January 19, 2007 – Wet weather struck the Tour Down Under for the first time in the nine year history of the race but it did little to dampen the entusiasm of the 40,000 fans or the international field that set a cracking pace to complete the third stage more than half an hour ahead of schedule. 110 riders lined up in Stirling for the 128 kilometre stretch from the Adelaide Hills to the Fluerieu Peninsula and the beachside suburb of Victor Harbor where 2003 Tour de France sprint champion, Baden Cooke, 28, (Unibet.com) left everyone in his wake to claim victory.

Despite soggy conditions and, at times, driving rain, Cooke’s finishing time of 2h37m55s gave the lead group an average speed for the day of 48.6 km/h. South Australian mountain bike specialist Chris Jongewaard (UniSA Australia) was second, five seconds behind and Tasmanian 20 year old Matt Goss (Team CSC) made it an Australian trifecta sprinting home 19 seconds after Cooke in third place.

“It’s always good to kick off with a win, we’ve gone into the ProTour (Unibet.com awarded ProTour status for 2007) this year and we want to make a big impact, that’s the best way to start,” said Cooke who won two stages of the Tour Down Under in 2003 and another one in 2004. “I rang my parents this morning and said keep an eye out, I’m going to have a crack.

“I’d had two days looking after my legs in the peloton, I knew my legs were good,” he said. “Until 40km to go I wasn’t really touching the pedals – I felt really good and Jeremy Hunt (his team mate) did a huge amount of work in the final to pull it altogether for me and I’m just glad I could put it together for him.”

Cooke arrived at the finish drenched but says the rain motivated him to get to the finish as quickly as possible.

“Some of the other nice, sunny days it’s nice sitting in the back group, cruising along, having a chat,” said Cooke. “Today, it’s not nice either in the front or back, so I thought I may as well get out there and get amongst it and at least I’d get home and dry a bit earlier.”

Cooke was one of 19 riders who split from the field in the first ten kilometres of the stage and by the 15 kilometre mark had a one minute lead on the bunch. All in the group were more than 26 minutes off the time of overnight leader Karl Menzies (UniSA Australia) except Belarus rider Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance) who was sitting just over 16min off the race lead.

The 19 leaders powered through the twisting, undulating course and at the first ‘SA Lotteries’ intermediate sprint at Echunga (15.5km) Rapinski claimed the points and time bonus ahead of Josep Jufre Pou (ESP – Predictor Lotto) and Australian Matt Goss (CSC).

By the time the leading group reached the second intermediate sprint at Goolwa (69.8km) they had a handy advantage of close to five minutes on the peloton and again it was Rapinski who claimed the sprint with Frenchman Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole) second and New Zealand’s Scott Lyttle third.

The next target for the leaders was the ‘A Brilliant Blend’ King of the Mountain at Kerby Hill near Port Elliot and Italian Giampaolo Cheula (Barloworld) struck out to win the points over the summit with current King of the Mountain leader, Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R Prevoyance) picking up the second placed points to protect his sprint jersey. Pou was third.

The leaders regrouped shortly after the climb but then the attacks started and several riders struggled to stay in touch. Closing in on the finish Belgian Wim Vansevenant (Predictor-Lotto) tried to escape but his effort was in vain and Cooke countered with Jongewaard in tow.

“‘Jez’ (Hunt) did a huge amount of work then I got away over the final climb with the UniSA guy (Jongewaard) and he’d been sitting on all day so I knew he was going to be fresh,” explained Cooke. “He did most of the work in the final ‘k’ and I was happy to beat him easily in the sprint.”

Jongewaard had been sitting in the break to protect the overall lead of his team mate Karl Menzies and as a result was a passenger in the leading break for much of the day.

“I mean, in the beginning I could understand it because they had the leader out on the road, but when it broke down to four or five guys, and they were still sitting on, I turned to the guy (Jongewaard) and said ‘if you’re going to go for the win, you’d better start coming through'”, said Cooke. “He half-hearted came through and I ended up with him in the finish – then, as it turned out, he did most of the work in the finish so he sort-of made up for it.”

“Once the break was secure, I think he was looking for us to do our part,” said Jongewaard whose team mate Mitchell Docker also joined the leading group at the start of the day. “He (Cooke) was the stronger man on the day, he’s definitely a class bike rider…at the end of the day, what am I going (to do)? Play cat and dog with him and still lose the sprint and maybe even lose second place – so it was in my best interests to do a bit more work on the front and secure second.

“Baden is definitely the sprinter out of us two, to match it up with him is almost impossible,” said Jongewaard.

The rest of the group crossed in dribs and drabs and the main field was led home by Robbie McEwen (AUS – Predictor Lotto) 14min10sec after Cooke had raised his arms in a a victory salute.

Overall Karl Menzies (UniSA Australia) has held his one second lead over Swiss cyclist Martin Elmiger (AG2R Prevoyance) with Dane Lars Bak third at seven seconds and Victorian Matthew Lloyd (Predictor-Lotto) still in fourth place at 9 seconds.

