Sun Tour: Day 2

On stage 1 of the Sun Tour, Aussie Damien Howson wins for ORICA-SCOTT atop Falls Creek. Ian Bibby best of the Brits in 12th, Lampier wins most agressive

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Sun Tour: Day 2

South Australian Damien Howson has been rewarded for his toil as an ORICA-Scott domestique with a stirring victory at the top of Falls Creek ahead of his more-fancied rivals in Stage 1 of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. It was his first victory as a professional.

For today’s full stage results see below.

Howson was catapulted into the yellow jersey with today’s win, with overnight leader Danny van Poppel (Team Sky) over 30 minutes back. Twenty-year-old West Australian Jai Hindley (KordaMentha Australian National Team) was second to the line, 32 seconds in arrears while Team Sky’s Kenny Elissonde was a further 15 seconds back.

Howson and Elissonde attacked a splintering peloton around halfway up the 30km climb to the finish, with JLT Condor’s Steve Lampier the lone man standing from the day’s eight-man breakaway. Howson was finally able to rid himself of the Sky Frenchman with two kilometres left to race and had time to consider his celebration as he crossed the finish line, eventually raising both arms in the air.

“Once I hit the bottom of the climb I started to feel pretty good,” Howson said. “I was a bit average before that but I was pretty confident once that climb started and I got a bit of a gap on the main field and I was with Kenny who’s obviously a strong climber in his own right. But I did back myself if I could shake him in those last couple of kilometres then it was a matter of holding as much time as I could to the line.

“It’s a dream scenario to have enough time coming through the finish over the last kilometre with a nice gap thinking of what salute to do… with the best climbers behind you, to finish off the way I did I was very happy with that.”

Photo: Con Chronis

Hindley’s ride was nothing short of a revelation. The youngster cementing his position as one of Australia’s next generation following his fifth overall at last year’s Tour de l’Avenir. In fact, it was a stage where the KordaMentha Australian National team excelled, storming home with five riders in the top 10. Hindley took the lead in the State Government Victoria Young Rider Classification and will wear the white jersey for Stage 2 on Friday.

“It was pretty scary coming into that last kilometre, I didn’t know if I was going to catch up to Kenny or if Froome was going to fly past me so I had my head down and was just giving it everything, really,” he admitted.

“The plan for everyone [in the team] was always to ride aggressively in the last three kilometres because that’s where you make time up on this climb.”

Asked if he would chase the yellow jersey over the coming days, Hindley was content to bask in the glory of his efforts for just a little while longer.

“We’ll take it one step at a time I guess but it’s good to have so many guys up there and lots of options,” he said. “I think we’ll definitely try and ride aggressively and try and take the jersey.

“It would be pretty good. It’s an awesome tour but I’m pretty happy with the white jersey at the moment.”

Elissonde admitted that third place wasn’t ideal with teammate and defending champion Chris Froome sixth across the finish line, 1min11sec behind Howson. “It’s nice to be there but I would prefer Chris took the win today than me be third. Maybe that’s for later in the week,” he said before suggesting that the fight for the yellow jersey was far from being over.

“We don’t ride for third place… we’ll try something. There is still time for the final selection.”

It was a sentiment shared by Team Sky Directeur Sportif, Brett Lancaster. “We’ve got some hard days coming up though so we’ll shake it up and see what happens. It’s not over yet. It will be very tricky to get over a minute on Howson but it’s bike racing and Froomey is one of the best bike riders in the world. We’ll never give up. It’s not over until the fat lady sings.”

The story of the race

The peloton left Wangaratta for the longest day on the 2017 Jayco Herald Sun Tour cheered on by a sizeable local crowd ahead of 174.2km in the saddle.

A breakaway of eight riders formed inside the opening 10km of the stage comprised of Sjoerd van Ginneken (Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij), Greg Henderson (UnitedHealthcare), Calvin Watson (Aqua Blue Sport), Steve Lampier (JLT Condor), Ben Hill (Attaque Team Gusto), Mathew Ross (Drapac Pat’s Veg), Darcy Ellerm-Norton (St George Continental), and Jake Kauffmann (NSW Institute of Sport). The maximum advantage by the group, which hit speed of 50km/h, was just under eight minutes before slowly being reeled in by an ORICA-Scott and Team Sky-led peloton.

