Evans loses Tour team-mate
Cadel Evans will be a man down for the first major showdown of this Tour Down Under.
Evans and fellow title favourite Richie Porte will have a much better idea of where they stand after Thursday’s 143.2km third stage from suburban Norwood to Paracombe in the Adelaide Hills.
It is the first time in the Tour’s 17-year history that Paracombe has had a stage finish and some riders will hope it’s the last.
The stage ends with a short but brutally-steep 800m climb.
Some in the race are speculating Paracombe will be even more decisive than Saturday’s Queen stage at Willunga, which traditionally settles who wins the Tour.
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Evans’ chances were dealt a blow on Tuesday after the second stage.
As they rode back from Stirling to the race hotel in Adelaide, BMC teammate Campbell Flakemore crashed on a descent and broke his left collarbone.
Flakemore will have surgery on Thursday to repair the fracture.
The 22-year-old has been outstanding in his first few days with BMC, finishing fourth in the Australian road championships and featuring in a breakaway that dominated stage two at the tour.
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And while BMC tries to rally from that setback, Porte’s confidence continues to grow.
After last season was ruined by ill health, Porte has started this year in strong form and is looking forward to Paracombe.
“It’s going to be hard. A lot of it is positioning to the Paracombe climb – it’s a pretty hard climb that one,” he said.
“We have got a good team for it. We have ridden on the front and done a lot to control the race.
“I am feeling pretty good. I feel much better than I did on this stage (Stirling) last year.
“I am really looking forward to (stage three) now.”
– AAP
