André Greipel confirmed for Tour Down Under
Santos Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur has announced the third confirmed competitor for the WorldTour season-opening Australian stage race. Two-time Tour Down Under winner and defending champion
André Greipel will compete in the event, the third name on the list after Lance Armstrong and Tyler Farrar.
"It's great to see last year’s champion return to defend his title, which has been a tradition of our race each year," said Turtur in a press release. "Greipel is a formidable sprinter and our race suits
him well, so it will be interesting to see if he can be the first rider to win three editions of the Santos Tour Down Under."
Greipel has been riding with HTC-Columbia, where he has found himself frequently left out of the Grand Tours in favour of Mark Cavendish. While Cavendish may be the faster sprinter, Greipel is the stronger
one and so was the better choice for the hilly Tour Down Under. The rider will be moving to Belgian team Omega Pharma-Lotto in 2011 and will for the first time be using the Australian race as part of his build-up to the Tour de France.
"Everyone will be watching to see how Greipel fits with his new team, and to gauge his chances for the rest of the season and in particular his first Tour de France," said Turtur. "He'll be riding with
a strong team in Adelaide with great support from the likes of Mario Aerts and Jurgen Roelandts, who won the Cycle Instead Young Rider Jersey here last year."
Despite his absence from the biggest stage races, Greipel was the winningest ProTour rider of 2010, with a total 21 victories. In his first race in 2011, Greipel will also be supported by three riders
making the same move from HTC to Omega as the team leader has made, Spaniard Vicente Reynes, Australian Adam Hansen and German Marcel Seiberg.
"It’s good to see Aussie Adam Hansen heading back to Adelaide," said Turtur. "He had a bad crash at this year’s Tour de France, breaking his collarbone, sternum and a rib. However, he's made a great recovery
and is tipped to be Greipel’s new lead-out man."
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