The two intermediate sprint wins today by Rapinski have put him in the SA Lotteries Sprint leader’s jersey, Samuel Dumoulin retained the lead in the ‘A Brilliant Blend’ King of the Mountain classification and Victorian Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) is still the leader of the ‘Share the Road’ Best Young Rider. SouthAustralia.com-AIS retained the lead in the Bartercard Teams Classification and Belgian Wim Vansevenant (Predictor Lotto) was named the Century 21 Most Aggressive Rider for Stage 3.

Tomorrow’s stage 4 which begins and ends in Willunga is expected to be action packed with Menzies’ rivals for overall victory set to put on the pressure when the race climbs Old Willunga Hill Rd 20 kilometres from the end of the 147 kilometre stage which wends its way through McLaren Vale and along Aldinga Beach.

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. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 2.37.55 (48.63 km/h)
2. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia – UniSA 0.05
3. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC0.19
4. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor – Lotto
5. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
6. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld
7. Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 0.41
8. Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom0.42
9. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor – Lotto1.28
10. Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 2.52
11. Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.03
12. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
13. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole
14. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
15. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia – UniSA 3.16
16. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 3.23
17. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
18. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team3.25
19. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram3.26
20. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor – Lotto14.1
21. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance
22. Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
23. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
24. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia – UniSA
25. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
26. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
27. Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC
28. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld
29. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia – UniSA
30. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
31. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance
32. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC
33. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor – Lotto
34. Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor – Lotto
35. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com
36. Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram
37. Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor – Lotto
38. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor – Lotto
39. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
40. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
41. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel
42. Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
43. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
44. Matthew White (Aus) Australia – UniSA
45. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
46. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
47. Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
48. Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
49. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
50. Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
51. Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team
52. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
53. Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel
54. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram
55. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
56. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
57. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole
58. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
59. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
60. Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
61. Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
62. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
63. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
64. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
65. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
66. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
67. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance
68. Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram
69. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com
70. Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
71. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
72. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld
73. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
74. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
75. Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
76. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
77. Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
78. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
79. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
80. Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia – UniSA
81. James Perry (RSA) Barloworld
82. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel
83. Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld
84. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
85. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
86. Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team
87. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team
88. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
89. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
90. Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor – Lotto 14.26
91. Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel
92. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
93. Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team
94. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
95. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
96. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com
97. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld
98. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
99. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team
100. Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
101. Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
102. Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram
103. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com
104. Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel
105. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team
106. Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
107. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com
108. Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team
109. Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia – UniSA
110. Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel

GC after Stage 3

1. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia – UniSA 10.36.38
2. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance0.01
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 CSC0.46
7. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
8. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 0.51
9. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
10. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 1.04
11. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel2.47
12. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom2.48
13. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor – Lotto3.04
14. Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
15. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
16. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3.06
17. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen 3.2
18. Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team
19. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team5.25
20. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen8.56
21. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC9.01
22. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen9.03
23. Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
24. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
25. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
26. Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram
27. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole
28. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com
29. Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
30. Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS9.1
31. Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9.12
32. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen 9.15
33. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 9.19
34. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 10.18
35. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com12.05
36. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia – UniSA 12.12
37. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 12.26
38. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor – Lotto12.28
39. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 12.29
40. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance12.3
41. Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 12.52
42. Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom12.53
43. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor – Lotto13.39
44. Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com15.03
45. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 15.12
46. Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom15.14
47. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
48. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
49. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia – UniSA15.27
50. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS15.34
51. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team15.35
52. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 15.37
53. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS16.13
54. Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 16.18
55. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
56. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
57. Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team 16.34
58. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 24.41
59. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom26.16
60. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 26.21
61. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia – UniSA
62. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor – Lotto
63. Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
64. Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor – Lotto
65. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
66. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance
67. Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
68. Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
69. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
70. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
71. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
72. James Perry (RSA) Barloworld
73. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
74. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
75. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen
76. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
77. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld
78. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
79. Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia – UniSA
80. Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld
81. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
82. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
83. Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team
84. Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
85. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram
86. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel
87. Matthew White (Aus) Australia – UniSA
88. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
89. Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor – Lotto
90. Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram
91. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
92. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
93. Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team
94. Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
95. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
96. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 26.37
97. Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia – UniSA
98. Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel
99. Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
100. Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
101. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com
102. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team
103. Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram
104. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com
105. Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel
106. Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor – Lotto
107. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team
108. Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
109. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
110. Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel

Under 23 Classification

1. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS10.37.42
2. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com9.14
3. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 11.22
4. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 14.1
5. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
6. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia – UniSA 14.23
7. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 14.3
8. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 15.09
9. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team23.37
10. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS25.17
11. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 25.33

Teams Classification

1. SouthAustralia.com-AIS 31.29.02
2. Team CSC 3.35
3. Unibet.com 14.46
4. Bouygues Telecom18.27
5. Crédit Agricole 18.39
6. Predictor – Lotto 23.53
7. Chocolade Jacques – Topsport Vlaanderen 24.43
8. Navigators Insurance Cycling Team38.32
9. Barloworld 39.24
10. Agritubel 41.55
11. AG2r Prévoyance42.31
12. Team Milram 48.36
13. Australia – UniSA 48.41
14. New Zealand National Team54.1