Daryl Impey: He finally blossomed in the autumn of his career, but the crash with Theo Bos remains bizarre

After a professional career spanning no less than sixteen years, 39-year-old Daryl Impey is retiring from cycling. The man who not only once but twice managed to beat Richie Porte in his Tour Down Under is the same man who was infamously brought down by Theo Bos in the Tour of Turkey. IDLProCycling.com looks back extensively on Impey's extraordinary career.

As a 23-year-old, Impey got a contract with the Pro Continental team Barloworld. He rode for the South African team in 2008 and 2009 and made his professional debut alongside Chris Froome in the Volta ao Algarve. Froome finished 104th in the general classification, Impey 106th. In his first professional year, Impey had few successes but ended the year with his first victory as a pro, winning the final stage of the Herald Sun Tour.

Horror crash in Turkey with Theo Bos 

In 2009, Impey further developed and won the Tour of Turkey. However, it wasn't without controversy. In the last kilometer of the final stage, Theo Bos pulled hard on Impey's jersey, causing him to crash into the barriers. He broke two vertebrae but managed to finish the stage. Bos received a one-month suspension, but Impey couldn't race for five months, and this happened as Barloworld ceased to exist.

The fall of Bos and Impey, the text continues below the video."

After a personal call between team manager Johan Bruyneel and the rider in question, Radioshack decides to bring in Impey. With a one-year contract in hand, the South African moves up to the WorldTour. He fails to meet expectations, winning nothing and not getting a contract extension. He continues his career at the continental level in 2011 with the South African MTN-Qhubeka. Temporarily, he is no longer a professional. In the second half of the season, he rides with the Pro Continental team NetApp.

Impey finally breaks through at Orica-Greenedge

Orica-Greenedge sees potential in the now 27-year-old rider and brings him back to the WorldTour in 2012. Impey performs well, very well. He wins his first WorldTour-level race in April, a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country, and makes the Giro d'Italia team. There, he achieves multiple top-ten finishes. He also wins a stage in the Tour of Slovenia, preparing him for his first Tour de France. He finishes seventh in Rouen, ninth in Metz, fifth in Cap d'Adge, and ninth in Brive-la-Gaillarde. Four top-ten finishes, and that in his very first Grande Boucle. 2013 will be even better.

In 2013, Impey wins another stage in the Tour of the Basque Country and prepares again for the Tour de France. In a free agent team with Simon Gerrans, Michael Albasini, and Matthew Goss, Impey is free to achieve great results. The opening weekend in Corsica suits the free-wheelers. Impey finishes eleventh and eighth in the first two stages. In the third stage, however, his team plays the card of Gerrans, and successfully! Gerrans wins the hill stage to Calvi.

Impey wears the yellow jersey at the 2013 Tour de France

Back on the mainland, a team time trial follows in Nice. The men of Orica-Greenedge have prepared well and are among the shadow favorites. Winning? That seems a bit too ambitious. Yet, Impey and his team manage to beat top favorite Omega Pharma - QuickStep by just one second. Gerrans wears the yellow jersey, with Impey very close behind.

Two days later, Gerrans loses a few seconds, allowing a new man to show off in the Maillot Jaune. It's none other than an overjoyed Daryl Impey. He stands on the podium full of joy. He doesn't win the Tour, as he climbs too poorly for that. He loses the jersey in the mountain stage to Ax-3 Domaines and later takes some nice placings in the Tour. However, he will never forget those two days in the yellow jersey.

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Impey achieves few successes between 2014 and 2017

Between 2014 and 2017, Impey's development somewhat stagnates. The rider is 29 to 32 years old during this period and should be in the prime of his career. He achieves solid results and wins the occasional stage, but the big victories elude him. In the 2015 Vuelta a España, he finishes second in a stage, the closest he had come to a stage win in a grand tour. He is only beaten by Danny van Poppel in the sprint. In 2016, he also finishes second in a stage in the Tour de France. In 2017, he wins a stage in the Tour of Catalonia. It is his first WorldTour victory since the stage in the Tour of the Basque Country in 2013.

Epic battle between Impey and Porte in the 2018 Tour Down Under

In 2018, at the age of 33, Impey surprises everyone by beating Richie Porte in the general classification of the Tour Down Under. At that time, Porte is known as the King of Willunga Hill and regularly puts his rivals at a significant distance. The year before, he won the general classification by a large margin. In 2018, however, Impey stays close to Porte. Very close, losing no more than eight seconds.

He compensates for this deficit by achieving great results in the other stages. At the end of the week, the two have the exact same overall time. They are exactly tied in the standings! Impey is declared the winner due to his better results in the stages. The South African wins a WorldTour-level stage race for the first time in his career. Later that year, he also wins a stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

2019: The best year of Daryl Impey's career

But 2018 pales in comparison to 2019. Impey wins the Tour Down Under again after claiming the stage to Campbelltown. Porte, in turn, wins again on Willunga Hill, but he can't shake Impey. Impey maintains a thirteen-second lead in the general classification and wins the Tour Down Under for the second consecutive time. He makes history as the first male cyclist to win this round twice in a row.

Later that year, he rides the Tour de France. In the first eight days, Impey achieves no significant results, but in the ninth stage to Brioude, he shows his worth. The rider is in a large breakaway group, surrounded by men like Tiesj Benoot, Tony Martin, Ivan Garcia Cortina, Marc Soler, and Jasper Stuyven. On the last climb of the day, Benoot and Nicolas Roche break away from the rest of the breakaway group. Impey jumps to them. On the flat, Roche is dropped, leaving Impey and Benoot to sprint for the win. Benoot goes first but is slower than Impey. The South African wins his first stage in a grand tour, and it's in the Tour de France!

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After his successful years, Impey can't reach the same level in 2020. In the Tour Down Under, he loses the leader's jersey to, you guessed it, Richie Porte. Impey finishes 'only' sixth in the Australian race. He also fails to make an impact in the Tour de France. He does finish second in a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. At the end of 2020, he decides to leave Mitchelton-Scott, the later version of Orica-Greenedge, the team of his breakthrough.

Impey's career fades away

In the last three years of his career, Impey rides for Israel Start-Up Nation and Israel - Premier Tech. There, he cannot replicate his successes from 2018 and 2019. In 2021, he finishes second in a stage of the Tour of Catalonia and fourth in a stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. However, he doesn't win that year.

In 2022, we see a glimpse of the old Impey. He wins a stage in the Tour of Switzerland (it will be his last victory in the WorldTour) and finishes second in a stage of the Vuelta a España. In 2023, poor results and DNFs (Did Not Finish) follow one after the other. A 89th place in the Tour Down Under, the race he won twice, symbolizes the approaching end of his career. Impey decides to retire. From the clash with Bos to dethroning the King of Willunga Hill, Impey's career was filled with remarkable moments. The yellow jersey from 2013 will hang in his wardrobe forever.