Team LottoNL-Jumbo finished the Tour Down Under with an aggressive racing style. George Bennett and Maarten Tjallingii tried to escape during the closing stage in Adelaide, but they were unable to stop the bunch from racing to a sprint. Caleb Ewan (Orica GreenEDGE) won the stage and his team-mate Simon Gerrans sealed the overall victory.

The final stage of the Tour Down Under was a fast criterium in downtown Adelaide. The riders raced 20 laps of 4.5 kilometres.

“The pace was high immediately in the beginning of the stage and a breakaway of five riders moved free with George Bennett,” sports director Frans Maassen said after the race. “They were caught quickly. Afterwards, Maarten Tjallingii escaped together with Thomas De Gendt [Lotto-Soudal]. That breakaway stayed in front of the peloton for a while. In the last phase of the race, Maarten tried it another time, with Lieuwe Westra [Astana Pro Team].

“Maarten was crowned as the most aggressive rider because of that. With two laps to go, everything came back together. The stage ended in a bunch sprint. Enrico Battaglin wasn’t able to stay in Bert-Jan Lindemans’s slipstream and didn’t grab a result.”