'Down Under' Goes To Greipel

Great effort by Germany's Andre Greipel to win his second Santos Tour Down Under title in three years. He is only the second man, after Stuart O'Grady in 1999 and 2001, to win the prestigious event twice.

Greipel held off Spain's great rider, Luis Leon Sanchez, to win by 11 seconds, with New Zealand's Greg Henderson finishing a further four seconds behind in third place. The German had plenty of assistance from his HTC-Columbia teammates in the final stage. They made it tough for Sanchez to make up the time needed for him to overtake Greipel and win by riding with him all the way.

Greipel set up the win at the start of the tour when he won three out of the first four stages. It has been reported that before the tour began last Tuesday, Greipel was in sensational form and was planning meticulously for this event. And that was certainly proven with Greipel's three stage victories and eventual overall win.

The usual great Australian cycling names were up near the top once again with Robbie McEwan finishing fourth overall and Cadel Evans finishing sixth. Evans' finest moment came in the fifth stage from Snapper Point to Willunga. Last year's UCI Road World Champion pushed Sanchez and Alejandro Valverde right to the finish line in one of the great finishes in the event's history. Celebrity guest Lance Armstrong, arguably the greatest cyclist of all time, attracted thousands of people to watch the event. While he finished a disappointing 25th overall, Armstrong's appearance at the Tour can be considered a marvellous success for organisers.

BTW, another great victory by the Aussies cricketers, thrashing Pakistan by 140 runs in the second One Day International at the SCG. Shane Watson was once again in blistering form with a quickfire 69, supported well by the inform Cameron White with another great score (55). The whole bowling attack worked brilliantly as a team as they combined to bowl Pakistan out for a miserable 127, with captain Mohammad Yousuf providing the only resistance with 58.

Pakistan's tour of Australia can only be described as an epic fail. They haven't won a match yet and when they have looked like winning, they've let their opportunity slip. Take nothing away from the Aussies, they are starting to gel together nicely. But Pakistan are a better team than what they've shown the Australian public. They must continue to fight and work hard.