BROWN WINS STAGE 3 OF TOUR DOWN UNDER

Rabobank team performs flawlessly, helping Aussie team leader take the victory

Rabobank’s Graeme Brown won a wild and crazy Stage 3 at the Tour Down Under Thursday, sprinting to victory and securing his second-place overall standing with three stages to go in the opening race of the 2009 ProTour series.

“It was a really, really tough day,” Brown told VeloNews.com after winning the stage on his Giant TCR Advanced SL. “It was a real race — a lot of crosswinds, headwinds. The race was [scattered] everywhere — crashes and breakaways — it was really nice to win that stage.”

A dangerous early breakaway in the 136-kilometer race from Unley to Victor Harbor turned the race on its head, forcing Rabobank to chase down the group that included star riders Lance Armstrong (Astana), Michael Rogers (Columbia-High Road) and Stuart O’Grady (Saxo Bank).

Knowing Brown had the finishing speed to win, the Rabobank squad led the chase and eventually reeled in the break, setting up a 47-man sprint into Victor Harbor. Brown took it from there, beating overall leader Allan Davis of Quick Step to the line.

Friday’s Stage 4 will take the peloton through Australia’s wine country, with a 143-kilometer race from Burnside Village to Angaston. Brown and Davis are virtually tied atop the standings, sharing the same overall time, 5 seconds ahead of O’Grady in third.

As the opener to the season-long ProTour—and the only ProTour event outside of Europe—the Tour Down Under is seen as the first major test of the season. Nineteen of the world’s best teams are competing in the 802-kilometer race, which concludes this Sunday.