Caleb Ewan's dominance of the Australian summer continued on a gusty afternoon on Moe as he added stage 2 of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour to his seven previous wins in season 2016.
Team Sky and Orica-GreenEdge split the peloton inside the final 10km with Ewan, Jack Haig (Orica-GreenEdge), Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare), Chris Froome, Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) and Jack Bobridge (Trek-Segafredo) forcing a break from which the Orica-GreenEdge rider was the beneficiary, claiming his third career win at the Victorian stage race.
"It was much tougher than the usual sprint finishes that I’ve been used to this summer,” Ewan said after his win. “The team rode awesome today, they kept me out of trouble and kept me near the front on all the climbs. I struggled through the middle climb, luckily they kept me near the front this last climb and it was actually harder than expected. I knew Kennaugh and Bobridge were going to be super strong over the top so I couldn’t let them go away, so I jumped on them and held on for my life really.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The peloton first crossed under the finish line in Moe before a 15km circuit around the Gippsland town. A little kicker of a climb in the final kilometres, followed by an uphill drag to the line in gusty conditions ensured it was a tougher finish than it appeared on paper. Having made the front group though, victory was a foregone conclusion for Ewan once he opened up his sprint.
“It’s also a massive confidence boost knowing that in the harder stages I can still be there and win the sprint. So it gives me a whole lot of confidence heading into the season,” Ewan said. “That last lap was hectic, and the wind really picked up in the last hour and half of the race which made it really hard. Like it said, my team kept me up the front out of trouble and in the wheels so when we arrived at the climb was probably a lot fresher than the other guys.”
Stage 3 of the race is expected to suit the sprinters with the stage finish in Inverloch. Having won stages 2 and 3 of last year’s race, Ewan is aiming to repeat his success of 2015
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://ift.tt/1K2xIiP
No comments:
Post a Comment