News | Santos Tour Down Under • January 21, 2020
Philipsen on the podium in Tour Down Under opener
Belgian 2nd and leads best young rider classification
Jasper Philipsen has got his season off to a promising start with a close second place on stage 1 of the Santos Tour Down Under. He will also pull on the white jersey as best young rider.
Philipsen opened his sprint up first on the right hand side and opened a good lead. However the speed was frantic behind and the Belgian was just edged out by Sam Bennett of Deceuninck Quickstep on the line.
It was a less than perfect start for Alexandr Riabushenko who was brought to hospital midway through the stage with a suspected broken wrist.
Stage 2 tomorrow will see the riders go from Woodside to Sterling (135.8km) with a circuit finish on a day that should favour the punchers such as Diego Ulissi.
Philipsen: “I launched my sprint quite early and pulled out a good advantage but felt the other sprinters coming back as we reached the line. I did everything I could. We have a great team here and they did a nice job to get me in the right position for the finish. We will aim for more over the next few stages. Unfortunately, we lost Riabushenko during the stage who had a crash so we wish him the best.”
Stage 1 results:
1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck Quickstep) 3h28’54”
2. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
3. Erik Baska (Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t
General Classification after stage 1:
1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck Quickstep) 3h28’54”
2. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) +4’’
3. Erik Baska (Bora-Hansgrohe) +6’’
