Meyer Wins Tour Down Under
WAIS-AIS cyclist Cameron Meyer has won the 2011 Santos Tour Down Under title by just two seconds after holding on in the final stage for a famous victory.
Heading into the 90km street criterium stage, Meyer owned an eight second advantage over HTC-Highroad rival Matt Goss, with the final stage offering time bonuses for the sprints.
Meyer and his Garmin-Cervelo team produced a lung-bursting effort to ensure the 23 year-old triple world champion would taste his first pro-tour general classification win – claiming the Ochre jersey in the 13th edition of the tour, which will also be remembered as cycling legend Lance Armstrong’s final professional event.
But whilst seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong settles into retirement, it is the emergence of Cameron Meyer that has created waves of excitement through cycling circles and indeed the mainstream media, a niche normally reserved for Cadel Evans.
Meyer’s actual winning margin was sliced to just two seconds by the end of the final stage – the slenderest winning margin in the tour’s brief history, and Meyer was quick to praise the efforts of his Garmin-Cervelo teammates following his coronation as race champion.
“It was such a close bike race, all I could do was cross my fingers… but a big thanks goes out to the team. Without them I wouldn’t have won this,” Meyer told SBS Cycling Central.
“I’m absolutely shocked, but so excited at the same time,”
The final stage was won by Team Sky cyclist Ben Swift, whilst Matt Goss had to settle for third, which consolidated his second place finish in the GC classification.
Fellow WAIS-AIS athletes Luke Durbridge (Uni-SA Australia) and Travis Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo) both completed the tour for their respective teams, with the Tour being the first for 19 year-old Durbridge.
To hear Cameron’s reactions to winning the Tour Down Under click here.