Euskaltel survive Down Under opener

All seven Euskaltel riders came through this morning's first Tour Down Under stage with their general classification hopes intact - though their sprint train still needs some work.

The 135km trek from Prospect to Lobethal saw German powerhouse André Greipel, entirely as expected, come out tops - and with some margin. Euskaltel, fielding a reasonably fast-finishing bunch of riders at the race, tried to get in on the act: The Izagirre brothers tried to set up new boy JJ Lobato for a tilt at the top placings, but the 24-year-old could only come away with 12th. Not far behind were Ion (14th) and Gorka (23rd).

The rest of the orange-clad riders, Bravo, Astarloza, Aberasturi and Oroz, also came in with the pack, and avoided ceding any time.

Results (full results can be found here):

• (1, André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol), 3:35:24)
• 12, Juan José Lobato, s.t.
• 14, Ion Izagirre, s.t.
• 23, Gorka Izagirre, s.t.
• 40, Mikel Astarloza, s.t.
• 47, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 54, Garikoitz Bravo, s.t.
• 63, Jon Aberasturi, s.t.

Check the finish of the stage below:

Photo: Euskaltel Euskadi