AFTER another triumphant day in South Australia, Bahrain Victorious rider Pello Bilbao gained 14 places and is now second on the General Classification (GC), 15 seconds behind Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates).
Following the start in Norwood and all the way to the north-east of the capital city, the peloton tackled three of Adelaide’s toughest ascents in Stage 3. Within these three categorised climbs, Corkscrew Road (2.4km/9 per cent) is just 6km before the finish in Campbelltown. To join the competition of stage victory, these were some of the most difficult climbs to conquer.
Teams aiming for GC made it difficult and tried to blow up the peloton on Corkscrew Road with a maximum 15pc gradient. The short but sharp uphill turned out to be crucial for yesterday’s race. The section was just long enough for Simon Yates and Vine to break away from the leading group.
Steadily working his way back to the leading duo, Bilbao joined the leaders and led the 3-man group on the downhill. The Basque rider did what he is good at. In the final kilometre, Vine was the one who kept the pace high while the Spaniard managed to position himself well and strongly launch off the Australian before holding onto the race win.
Bilbao said, “Yesterday we were a bit disappointed because the race did not go as we expected, losing some seconds at the finish line. Today this was the best for me, short and explosive kicks with the fast descent until the finish line. I had some difficulty joining Yates and Vine. I had to do my best and join them in the last 300 metres (of the climb).”
“I knew I was going to have a good possibility, as they were also looking for the overall, and I was more focused on making my best sprint and trying to win today. I really enjoy working with Neil Stephens (Bahrain Victorious sports director). He really looks into details. It is a pleasure to do his home race and also to give this victory to him. He is going to be very proud of the guys who just did a perfect job for me.”
Stephens commented: “A fantastic team victory today here in the Tour Down Under. We were really clear in our mind that Pello was a strong candidate for the win today. Obviously yesterday we weren’t with the front riders. We knew if we put our heads together, work strong as a team right from the start, we would have all the options to try to be with the first riders up the Corkscrew into the stage finish.
“Once again it shows the hard work the whole team has done throughout the winter months. Once again we will try to push forward, try to make sure this season starts with a bang. We are not finished yet. There are a couple more hard stages to come. And we are also fighting for the podium of GC.”
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