results

1. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 3.36.29
2. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 0.01
3. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC
4. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
5. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
6. Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram
7. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com
8. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
9. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
10. Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
11. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole
12. Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
13. Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 0.08
14. Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 0.1
15. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 1
16. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7.16
17. Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team
18. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
19. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
20. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
21. Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
22. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 17.19
23. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
24. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
25. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance
26. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
27. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia-UniSA
28. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
29. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance
30. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel
31. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
32. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole
33. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
34. Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
35. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld
36. Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
37. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com
38. Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
39. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
40. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com
41. Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC
42. Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
43. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
44. Chris Jongerwaard (Aus) Australia-UniSA
45. Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team
46. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
47. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
48. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
49. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
50. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto
51. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC
52. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
53. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
54. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance
55. Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel
56. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
57. Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
58. James Perry (RSA) Barloworld
59. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld
60. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team
61. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
62. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
63. Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram
64. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
65. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
66. Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram
67. Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia-UniSA
68. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com
69. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia-UniSA
70. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
71. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
72. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
73. Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team
74. Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
75. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team
76. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team
77. Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia-UniSA
78. Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld
79. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team
80. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
81. Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
82. Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
83. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
84. Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
85. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
86. Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
87. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
88. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
89. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram
90. Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
91. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia-UniSA
92. Matthew White (Aus) Australia-UniSA
93. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
94. Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
95. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel
96. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
97. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram
98. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld
99. Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team
100. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
101. Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel
102. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld
103. Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
104. Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
105. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com
106. Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor-Lotto
107. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
108. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
109. Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com
110. Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Brett Aitken (Aus) Australia-UniSA

GC after Stage 2
1. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia-UniSA 7.44.33
2. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 0.01
3. Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 0.07
4. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.09
5. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 0.17
6. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 0.46
7. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
8. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.51
9. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld
10. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 1.04
11. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2.47
12. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.48
13. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 3.04
14. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
15. Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team
16. Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
17. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
18. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3.06
19. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 8.56
20. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 8.59
21. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC 9.01
22. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 9.03
23. Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
24. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
25. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
26. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com
27. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole
28. Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram
29. Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
30. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
31. Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 9.1
32. Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9.12
33. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 10.02
34. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 16.13
35. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 16.18
36. Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
37. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
38. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
39. Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team
40. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 24.41
41. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 26.16
42. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 26.2
43. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld
44. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 26.21
45. Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
46. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance
47. Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
48. James Perry (RSA) Barloworld
49. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance
50. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole
51. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
52. Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
53. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
54. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto
55. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
56. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
57. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia-UniSA
58. Chris Jongerwaard (Aus) Australia-UniSA
59. Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
60. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
61. Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
62. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
63. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com
64. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
65. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
66. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
67. Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld
68. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
69. Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia-UniSA
70. Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team
71. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld
72. Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia-UniSA
73. Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
74. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
75. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel
76. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld
77. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
78. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
79. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
80. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
81. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram
82. Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
83. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team
84. Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
85. Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
86. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com
87. Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
88. Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram
89. Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel
90. Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram
91. Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel
92. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team
93. Matthew White (Aus) Australia-UniSA
94. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
95. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
96. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com
97. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
98. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
99. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team
100. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram
101. Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
102. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia-UniSA
103. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
104. Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
105. Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor-Lotto
106. Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
107. Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team
108. Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com
109. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
110. Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Brett Aitken (Aus) Australia-UniSA