TEAM Bahrain Victorious had all members come to the front of the peloton to control a 13-rider group on the concluding day in the Tour Down Under yesterday and keep the gap under a minute, given that it was the last chance to make a difference in the battle for General Classification (GC).
The leading group was not reeled in until the penultimate climb onto Mount Lofty. Nikias Arndt stayed active and became the representative in the 9-rider counterattack, looking for another stage win following Phil Bauhaus and Pello Bilbao.
On the final climb, Hermann Pernsteiner safeguarded Bilbao through the last few kilometres. In the end, the Spaniard finished just six seconds behind the leaders, taking seventh place of the day and securing the team’s spot on the podium of Tour Down Under.
Bilbao was third on GC thanks to more brilliant teamwork. He said, “In the end I just did the last climb, thinking of the podium and trying to pull in the back and secure the third place because I could not do more really. I really enjoy this race. I think the organiser made super interesting parcours. It’s a nice race for time trialist, sprinters, climbers and everybody. It is difficult to ask more for a race in just six stages. It is a nice race, maybe I will come back next year.”
Bahrain Victorious sports director Neil Stephens said, “I am really proud of the work Team Bahrain Victorious have done in the Tour Down Under. Right from the start before the prologue the staff, the mechanics and everyone back in Europe, all worked really hard to get ready for this race. The first win with Phil Bauhaus was great. Then to top it off, another win with Pello Bilbao.
“Coming into the last stage, we always knew it is going to be really hard to keep the second place or even try to win the stage, but we gave everything right from the start of the day to get Pello one step higher in the podium. At the end of the day it was not to be, but we can all be happy with ourselves that we know we gave everything we can throughout the week.
“Thanks to a lot of effort from a lot of people. We are leaving Australia really proud with the work we have done. We look forward to the next races on the world calendar.”
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