Cycling: Greipel doubles up in Down Under opener

German cyclist Andre Greipel celebrates yesterday after winning the first stage of the 2012 Tour Down Under in Clare

Two-time race champion Andre Greipel of Germany took the leader’s ochre jersey at the Tour Down Under yesterday in a crash-marred start to the season’s opening World Tour race.
Lotto sprinter Greipel, who won the pre-race criterium on Sunday, won a photo finish decision from veteran Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi of Lampre to set out his stall for a third overall win.
“I am lucky that I won today, there was a massive crash with 800 metres to go,” said Greipel.
“My pedal got touched, and I lost positions from about fifth to 20th, but I managed to bridge the gap.”
Now a WorldTour event, the Tour Down Under offers ranking points to individual riders and their teams. And some believe that led to some erratic behaviour in the lead-up to a dramatic bunch finish.
As several teams jostled in a bid to put their main sprinters in a winning position ahead of the home straight, one rider’s mistake caused a whole bunch to hit the deck.
Yet some later claimed that wasn’t the main reason around 15 riders crashed just under a kilometre from the finish line of the 149 km ride from Prospect to Clare, during which temperatures were said to have reached 51 degrees Celsius (124 degrees Fahrenheit).
Australian Matt Goss, hoping to score a first win for his new Australian team GreenEdge, said he saw some questionable tactics.
“There were no doubt some idiots fighting for position who were going to do nothing at the finish (line) anyway,” said Goss, the Milan-SanRemo champion who finished runner-up here last year.
“Some of these guys have no care for what happens to themselves or what happens to everyone else.”
“It’s the first WorldTour race so everybody’s trying to score points, and everybody wants to show his level and we’re all motivated, but that means people are taking risks,” Vacansoleil rider, Kenny Van Hummel added.
“Some people are trying for the sprint and they don’t yet have the level for it.”
One rider in particular, veteran Frenchman Frederic Guesdon, was left uncertain to start today after he was left with a suspected fractured hip.