Friday’s racing at the Tour Down Under saw a controlled day and another sprint finish. Coming through the stage well, the team once again looked after each other, keeping GC finisher Oscar Onley safe ahead of the weekend’s hilly stages. Approaching the final the team moved up well, but it was a hectic and chaotic final few kilometres with Emils Liepins having to brake hard a few times and as a result he was unable to compete for a result in the finish. Last lead-out Pavel Bittner tried his best on the kick to the line, finishing in 11th place on the day.
Road captain Chris Hamilton expressed: “It was a pretty mundane day that could have been stressful with the crosswinds. Thankfully the wind wasn’t playing ball so we had a pretty straightforward day in the bunch. The main objective was keeping Oscar safe and fresh ahead of the weekend so that went well. The sprint was a bit messy but we had Pavel up there in the final who finished just outside the top ten.”
