Menzies overall runner-up
21 January 2007
by
Vincent Ciccarello
Today’s final stage of the Tour Down Under was played out under overcast skies which threatened, but mercifully didn’t deliver, more wet weather for the riders to contend with.
Instead, it was the indefatigable crowd favourite Robbie McEwen who rained on everyone’s parade, capturing his twelfth Tour Down Under stage win.
In yet another Australian 1-2-3 finish, Credit Agricole’s Mark Renshaw came second followed by Allan Davis who capped off a gutsy performance from Team UniSA-Australia.
Setting out to put Karl Menzies back in front of the quest for the ochre jersey, Team UniSA-Australia led a spirited attack for some six of the 18 laps of the Adelaide City Council street circuit. The procession of Team UniSA-Australia jerseys at the front of the peloton was sight to behold.
The goal was to get Menzies across the line at end of the lap eight SA Lotteries Sprint ahead of rival Martin Elmiger who’d stolen the ochre jersey from Menzies on Saturday with a cumulative lead of three seconds. But Elmiger, with the last minute help of his Ag2r-Prevoyance team-mates, snuck in by the cyclist’s equivalent of a nose ahead of Davis and Menzies.
In the end, however, it was Predictor Lotto’s McEwen – after not seeming to pose a threat for the entire race – who appeared from nowhere to take the final, climactic stage.
It was a bittersweet loss for Menzies, coming second to Elmiger in the general classification by a final margin of three seconds.
Before the race, team manager Dave Sanders was clear about what was required of the team.
“We have to treat the first sprint like a world championship,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to line the guys out, we have to protect our man. If he (Menzies) runs second in the first sprint and the tour leader (Elmiger) doesn’t get a placing, we are tour leader.
“The guys will lead (Menzies) out and we’ll have someone behind his wheel to protect him.”
A visibly disappointed Menzies only had praise for his fellow Team UniSA-Australia
riders.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what we were going to do,”
Menzies said. “The intermediate sprint was our race. The boys rode
awesomely; controlled it, let nothing get away, gave me the perfect lead
out. And I was just beaten by a better guy. Perfect lead out, it was just
going to be a sprint to the line, and he beat us.
“We had a go. It was all UniSA; that’s how the team’s been all week. It’s the reason I finished second overall.”
The people behind the scenes were also the object of Menzies’ praise.
“The UniSA supporters and all the people who organise the team are just a great bunch of people,” he said.
Manager Sanders was clearly pleased with the performance of Team UniSA-Australia.
“Awesome team, great commitment,” he said. “We had a go at them. The boys
were just so committed.
“It is a disappointment - you come that close and you’d like to win it. This is the biggest race in Australia. We really believed we could win it. But that’s the way it goes. I’m really proud of the guys. Everyone of these guys just gave everything.”