Team Sky's second win in three days of racing at the Herald Sun Tour was just the tonic it needed after Orica-Scott's Damien Howson put them to the sword by claiming the Queen stage and race lead 24-hours before.
While victory on stage 2 from Mt Beauty to Beechworth via the breakaway for Luke Rowe was celebrated, the day marked the first of two opportunities Team Sky has to claw back Chris Froome's 1:12 deficit to Howson.
"We had Luke up the road all day, and he was feeling good, so we gave him the green light to go for the stage win. He proved to have the best legs out of everyone in the race and rode away from the climbers on that steep climb," Froome said of his teammate's victory.
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With Rowe riding away to the stage win, a few minutes down the road back in the peloton the teams were positioning their riders and jockeying for space in the fast run into the base of the Stanley category two climb. The fact that Howson suffered a flat front tyre and Froome was one of several riders to attack were undisputed facts post-stage. The order and precise detail in which the events took place though were less clear with conflicting accounts on the specifics of the matter.
Froome explained that he had marked the climb as a launch pad to steal back time on Howson. Along with teammate Kenny Elissonde, JLT Condor's Ian Bibby, St George's Ben Dyball and four riders from the Australian national team, Froome found himself off the front of the peloton with Rowe in sight.
At this point, Froome explained the news of Howson's puncture came over the radio, and there was no chance of slowing down to let him back on.
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