Young Dutch rider Tom-Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling) has taken the overall win at the 2013 Santos Tour Down Under, with Lotto-Belisol’s André Greipel claiming victory on the final stage. Having already won Stage 3 – his first ever UCIWorld Tour stage win – 23-year-old Slagter did enough through the final 90km stage through the streets of Adelaide to nail the general classification in 18hours, 28minutes and 32seconds; Movistar’s Javier Moreno took the second podium place (+17 seconds) and Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas took third on +25seconds.
Having dropped potentially from contention on the penultimate stage, Thomas fought hard across Sunday’s closing leg, aided by his teammates, to ensure a podium place. Speaking after the event the Welshman was quick to praise the squad: ‘We didn’t want to just give up and throw it away,” he said. “We knew there was one more day. Traditionally no one really bothers on a final stage like this but we were up for it. The boys rode unbelievable and did [the hard work] for me. The lead-out for the sprint was amazing. I’m not the best sprinter in the world and especially when I’m tired I don’t have that much of a kick. I just followed Edvald and nabbed the points on the line.’
