Daryl Impey: the silent assassin

Daryl Impey evidently understands the nuanses of the Tour Down Under better than most.

It is all about marginal gains and bonus seconds and, for the second consecutive year, he silently put his oppenents away.

But understanding the game plan and executing it against some of the finest riders in the world are two different things – especially if they know what you are going to do.

Throughout the week, Impey patiently manoeuvred his way into contention to be in exactly the right position at the right time – and, at the TDU, that means close to Richie Porte on Willunga Hill on the final day.

With the race leader clearly in trouble after the previous day’s crash, Impey did just that to negotiate the mire of bonus seconds available to the top stage finishers to keep Porte at bay.

Porte incidentally took his sixth consecutive victory on Willunga Hill while Impey became the first rider ever to win back-to-back titles in this World Tour race.

All considered, surely one of the finest performances by a South African of any era.

Here is a link to the final stage’s results and overall standings.