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Bad luck keeps Vader from good classification at Tour Down Under

Bad luck keeps Vader from good classification at Tour Down Under

Milan Vader has been unable to cap off a successful week at the Tour Down Under with a top classification in the final rankings. The 26-year-old Dutchman's chances of a strong GC were ruined when he crashed during the final.

Timo Roosen was part of the breakaway along with 12 others, but the peloton never gave them much space. The battle for the day's and overall victory could begin once the peloton caught up to Roosen and his breakaway companions at the top of Mount Lofty's penultimate climb.

Vader was at the front of the pack in the last kilometres, thanks to the hard work of his teammates. With three kilometres to go, he seemed to be doing well for the general classification, but a crash ruined everything. Vader could continue but knew a good classification was out of sight.

"He should be proud of what he has shown here after everything he has been through"

Addy Engels

"Very unfortunate”, sports director Addy Engels said. "It all looked good. The boys worked extremely hard and supported Milan until the very last moment. Although the crash harmed his classification, I thought he had the legs to ride into the top ten. Milan was in Yates' wheel. The latter aimed to attack, but as a result, Milan slammed into his back wheel. That's unfortunate. Apart from a few small wounds, the physical damage doesn't seem too bad."

Despite the disappointment of missing out on a top-ten classification, Engels praised his rider. "He should be proud of what he has shown here after everything he has been through. Even though his participation has not ended in a top result, he received the assurance that he is physically capable of great performances."

Despite Robert Gesink's withdrawal, Team Jumbo-Visma leaves Down Under with some satisfaction thanks to Rohan Dennis' stage victory.

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