2000 2nd Tour Down Under

The record books show that Frenchman Gilles Maignan of AG2R Prévoyance won the race but it was a new team that was of more interest to British cycling fans. For it was the Linda McCartney Foods squad that promised to achieve big things this year and put British cycling back on the map. An objective long dreamt of but seldom achieved. Certainly the ANC squad had made it to the top in 1987 getting a coverted place in the Tour de France. But the fact that the team owner left then high and dry before they even reached Paris upset plenty more people than just the riders left in the lurch.

But in January 2000 the future was rosey - clearly the “end of civilisation” predications had failed and the team was ready to put up a good show. Ninety-six riders were on the start list with the LM riders in the list as - 73. Maximilian Sciandri (GBr), 74. Maurizio De Pascale (Ita), 75. Pascal Richard (Swi), 76. Tayeb Braikia (Den), 77. Bjornar Vestol (Nor), 78. Mathew Stephens (GBr), 79. Ben Brooks (Aus), 80. David Mckenzie (Aus)
 

Stage 1 The waiting over, the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team launched the eagerly anticipated 2000 season with the first stage of the Tour Down Under in South Australia on Tuesday evening.
40,000 people lined the 3 km circuit around closed roads in downtown Adelaide, and they were treated to a superb evening's entertainment. Linda McCartney's star man was a resurgent David McKenzie, the team's best rider last year, who returned to his home country to record a gritty fifth place.
Australia's TV viewers were treated to the sight of 90 or so of the world's best cyclists rocketing immediately away from the start line. Linda McCartney's Bjornar Vestol put in a sterling turn on the front of the bunch to reel in an early break, then last year's winner Stuart O'Grady conspired with some Aussie compatriots to launch a blistering counter attack....
McKenzie sprinted home in 5th, a result that pleased his manager. "Macca really dug in tonight," said Sean Yates. "The team performed well. We placed riders in every move, and were always to the fore." It was good to see the new yellow and blue colours gain so much TV time on their very first outing.
 

Stage 2 On the very first climb of the Tour Down Under 2000, the break which looks certain to shape the entire race went clear. Matthew Stephens, the 30-year-old English rider from the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team was one of the major protagonists, as 11 escapees tied up the whole Tour between them.
When the peloton began to snake up the picturesque gorge of Kangaroo Creek, only a dozen measly kilometres of racing had taken place. But by the time the race had crested the next short climb, the race had seen it's first abandonments, and 80-odd riders had given up hope of wearing the yellow jersey this week....
After scaling the shockingly steep gradient of Checker Hill, the fugitives worked well together until they reached the 10km to go sign on the outskirts of Goolwa. It was here that Big Mat's Dominique Rault made his move, but he was chased down by Canberra rider Michael Rogers, who hung on to delight the home crowd.
 

Stage 3 Maurizio De Pasquale of the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team gained the team's best result of the New Year so far, when he rocketed to 4th place on today's stage in the Tour Down Under.
It stretches the team's remarkable run at the first race of the year to 3 top ten places in 3 days. In Tuesday's first stage, David McKenzie was 5th, yesterday Matt Stephens was 10th, and now Maurizio has stuck another feather in the team's cap. Matt Stephens remains handily placed on the overall standings after another excellent ride today between Glenelg and the winefields of McClaren Vale...
The action came behind him on the final climb of Old Willunga Hill, just 20kms from the finish. A split opened up in the peloton with Maurizio De Pasquale and Max Sciandri making the front group of 20 or so riders. Seeing the danger to Matt Stephens' overall position, the McCartney riders massed at the front of the second group and hauled the race back together...
The team's success in the chase was evident at the line in McClaren Vale, when the team placed every single one of their eight riders in the front part of the race. Maurizio De Pasquale finished with a lively flourish, taking 3rd in the sprint just behind German sprinting superstar, Erik Zabel.
 

Stage 4 Matthew Stephens of the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team cemented another excellent team performance at the Tour Down Under today when he moved up the overall rankings to make 8th spot his own. But there was controversy at the finish in Modbury, as Stefan Wesemann of Telekom and Polti rider Pascal Herve were adjudged to have shared a dead-heat. There was incredulity among the crowd at the finish, as the German had appeared to be the clear winner to everyone, not least Herve, who had punched his bars in frustration as they crossed the line....
In contrast to the preceding two stages, the bunch was jumpy and aggressive right from the start, as the bunch immediately tackled the giddy heights of Windy Point. The route was shorter with more frequent climbs, encouraging riders to have a crack at splitting the field. Max Sciandri made his first significant move in a McCartney jersey, as he tore the race up with a breathtaking attack in the Mount Lofty hills. The pressure created by Sciandri brought about a number of gaps in the field, as riders struggled to match his tempo. It proved to be a springboard for the major move of the day, as Matt Stephens, supported ably by Ben Brooks, sneaked into a move containing many of the major players.
The big loser was yellow jersey Michael Rogers, who could only watch as his rivals slipped further and further ahead. Attacks came thick and fast over the last few kilometres, eventually removing the battling Brooks from the head of the race. The Sciandri / Stephens axis in action.
 

Stage 5 Matthew Stephens of the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team produced another great ride at the Tour Down Under to virtually ensure 8th place overall when the race comes to an exciting climax in Adelaide tomorrow afternoon.
Matt was in the thick of the action almost immediately, as he suffered a puncture scare in the first 10kms. To a man, the entire McCartney team massed around him to give up their wheels if necessary and then pace him back into the field - "It's great to be the king."
It was another chance for the impressive Maurizio De Pasquale to shine, as he slipped away with 17 others before the race wound through the Jacob's Creek vineyards. When the move halved into two groups approaching the final long ascent of Menglers Hill, it was Maurizio that found a gut-wrenching burst of speed to bridge the gap to the front of the race, only to find that super-sprinter Eric Zabel had already fled up the road. Zabel topped off his attack with a final surge that sent him whistling over the finish line well clear of Saeco's Massimiliano Mori.
 

Stage 6 The 2000 Tour Down Under drew to a thrilling close in Adelaide this afternoon, with Matt Stephens not loosening his grip on 8th place at the first race of the year. The team also racked up their 4th and 5th top ten places of a great week's racing with David McKenzie and Tayeb Braikia mixing it in the finishing straight.
Queensland's Robbie McEwen of the Dutch Farm Frites squad repeated his final day win in the 1999 Tour de France to delight the massive weekend crowd lining the route. The final stage of this race took in 20 laps of a 4.8km circuit that crossed and recrossed the River Torrens in the prettiest part of this lovely city. Live TV across Australia and 100,000 spectators on the barriers gave the race a terrific atmosphere, and the Linda McCartney team were in the heat of the battle once again.
Pascal Richard drove the chase group that went after the break of the day. Four riders had gone clear as early as the 2nd lap, and they held off both Pascal's group and then the bunch until they were within 350 sickening metres from the finish line. Then they were swept up in the mad dash that saw Robbie McEwen beat everybody to the line, with McKenzie and Braikia close to him in 6th and 8th respectively.
Within the last kilometre, with the break's capture imminent, Max Sciandri launched a trademark attack up the nearside gutter, with David McKenzie frantically trying to stay on the Briton's wheel. However, the pace of the bunch was too much for the McCartney duo to hold off, yet David was still able to get amongst the sprinters at the death.