South Africa’s Daryl Impey became the first cyclist to win back-to-back titles at Australia’s Tour Down Under outside Adelaide on Sunday.
Mitchelton-Scott’s Impey, with a total time of 20hr 30min 42sec beat sixth-stage winner Richie Porte of Australia (Trek-Segafredo) by 13 seconds for the race, with Dutchman Wouter Poels of Sky Team a further four seconds away in third place overall.
No one had won consecutive titles in the 21 years of the Tour Down Under until now.
‘I never dreamed to come here and win twice in a row,’ said Impey (34). ‘Every year we come here with strong ambitions. I knew the competition is always tough. I just believed in myself, and it was just fantastic to pull it off.’
General Classification
1. Daryl Impey (RSA/Mitchelton-SCOTT) 20hr 30min 42sec
2. Richie Porte (AUS/Trek-Segafredo) +13sec
3. Wouter Poels (NED/Team Sky) +17
4. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/Astana Pro Team) +19
5. Rohan Dennis (AUS/Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team) +26
6. Christopher Hamilton (AUS/Team Sunweb) +33
7. Michael Woods (CAN/EF Education First Pro Cycling) +38
8. Ruben Guerrero (POR/Team Katusha Alpecin) +40
9. Diego Ulissi (ITA/UAE Team Emirates) same time
10. Dries Devenyns (BEL/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) s.t.
6️⃣ IN A ROW!!! @richie_porte wins again on Willunga, but it’s @darylimpey that makes history, becoming the first man to win back-to-back @santosltd Tours Down Under!! Incredible!! #TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/lXX1ixQgHj
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 20, 2019
History has been written! @darylimpey claims back to back Santos Tours Down Under!!!! 🔶🚴🏼♂️💥#TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/JTZvIJ5FVH
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 20, 2019
