Andre Greipel is happy to be back with Greg Henderson for the season ahead
Andre Greipel, one of the favourites for the Santos Tour Down Under 2012 justified his form by winning the Down Under Classic. He was amongst the steady squad of Team Lotto-Belisol that accelerated in the final six laps.
One of the most trusted and reliable cyclists, Adam Hansen, led the Lotto caravan towards victory.
However, it was Greg Henderson who made the maximum contribution to Andre’s success and it appears as if he is just the guy Greipel wanted on his side.
Andre secured as many as 30 wins in 2008-09 with Henderson on his side, as the duo rode together for Team HTC-Columbia.
Henderson then moved to Team Sky for 2010-11 but was not satisfied with his performance in the British squad.
He accepted an offer from the Belgian side and could not be happier after his maximum contribution towards the team’s victory in Adelaide, Australia.
Greg was overjoyed about his teammate’s victory and believes that he learnt a lot during the time spent with the previous teams.
He briefed, “That's what I was employed for. I just brought my knowledge here and I just told them how we were going to do it".
Greg admired the strengths of his German teammate, “If he's got a position he steps on it. You know how much power he's got. I'm leading out at 70km/h and he just comes past me. I just don't understand how anyone can go so fast. You've seen it. He's right
up there with the likes of [Mark] Cavendish. The two are going to have a great rivalry this year".
Andre finished the race in a total time of 1 hour 3 minutes and 17 seconds, and dominated the first spot at the Down Under Classic.
He appreciated the efforts of all of his teammates which resulted in the ultimate victory.
The victory echoes the memories of Santos Tour Down Under 2008 where Greipel won the Classic and also dominated the Santos Tour.
With Greg Henderson back in the side, the German is definitely a top favourite to win the inaugural UCI event scheduled from January 17-22, 2012.
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