Impey wins Down Under

Producing perhaps the best performance of his career, road cyclist Daryl Impey (below) revealed he had given himself a significant confident boost by securing his maiden World Tour victory in Australia at the weekend.

Riding for professional team Mitchelton-Scott, the 33-year-old South African took the lead on the penultimate leg of the Tour Down Under, and he went on to finish with the main peloton on yesterday’s sixth and final stage.

Though both riders were credited with the same time in the final results, Impey edged out second-placed Australian Richie Porte (BMC Racing) on count back in the general classification, spearheading an impressive allround performance by the SA contingent.

“It is a step up in my career,” Impey said.

“You get these little stepping stones and you reach bigger milestones, and I’ve proved (my ability) to myself now, as I’ve always had a little bit of self-doubt.”

A two-time former medallist in the team time trial at the World Championships, and the first African rider to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, Impey felt his latest victory was among the highlights of his career.

“Wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France was a magical moment but this is very close to that,” he said.

“I worked really hard for this one.”

Meanwhile, Dutch rider Tom Jelte Slagter took third place overall for local team Dimension Data, while his South African teammate Nic Dlamini was the best of the climbers, winning the mountains classification on his World Tour debut.

Dimension Data also finished second in the team division.

“I learned a lot in just one week of racing, so going forward I think I will still improve a lot,” Dlamini said.

“As a team, this was a great start to our season and I feel we will also just get better as the season progresses.”