Ross would be the first man dropped from the group, but only as the 30km climb up Falls Creek began, with 2013 Herald Sun Tour winner, Watson keeping the pressure on.

With 15km remaining, and the remnants of the breakaway holding a gap of around a minute, Howson and Elissonde charged ahead forcing Lampier and Watson to go for broke. Watson would eventually succumb while Lampier defied the odds to stick with Howson and Elissonde.

“Howson and Elissonde came across and I just sat there for a bit and then it was lights out,” Lampier said, having earned the Bicycle Beer Most Aggressive Ride prize for his performance. It’s been an extraordinary summer for the JLT Condor team, finishing in the top three of every race they’ve entered until today, although very much content with Lampier’s efforts. He was eventually dropped by the duo with 10km to go.

The gap to a splintered chase group was around 50 seconds with three kilometres remaining and the finish line in sight, leaving Hindley to go on the offensive. Further up the road, Howson left Elissonde behind with two kilometres left to race while Froome and one of the other favourites for the stage, Esteban Chaves (ORICA-Scott) could only follow the charge of Hindley’s teammates.

Steve Lampier won the Most Agressive Award for the stage

Stage 1 Result
1 Damien Howson (Ors) Aus 4h33:54
2 Jai Hindley (Aus) Aus 32
3 Kenny Elissonde (Sky) Fra 47
4 Michael Storer (Aus) Aus +1:03
5 Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Ors) Col +1:10
6 Chris Froome (Sky) Gbr +1:11
7 Nathan Earle (Aus) Aus +1:11
8 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Aus +1:11
9 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Aus +1:13
10 Timothy Roe (Iws) Aus +1:15
11 Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle (Uhc) Col +1:21
12 Ian Bibby (Jlt) Gbr +1:28
13 Edmund Bradbury (Jlt) Gbr +1:33
14 Jonathan Clarke (Uhc) Aus +1:33
15 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Sky) Col +1:43
16 Cameron Bayly (Iws) Aus +1:47
17 Jesse Featonby (Dpv) Aus +1:49
18 Alistair Donohoe (Atg) Aus +1:51
19 Lachlan Norris (Uhc) Aus +1:56
20 Benjamin Dyball (Stg) Aus +2:25
21 Simon Gerrans (Ors) Aus +2:39
22 Scott Bowden (Iws) Aus +3:14
23 Dylan Sunderland (Nis) Aus +3:40
24 Pavel Brutt (Gaz) Rus +3:40
25 Lawrence Warbasse (Abs) Usa +4:17
26 Daniel Fitter (Nis) Aus +4:36
27 Jason Christie (Nzl) Nzl +4:49
28 Martijn Tusveld (Rnl) Ned +5:33
29 Sam Dobbs (Nzl) Nzl +6:33
30 Steve Lampier (Jlt) Gbr +7:04
31 Jesse Ewart (7rp) Aus +7:28
32 Mario Vogt (Atg) Ger +7:28
33 Robbie Hucker (Iws) Aus +7:31
34 Samuel Jenner (Aus) Aus +7:42
35 James Oram (Nzl) Nzl +8:21
36 Tanner Putt (Uhc) Usa +8:26
37 Mitch Docker (Ors) Aus +8:26
38 Timothy Guy (Atg) Aus +10:32
39 Cyrus Monk (Dpv) Aus +10:32
40 Drew Morey (Dpv) Aus +10:32
41 Brodie Talbot (Stg) Aus +11:35
42 Greg Henderson (Uhc) Nzl +11:35
43 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) Ned +11:35 4
44 Artur Ershov (Gaz) Rus +11:35
45 James Gullen (Jlt) Gbr +11:35
