Defending champ Greipel back for more at '09 Tour Down Under
Andre Greipel will be back to defend his title at the Tour Down Under Jan. 18-25 as Team Columbia confirmed its presence at the season kick-off in Australia.
The big, burly German sprinter won four stages and the overall in the 2008 edition and later finished fifth overall in the UCI ProTour rankings.
Supporting Greipel will be a strong Columbia lineup, including 2002 champ Michael Rogers and George Hincapie.
“In 2008 Andre Greipel had the best season of his career, all set on a solid foundation of victory at the 2008 Tour Down Under,” said Mike Turtur. “Team Columbia is sending a very strong line-up to compete at the 2009 Tour Down Under. The inclusion of an experienced rider such as George Hincapie, who is such a reliable and solid competitor, will really add to our world-class cycling spectacle.”
In Australia Hincapie will square off against former teammate Lance Armstrong for the first time since the pair rode together as part of Armstrong’s seven consecutive Tour de France victories.
Hincapie, the only rider to be part of all seven of Armstrong’s Tour-winning teams, joined Team Columbia at the end of the 2007 season.
Armstrong will kick-start his 2009 comeback campaign with the Tour Down Under, his first major road race since he retired after winning the 2005 Tour.
Team Columbia for Tour Down Under: Andre Greipel (GER), George Hincapie (USA), Michael Rogers (AUS), Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Mark Renshaw (AUS), Greg Henderson (NZ) and Adam Hansen (AUS)
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