January 20, 2007 – Swiss rider Martin Elmiger (AG2R Prevoyance) has stolen the race lead in the 2007 Tour Down Under after claiming a two second bonus by finishing third on today’s 147 kilometre fourth stage out and back from Willunga. He is now one second ahead of overnight leader Karl Menzies (UniSA Australia) with two more riders within ten seconds of the lead promising a spectacular battle in Sunday’s final stage.

“Tomorrow is the final, it’s very close, we will see in the sprints, hopefully I make a good tactic and it’s easy for us,” said Elmiger of his hopes of defending the narrow lead. “You have to ride clever, I can sprint well and I have to try again for the (time bonuses) – I will fight.”

But so too will Menzies who is renowned for his explosive sprint and was disappointed he wasn’t able to counter Elmiger’s sprint today.

“It was a bit of a hectic sprint, there were a few guys doing some stupid stuff at the finish,” said Menzies. “He slipped through there, I don’t know.

“It wasn’t me, it was the team….I struggled up there, but they did all the work today and set me up,” said Menzies noting the efforts of Rob McLachlan and Chris Jongewaard to get him back up with the contenders in the final kilometres after he and Team CSC’s top ranked pair failed to get in the front group on the climb up Old Willunga Hill. “It’s going to be a cracker day tomorrow, that’s for sure.”

“It isn’t over yet, it’s very winnable – it’s not going to be easy, nothing ever is, but we have the firepower,” said UniSA team manager Dave Sanders recalling the opening stage of the Tour into Tanunda. “Elmiger was incredulous after the stage saying to Karl (Menzies) – ‘You sprinted for 600m!’ – and Karl said ‘Yep I can do that’.

“Now he’ll just have to do it again tomorrow.”

Stage four honours went to Belgian Pieter Ghyllebert (Chocolade Jacques) who gave the Chocolade Jacques team it’s second stage win of the tour sprinting clear of a group of 24 riders to cross the finish in a time of 3h25m38s. Uzbekistan rider Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) was second and Elmiger pipped South Australian Stuart O’Grady (Team CSC) for third place.

“Now I have my team-mate (Jens Renders) who goes 2km from the finish with me on his wheel, he goes to 300m and then I attack and nobody came over (the top) of me,” said Ghyllebert who was second behind his team mate Steven Caethoven on stage two into Hahndorf. “Two days ago I was also very strong and maybe if I went from 600m by myself I would normally win, but it was the plan for my team-mate to win.

“Today it was my turn,” said Ghyllebert whose father Johan was one of the finest cyclo-cross cyclists of his generation. “For our team it’s fantastic we can come here and to win two stages.”

The weather was wet and windy for most of the stage which began with numerous early attacks until things settled down when a group of 13 riders, none a threat to the top ten ranked overall, established a lead.

An estimated 70,000 crowded into vantage points along the route as the riders battled strong crosswinds and intermittent downpours of rain.

1997 World Champion, Frenchman Laurent Brochard (Bouyges Telecom) was in the lead group, with the aim of taking over the lead in the SA Lotteries Sprint classification and picked up four points for second place at the first intermediate sprint at Snapper Point (58.8km) behind Dutchman Hans Dekkers (Agruitubel) with Australian Matt Wilson (Unibet.com) third.

For the next 50 kilometres the lead group of 13 maintained an advantage of between two and three minutes as the peloton bided its time waiting for the only climb of the day up Old Willunga Hill.

Along the way Brochard achieved his aim of the sprint classification lead winning the second intermediate sprint on the third pass through Snapper Point (100.7km). Dekkers crossed second and New Zealand mountain biker, Clinton Avery, was third.

With the climb looming the peloton roared into life and started the chase in earnest. The pressure was on up Old Willunga Hill, where thousands braved the rain to cheer on the riders.

