Multiple world champion Cameron Meyer of Australia seized the overall lead in the Tour Down Under cycle race after winning yesterday’s fourth of six stages in an audacious breakaway.
Meyer of the US-based Garmin-Cervelo team, was among a group of six riders, later dwindling to four, which attacked about 33 kilometresinto the 124-kilometre stage from Norwood to Strathalbyn, and stayed away from the peleton.
The four remaining riders still led by 33 seconds with 2 kilometres remaining, and Meyer sprinted strongly to win the stage from Belgian riders Thomas De Gendt and Laurens Ten Dam of the Netherlands.
His win broke the stranglehold on the race held by the sprinters, providing its fourth overall leader in as many stages.
Meyer was credited with an accumulated time for four stages of 12 hours, 54 minutes, 30 seconds to lead on general classification by 10 seconds from Ten Dam with a further two seconds back to the overnight leader, Australian Matthew Goss of US team HTC-Highroad.
Meyer began the stage in 46th place and 21second behinds Goss, but transformed the race’s overall standings with bold tactical riding and effective co-operation among the breakaway group, which included his compatriot and Garmin teammate Matthew Wilson.
Goss came in fifth on the stage and at the head of a peleton that was 24 seconds behind Meyer, who won gold medals in the madison, points race and team pursuit at last year’s world championships.
Ten Dam of the Rabobank team improved from 40th place overnight on general classification, pushing back Goss to third, Robbie McEwen of Lance Armstrong’s Radio Shack team to fourth and German defending champion Andre Greipel to fifth, 16 seconds behind the overall leader.
Armstrong came in 85th of 131 riders, 41 seconds behind Meyer and was officially 81st overall after four stages, 3 minutes, 56 seconds down on the race leader in his last professional race outside the United States
British sprint star Mark Cavendish, a winner of 15 stages on the Tour de France, lost a further minute to the race lead in finishing 98th Friday and lies 130th overall - 17 minutes, 20 seconds off the lead.
Meyer praised the hard work and co-operation of the leading group for his first stage victory in the Tour Down Under, the first event of the 2011 WorldTour season.