Category: Tour Down Under

The final stage victory by two Team Sky cyclists solidified the Tour Down Under championship for Cameron Meyer, a 23-year-old Australian on the US-based Garmin-Cervelo cycling team.

Sky's Ben Swift and Greg Henderson took 1st and 2nd places for Stage 6 in Adelaide on Sunday (Australia time zone) in a mass sprint at the end of a 20-lap circuit.

While Meyer, admittedly not a sprinter, finished in the pack, Swift and Henderson locked up the time bonuses that HTC-Columbia's Matt Goss would have needed to win the Tour…

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The No. 1 goal of the US-based Garmin-Cervelo cycling team today is to protect the slim 8-second lead that Cameron Meyer holds over the field as the Tour Down Under comes to an end.

The 23-year-old Australian gained the leader's ochre jersey in Stage 4 and kept it after Stage 5 by finishing in the leader's group behind winner Francisco Ventoso (Movistar). He lost only 4 seconds to fellow countryman and chief rival Matthew Goss of HTC-Columbia.

The final stage is a 90km (55-mile) circuit race around Adelaide. The flat course features some hairpin turns in the 20-lap race that traditionally ends in a bunch sprint. It begins at 1:15 p.m. Sunday Australia time, which is 9:45 p.m. (ET) / 6:45 p.m. (PT) Saturday in the US.

Live streaming of the final stage is available ….

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In a bicycle race dominated by the sprinters and their teams, Cameron Meyer of Garmin-Cervelo threw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans by winning Stage 4 of the Tour Down Under and taking control of the race.

The 23-year-old Australian cyclist and four companions attacked the peloton with about 50 miles left in the 77-mile (124km) race through the Adelaide Hills from Norwood to Strathalbyn.

The gambit paid off. As the sprinters' teams — HTC-Columbia, Omega, Sky and others — picked up speed to rein in the attackers toward the finish, Meyer and his fellow instigators (including his teammate Matthew Wilson) increased their efforts enough to hold them off …

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HTC-Columbia's Matthew Goss returned to the overall lead of the Tour Down Under in spite of a flat tire in the closing kilometers of Stage 3.

RadioShack's Robbie McEwen, who wore the overall leader's jersey for Stage 3, also required a wheel change about 15 kilometers from the finish, but both were able to get back into the peloton to contest the final uphill sprint in Stirling.

Champion sprinter Mark Cavendish, who suffered a crash on Stage 2, ended up in last place after the road was opened to cars before the race ended…

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If there were a jersey for consistency, RadioShack's Robbie McEwen would certainly be wearing it at the Tour Down Under bike race. Instead, he's in the prestigious overall leader's ochre-colored jersey.

The veteran Australian sprint specialist has finished in the top 3 in the preview and stages 1 and 2 at the 6-day bicycle race that ends Sunday in Adelaide.

He took the overall leader's jersey from HTC-Columbia's Matt Goss after finishing 2nd to stage winner Ben Swift (Sky) in the 146km (90-mile) race from Tailem Bend to Mannum on Wednesday.

The top four leaders all have the same official time ….

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The US-based cycling team HTC-Columbia celebrated another victory in Australia as Matt Goss won Stage 1 of the Tour Down Under.

The Australian beat defending champion Andre Greipel (Omega Phama-Lotto) and Robbie McEwen (RadioShack) in a sprint finish after a 138km (86-mile) bike race from Mawson Lakes to Angaston.

On Sunday, Goss won the Cancer Helpline Classic in Adelaide, a preview for cyclists in the Tour Down Under. The race continues through Sunday, Australia time.

Where is HTC-Columbia's Mark Cavendish ….

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If Mark Cavendish can't get to the front to win a final sprint for the HTC-Columbia pro cycling team, he has teammates who are willing and able to take the honors.

That was proven Sunday at the Cancer Council Helpline Classic, a circuit race in Adelaide that serves as the preview for the Santos Tour Down Under that starts in earnest on Tuesday.

While Cavendish and a few others were slowed by a crash in the last of the 30-lap bicycle race, Aussie teammates Matthew Goss and Mark Renshaw finished 1st and 2nd in the sprint, followed by Robbie McEwen, another Australian who moved over to the RadioShack team this year ….

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Next week's 2011 Santos Tour Down Under might be the last hurrah for Lance Armstrong as a competing cyclist on foreign soil, but there are plenty of other hot shots traveling to Australia to make the competition interesting.

Those interested in tracking the live action will have to remember there are some confusing time zone calculations to make. I've tried to sort them out here.

Keep in mind that the Australia is 15-1/2 hours ahead of ET and 18-1/2 hours ahead of PT. That creates some mental juggling to keep track of times here in the US and on TV….

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