Three of the riders from the lead group, Heath Blackgrove (NZL), Belgian Glenn D’Hollander (Chocolade Jacques), and Frenchman Laurent Brochard (Bouyges Telecom) were one, two, three over the summit, but the main contenders were not far behind.

On the descent a group formed with notable absentees being the race leader Karl Menzies, third ranked Lars Bak (Team CSC) and his team mate Luke Roberts who was sitting in sixth place overall at the start of the day.

That prompted an aggressive chase by both CSC and UniSA Australia who managed to bring their top riders back to the front before the finish line.

The SA Lotteries Sprint leader is now Laurent Brochard (Bouyges Telecom) with the lead in the ‘A Brilliant Blend’ King of the Mountain competition still with Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-Prevoyance).

Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) maintains his lead in the ‘Share the Road’ Best Young Rider classification and the ‘Century 21’ Most Aggressive Rider for Stage Four was Belgian Glenn D’Hollander (Chocolade Jacques). SouthAustralia.com-AIS has increased its lead in the Bartercard Teams Classification to be 3mnin35sec ahead with one stage remaining.

The final race of the three race UniSA Women’s Criterium Series was contested today at Snapper Point and won by Victorian Jenny MacPherson ahead of Tasmanian Belinda Goss and Victorian Peta Mullens. MacPherson’s win gave her the overall series crown for the third straight year.

Sunday will see the 107 remaining riders contest the final stage of the 2007 Tour Down Under on the 90 kilometre Adelaide City Council circuit. All eyes will be on the start finish line in King William Rd where time bonuses (3, 2 & 1 second) will be up for grabs in the intermediate sprints at the end of laps eight and 12. The final sprint at the end of lap 20 offers six, four and two seconds to the top three across the line. Climbing points will also be up for grabs on Montefiore Hill on laps ten and 15 where Dumoulin will be out to protect his 12 point lead in the King of the Mountain Classification.

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. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 3.25.38
2. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
3. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance
4. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC
5. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld
6. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram
7. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
8. Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC
9. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
10. Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
11. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia-UniSA
12. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
13. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld
14. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
15. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
16. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
17. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
18. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
19. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
20. Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel
21. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
22. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
23. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
24. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com
25. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.07
26. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel
27. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
28. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
29. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com
30. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto
31. Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
32. Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 0.11
33. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team
34. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com
35. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team
36. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance
37. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 0.16
38. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole
39. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
40. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
41. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.19
42. Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 0.27
43. Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram 0.29
44. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
45. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
46. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
47. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 0.34
48. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 0.36
49. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia-UniSA
50. Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia-UniSA
51. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 0.42
52. James Perry (RSA) Barloworld
53. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance 0.46
54. Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld
55. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 0.5
56. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 1.43
57. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 2.01
58. Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team 5.06
59. Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
60. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
61. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
62. Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
63. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
64. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia-UniSA
65. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 7.24
66. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
67. Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
68. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
69. Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team
70. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team
71. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel
72. Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
73. Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
74. Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team
75. Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
76. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
77. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com
78. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
79. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
80. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team
81. Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel
82. Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram
83. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com
84. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
85. Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
86. Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
87. Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
88. Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram
89. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
90. Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
91. Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor-Lotto
92. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
93. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
94. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
95. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld
96. Matthew White (Aus) Australia-UniSA
97. Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
98. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole
99. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram
100. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
101. Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
102. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
103. Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia-UniSA
104. Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com
105. Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team
106. Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
107. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia-UniSA
DNF Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel
DNS Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance

