He's won national titles, world championships and Olympic medals, but until Monday, Michael Hepburn (ORICA-Scott) had never won a stage of the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic. That changed in Portarlington when Hepburn attacked a four-man late race breakaway that included race leader Ian Bibby (JLT Condor) and Sunday's second place finisher Jesse Kerrison (IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness).
"I wanted to go to the line by myself," Hepburn told reporters, including Cyclingnews. "I threw a couple attacks in but I couldn't get rid of them. They were stock-standard attacks in the obvious moments, so I decided to attack through the start/finish line, which you don't normally do here and try to catch Jesse off-guard. Luckily I got a gap and could keep going with it."
It was chilly, with temperatures only in the high teens, and breezy along the Esplanade when the elite men set off for stage two of the three-day race series. ORICA-Scott lined-up with what Hepburn described as "an open plan" after a last corner crash on Sunday's stage one derailed Caleb Ewan's ambitions for his fourth Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic overall title.
"We can't fault anyone yesterday," said Hepburn. "We put ourselves into a situation to get a result there in the end, and one small moment like that can cost you the race. We're here to get in some hard racing to prepare for the Nationals coming up this week. Every race we do here is another stepping stone to that.
"There was an opportunity there for a few guys to go up the road be quite aggressive," Hepburn noted. "I'm thankful to have the form and legs to go with it."
Like the women's race held one hour earlier, the men's race split early over the deceptively difficult course.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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