A bike throw was the difference between Jay McCarthy and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) on stage 2 of the Tour Down Under with bonus seconds on the line also elevating the Tinkoff rider into the overall race lead. A crash with 500 metres to go brought down Simon Gerrans, among others, as McCarthy, Ulissi and Rohan Dennis (BMC) skipped away to battle for the win having been in the wheels just ahead of the fallers.
Despite knowing the finish courtesy of his 2014 victory, Ulissi couldn’t hold off the fast finishing McCarthy for his first in at WorldTour level.
“It’s always good to start the season here is Australia and to finish it with a victory was really good," McCarthy said. "I am glad the team gave me the chance to go for the stage and I am happy it paid off in the end.”
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McCarthy now leads the race by four seconds back to Ulissi, with Gerrans at five seconds, and is looking to hold onto the ochre leader’s jersey for as long as possible.
“I was hoping for a top five overall at this race this year," McCarthy. "I know I had some good training coming in and I felt like I had some good form, so to come out with the victory today, I am not done for the week and hopefully I can keep working hard and go for goal and hopefully even be on the podium at the end of the week.”
While the late fall interrupted the chances for several riders looking for victory, as the crash occurred within the final three kilometres there was no time losses with the bonus seconds for top three contributing to the changes in the top-ten standings.
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