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ADELAIDE, Australia (AFP) –
Tom-Jelte Slagter of the Netherlands, seen after crossing the line of the 90-km stage 6 around the streets of Adelaide, winning the overall honours of the Tour Down Under cycling race, on January 27, 2013.
Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter from Blanco Pro Cycling won the season-opening UCI WorldTour Down Under on Sunday.
Slagter stayed out of trouble in the final 90-kilometre stage through the streets of Adelaide to win the general classification in 18hr 28min 32sec, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Spaniard Javier Moreno (Movistar) and 25 clear of British rider Geraint Thomas (Sky Pro Cycling).
German Andre Greipel from Lotto Belisol won the mass sprint to take out the final stage, his third stage win of the tour and his 14th overall.
Australian Mark Renshaw (Blanco Pro Cycling) finished second on the final stage with Sky Pro Cycling’s Edvald Boasson Hagen third.
Slagter, 23, went into the final day with a 13-second advantage after a brilliant ride to finish second to Simon Gerrans in Saturday’s penultimate stage up Old Willunga Hill.
He was never in any real danger of losing the ochre leader’s jersey and stayed safely in the peloton for the duration of the race.
The real attack came from Thomas, who lost the leader’s jersey to Slagter on Saturday, slipping from first to fifth in the process.
Thomas won the first intermediate sprint and came third in the second to pick up enough bonus seconds to move him to third place, leapfrogging Spaniard Jon Izagirre (Euskaltel Euskadi) and Belgium’s Ben Hermans (Radioshack Leopard).
