The big climbs on stages 1 and 4 of the Herald Sun Tour were the greatest challenges for the general classification hopefuls on paper, but it was a small stone with 20km to go on stage 3 to Beechworth that almost ended Damien Howson's race lead.
With the stage-winning breakaway up the road and the category 2 Stanley climb to come, Howson and his Orica-Scott team were getting into position for the ascent when disaster struck: Howson suffered a puncture just as the race was heating up.
Defeat was staring Howson in the face, but his teammate Mitch Docker was there quickly to hand over his front wheel. Once Howson had two good tyres again, the team set off in furious pursuit to chase down an attack from overall rival and defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky).
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With 3km to go, second placed Jai Hindley became the virtual leader on the road, but Orica-Scott was committed to 'operation save yellow'. With Esteban Chaves, Simon Gerrans and Rob Power, Orica pulled one out from the furnace and made contact on the final corner of the stage, just 700 metres from the line.
It was no surprise that Howson was effusive in his praise for his teammates once he completed the podium celebrations: the top three overall remained unchanged with Hindley second at 38 seconds.
"Remaining calm was the most difficult thing to do," a very relieved Howson said after collecting his yellow jersey. "I was just stressing… I was nervous going into that climb. I knew it could have been a difficult ride to the finish depending on how teams played their cards. To be on the back foot from a cause I couldn't control definitely added an element of stress. It makes it more sweet at the finish.
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