With the Tour Down Under well and truly over, and Daryl Impey taking the spoils for another year, here's my review of how each of the teams performed (based on Stage results, Classification results and their breakaway action). Feel free to give me your own thoughts as well!
1 | Mitchelton - Scott | 7.5/10
Best GC Postion: 1st - Daryl Impey
Best Points Postion: 4th - Daryl Impey
Best KOM Position: 8th - Daryl Impey
Team Standing: 6th
To be honest, even with Daryl Impey taking the leader's Ochre jersey for another year, Mitchelton - Scott's performance wasn't spectacular. It took a few stages before Impey started finishing in the Top 10 and they didn't offer much to the breakaway in any of the stages. They started controlling the peleton when it was clear Daryl Impey was in a good position, and would Impey have taken the GC if Bevin hadn't crashed? I don't think so.
2 | BORA - Hansgrohe | 5.5/10
Best GC Postion: 21st - Gregor Mühlberger
Best Points Postion: 3rd - Peter Sagan
Best KOM Position: 23rd - Daniel Oss
Team Standing: 10th
Before the TDU started, I mentioned that this squad was purely built around Peter Sagan and ultimately I was correct. Sagan, not being a pure sprinter, only managed to win a single stage, but featured in the top 10 of 3 others. No-one else in their team had much success with Mühlberger being the only rider to feature in the top 25 of any stage.
3 | Trek - Segafredo | 6/10
Best GC Postion: 2nd - Richie Porte
Best Points Postion: 16th - Richie Porte
Best KOM Position: 3rd - Richie Porte
Team Standing: 15th
In my honest opinion Richie Porte would have won the TDU if he had attacked on Willunga Hill before he did. I think he had his eyes on stage victory and didn't focus on claiming a tonne of seconds from Impey also. Not a bad Tour from Trek, and I was surprised to see Kiel Reijnen (not someone I've seen a lot of) do well in the sprints; Richie Porte then eased to victory on Willunga Hill, and considering the TDU isn't one for the pure climbers they did well to slide him into 2nd.
4 | Lotto Soudal | 4/10
Best GC Postion: 36th - Carl Fredrik Hagen
Best Points Postion: 37th - Thomas De Gendt
Best KOM Position: N/A
Team Standing: 16th
I could have been a lot harsher with my ranking of Lotto, but part of the reason their results weren't great was becuase of Caleb Ewan's DQ. Ignoring that, they performed okay. Ewan finished 2nd on Stage 2 behind Bevin and (should have) finished 1st on Stage 5 if he hadn't decided to deploy some needless headbuts. De Gendt featured in one of the breaks, but other than that Lotto weren't very prominent at the TDU.
5 | UAE - Team Emirates | 8/10
Best GC Postion: 9th - Diego Ulissi
Best Points Postion: 7th - Jasper Philipsen
Best KOM Position: N/A
Team Standing: 1st
My highest rating so far and I believe they thoroughly deserve it! I said before the TDU that Ulissi might be an outside bet and rightly he finished in the Top 10 of the GC, their young sprinter Jasper Philipsen (recently moving over from Hagens Berman Axeon) did well and even took a stage victory after Ewan's DQ. I was surprised to see them take the Team Standing, but I'd say they were the 'dark horses' this year!
6 | Team Dimension Data | 3.5/10
Best GC Postion: 11th - Ryan Gibbons
Best Points Postion: 12th - Ryan Gibbons
Best KOM Position: 17th - Ben O'Connor
Team Standing: 3rd
I was expecting so much more from Dimension Data and I had backed Valgren to do very well in the GC. Ryan Gibbons saved them complete embarressment with some solid sprinting, and the team as whole averaged quite a good time coming 3rd in the Team Standings. Not worthy of anything more than 3.5/10 however.
7 | Bahrain Merida | 7/10
Best GC Position: 5th - Rohan Dennis
Best Points Position: 8th - Phil Bauhaus
Best KOM Position - 11th - Rohan Dennis
Team Standing - 2nd
I had completely ruled Rohan Dennis out of the TDU as I didn't feel he had what it takes, but I was completely wrong! Dennis taking 5th in the GC and a pure climber of Pozzivivo not that far behind in 14th is very commendable. Dennis even finished 4th on Stage 6 at Willunga Hill which was a nice surprise. Bauhaus didn't cause any upsets in the sprints, but still did quite well, finishing 6th in a few stages.
8 | EF Education First | 5/10
Best GC Position: 7th - Michael Woods
Best Points Position: 14th - Michael Woods
Best KOM Position: 9th - Michael Woods
Team Standing: 14th
I was expecting a little more from EF at the TDU, but they do have one of the lowest budgets in the peleton and they do well for what they spend. Michael Woods came in the Top 10 in both the harder stages and did well to finish 7th - if he had a better sprinting ability and could have contested some of the bonus seconds, he likely would have done better.