GC after Stage 4

1. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 14.02.15
2. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia-UniSA 0.01
3. Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 0.08
4. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.1
5. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 0.18
6. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 0.47
7. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
8. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 0.52
9. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
10. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 1.05
11. Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.49
12. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2.55
13. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 3.05
14. Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
15. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.12
16. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3.14
17. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 3.37
18. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC 9.02
19. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 9.1
20. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 9.11
21. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com
22. Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9.13
23. Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 9.15
24. Jonathon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 9.18
25. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 9.2
26. Martin Mueller (Ger) Team Milram 9.33
27. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 10.3
28. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 10.32
29. Gordon McCauley (NZl) New Zealand National Team 10.45
30. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 12.36
31. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia-UniSA 12.49
32. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 13.03
33. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 13.05
34. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 13.12
35. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 15.29
36. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 16.19
37. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 16.21
38. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 16.28
39. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
40. Benoit Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
41. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Crédit Agricole
42. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 16.43
43. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 16.48
44. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 19.3
45. Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 20.17
46. Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 20.18
47. Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 21.04
48. Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 22.28
49. Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 22.39
50. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
51. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
52. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia-UniSA 22.52
53. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 22.59
54. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23
55. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 23.02
56. Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 23.43
57. Logan Hutchings (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23.59
58. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 24.52
59. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 26.12
60. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 26.18
61. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 26.22
62. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram
63. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
64. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
65. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 26.33
66. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 26.38
67. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
68. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 26.41
69. Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 26.49
70. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team
71. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 26.51
72. Robert McLachlan (Aus) Australia-UniSA 26.58
73. James Perry (RSA) Barloworld 27.04
74. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance 27.08
75. Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld
76. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 27.12
77. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 28.2
78. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 28.39
79. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia-UniSA 31.28
80. Oliver Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
81. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
82. Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
83. Tim Gudsell (NZl) New Zealand National Team
84. Ben Brooks (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 31.44
85. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 33.41
86. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 33.46
87. Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
88. Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
89. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
90. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
91. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
92. Peter Latham (NZl) New Zealand National Team
93. Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
94. Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
95. Matthew White (Aus) Australia-UniSA
96. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
97. Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team Milram
98. Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
99. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
100. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 34.02
101. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team
102. Russell Van Hout (Aus) Australia-UniSA
103. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Unibet.com
104. Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel
105. Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram
106. Fred Rodriquez (USA) Predictor-Lotto
107. Nicki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
DNF Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel
DNS Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance

Points Classification

1. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 20 pts
2. Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 14
3. Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12
4. Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r Prévoyance 12
5. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 10
6. Gene Bates (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10
7. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 10
8. Hans Dekkers (Ned) Agritubel 10
9. Karl Menzies (Aus) Australia-UniSA 8
10. Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 8
11. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 8
12. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 8
13. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia-UniSA 6
14. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 6
15. Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 4
16. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC 4
17. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 4
18. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4
19. Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 2
20. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 2
21. Scott Lyttle (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2
22. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 2
23. Matt Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 2

King of the Mountains Classification

1. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 28 pts
2. Serge Pauwels (Ned) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 16
3. Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 16
4. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) New Zealand National Team 16
5. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 12
6. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 12
7. Glenn D’hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 12
8. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 8
9. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 8
10. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 8
11. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 8
12. Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6
13. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Australia-UniSA 6
14. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Barloworld 6
15. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 6
16. Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4
17. Markus Eichler (Ger) Unibet.com 4
18. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 4
19. Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 4

Under 23 Classification

1. Simon Clarke (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 14.03.20
2. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 9.25
3. Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC 11.58
4. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 15.38
5. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld 21.34
6. Miles Olman (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS
7. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Australia-UniSA 21.47
8. Michael Ford (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 21.54
9. Clinton Avery (NZl) New Zealand National Team 23.47
10. Johnnie Walker (Aus) SouthAustralia.com-AIS 25.17
11. Matthew Haydock (NZl) New Zealand National Team 32.57

Teams Classification

1. SouthAustralia.com-AIS 41.45.56
2. Team CSC 3.35
3. Unibet.com 15.04
4. Bouygues Telecom 18.27
5. Crédit Agricole 18.46
6. Predictor-Lotto 24
7. Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 25.1
8. Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 38.39
9. Barloworld 40.06
10. AG2r Prévoyance 43.16
11. Team Milram 49.05
12. Agritubel 49.26
13. Australia-UniSA 49.53
14. New Zealand National Team 59.38