9 | Team Sunweb | 6/10
Best GC Position: 6th - Chris Hamilton
Best Points Position: 9th - Chris Hamilton
Best KOM Position: 12th - Chris Hamilton
Team Standing: 4th
I didn't expect much from Sunweb and thought the squad they took was actually quite weak. Chris Hamilton did incredibly well to finish 6th and took the Young Rider's Jersey with it! I think he's definitely one to watch out for in the future. Max Walscheid also sprinted quite well, and even finished 2nd behind Viviani on stage 1.
10 | AG2R La Mondiale | 1.5/10
Best GC Position: 32nd - Pierre Latour
Best Points Position: 40th - Nico Denz
Best KOM Position: 14th - Clement Chevrier
Team Standing: 17th
An absolute shocker for AG2R. I was expecting Latour to ease into the Top 10 of the GC, but he didn't. I think this may have been at most a training session for their riders, with only Chevrier being present in a single breakaway and nothing notable from the team as a result.
11 | Astana Pro Team | 7.25/10
Best GC Position: 4th - Luis León Sánchez
Best Points Position: 5th - Luis León Sánchez
Best KOM Position: 6th - Manuele Boaro
Team Standing: 18th
Luis León Sánchez was simply incredible in the TDU. Did well in the sprints and often was the rider attacking first, and then did well in the tough stages too. Boaro and Zakharov performed well in the break, and there was always an Astana rider present! Sánchez was very unlucky to miss out on the podium by just 2 seconds.
12 | Team Katusha - Alpecin | 3.5/10
Best GC Position: 8th - Ruben Guerreiro
Best Points Position: 11th - Ruben Guerreiro
Best KOM Position: N/A
Team Standing: 13th
Not great from Katusha but they've been saved from a lower ranking by their youngster Ruben Guerreiro. Alex Dowsett tried to get in the break on the last stage, but other than that I don't remember seeing much action from them.
13 | Groupama - FDJ | 2.5/10
Best GC Position: 23rd - Tobias Ludvigsson
Best Points Position: 36th - Daniel Hoelgaard
Best KOM Position: N/A
Team Standing: 9th
Nothing much to shout about from Groupama, a couple of top 10 finishes but they weren't close to success in any of the classifications so don't deserve anything better than 2.5/10.
14 | Movistar | 4.5/10
Best GC Postion: 22nd - Eduard Prades
*** Best Points Position:*** 21st - Ruben Fernandez
Best KOM Position: 13th - Hector Carretero
Team Standing: 5th
Jasha Sütterlin was prominent in the breaks, and they did alright in the finishing places but nothing too exciting. Weren't close in any of the classifications, but did overall the team did quite well.
15 | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 6/10
Best GC Position: 10th - Dries Devenyns
Best Points Position: 6th - Elia Viviani
Best KOM Position: N/A
Team Standing: 11th
I don't think Viviani was on top form at the TDU, if he was he probably would have taken a couple more stages. 10th in GC from Devenyns even though the team was focusing solely in sprint victories from Viviani is quite impressive. Definitely could have done better, but didn't do too badly.
16 | Team Jumbo - Visma | 6/10
Best GC Position: 12th - George Bennett
Best Points Position: 2nd - Danny Van Poppel
Best KOM Position: 4th - George Bennett
Team Standing: 7th
Bennett showed real promise throughout but didn't manage to get in the Top 10 of the GC which is a little bit a dissapointment. Van Poppel exceded expectations and finished 2nd in the Points standings just 2 points behind Bevin, and probably deserved a stage win too. I think they could do quite well in one of the big races further on in the calender.
17 | Team Sky | 7.5/10
Best GC Position: 3rd - Wout Poels
Best Points Position: 10th - Wout Poels
Best KOM Position: 2nd - Wout Poels
Team Standings: 8th
Wout Poels did really well thoughout, finishing 2nd on Willunga Hill behind Richie Porte. Kenny Elissonde did some monumental work for the Dutchman and their young sprinter Halvorssen finished in the Top 10 on a few of the sprint stages. Couldn't really have asked for much more from Team Sky.
18 | CCC Team | 8/10
Best GC Position: 41st - Patrick Bevin
Best Points Position: 1st - Patrick Bevin
Best KOM Position: 18th Patrick Bevin
Team Standings: 19th
The results are a little harsh on CCC. Patrick Bevin was incredible, I pointed out that he was in a good position after two stages and could go all the way, but ultimately he was so, so, so unlucky to crash out on stage 5. There a lot of new faces in the team after BMC's merger (ish) into them, and they held their own very well. I think they'll continue improving and the results will come. The Points jersey is a good reward for now.
19 | UniSA - Australia | 8.5/10
Best GC Position: 26th - Chris Harper
Best Points Position: 23rd - Nicholas White
Best KOM Position: 1st - Jason Lea
Team Standings: 12th
Probably the most exciting team in the peleton at the TDU. These fellas were the first to attack when the flag dropped and there was always at least 1 in the break. Jason Lea eased to the KOM jersey without needing any points in the final stage. To finish 12th is also a fine achievement, with 7 World Tour level teams failing to match them. A pleasant surprise from UniSA.
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