46 Alexandr Shushemoin (Atg) Kaz +13:43
47 Calvin Watson (Abs) Aus +14:16
48 Luke Rowe (Sky) Gbr +14:16
49 Jesper Asselman (Rnl) Ned +14:16
50 Taco Van Der Hoorn (Rnl) Ned +14:16
51 Michael Hepburn (Ors) Aus +14:48
52 Rob Power (Ors) Aus +14:48
53 Angus Lyons (Aus) Aus +14:48
54 Alistair Slater (Jlt) Gbr +16:30
55 Nick Van Der Lijke (Rnl) Ned +17:19
56 Jeroen Meijers (Rnl) Ned +17:19
57 Oliver Kent-Spark (Dpv) Aus +17:19
58 Jacob Kauffmann (Nis) Aus +17:19 6
59 Brad Evans (Dpv) Nzl +17:19
60 Sergey Nikolaev (Gaz) Rus +17:19
61 Rustom Lim (7rp) Phi +17:19
62 Benjamin Hill (Atg) Aus +17:19 1
63 Nicholas Katsonis (Dpv) Aus +17:19
64 Conor Dunne (Abs) Irl +17:19
65 Travis Mccabe (Uhc) Usa +18:38
66 Edgar Nohales Neto (7rp) Esp +18:52
67 Joseph Cooper (Iws) Nzl +19:00
68 Tim Ariesen (Rnl) Ned +21:55
69 Michel Kreder (Abs) Ned +21:55
70 Brenton Jones (Jlt) Aus +21:55
71 Joshua Taylor (Nis) Aus +21:55
72 Kaden Groves (Stg) Aus +21:55
73 Anthony Giacoppo (Iws) Aus +21:55
74 Aleksei Tcatevich (Gaz) Rus +21:55
75 Peter Koning (Abs) Ned +21:55
76 Hamish Schreurs (Nzl) Nzl +21:55
77 Taylor Gunman (Nzl) Nzl +21:55
78 Nikolay Trusov (Gaz) Rus +21:55
79 Adrian Hegyvary (Uhc) Usa +21:55
80 Ayden Toovey (Nis) Aus +21:55
81 Patrick Sharpe (Stg) Aus +21:55
82 Marcelo Felipe (7rp) Phi +21:55
83 Guy Kalma (Atg) Nzl +21:55
84 Aaron Gate (Abs) Nzl +23:17
85 Matthew Zenovich (Nzl) Nzl +23:17
86 Alex Frame (Jlt) Nzl +23:17
87 James Fouche (Nzl) Nzl +23:17
88 Ivan Savitckii (Gaz) Rus +23:17
89 Leigh Howard (Abs) Aus +23:17
90 Mark John Lexer Galedo (7rp) Phi +23:17
91 Ian Stannard (Sky) Gbr +23:17
92 Philip Martz (Atg) Usa +24:00
93 Josh Berry (7rp) Aus +24:36
94 Sam Bewley (Ors) Nzl +25:43
95 Jesse Kerrison (Iws) Aus +26:17
96 Darcy Ellerm-Norton (Stg) Nzl +26:17
97 Mathew Ross (Dpv) Aus +26:17 1
98 Danny Van Poppel (Sky) Ned +30:20
99 Craig Evers (7rp) Aus +31:53
100 Kirill Sveshnikov (Gaz) Rus +36:09
101 Alex Wohler (Nis) Aus +37:19
102 Thomas Hubbard (Stg) Nzl +37:30
103 Jay Dutton (Stg) Aus +37:30
Dnf Tom Robinson (Nis) Aus
Average Speed Of The Winner: 38.2 Km/H
Number Of Starters: 104

Stage Awards: Bicyle Beer Most Aggressive Rider – Steve Lampier (Jlt)
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General Classification After Stage 1
1 Damien Howson (Ors) Aus 4h36:32
2 Jai Hindley (Aus) Aus 38
3 Kenny Elissonde (Sky) Fra 53
4 Michael Storer (Aus) Aus +1:10
5 Chris Froome (Sky) Gbr +1:12
6 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Aus +1:13
7 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Aus +1:13
8 Nathan Earle (Aus) Aus +1:15
9 Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Ors) Col +1:15
10 Timothy Roe (Iws) Aus +1:17
11 Ian Bibby (Jlt) Gbr +1:26
12 Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle (Uhc) Col +1:28
13 Edmund Bradbury (Jlt) Gbr +1:35
14 Jonathan Clarke (Uhc) Aus +1:40
15 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Sky) Col +1:43
16 Cameron Bayly (Iws) Aus +1:45
17 Jesse Featonby (Dpv) Aus +1:56
18 Lachlan Norris (Uhc) Aus +1:57
19 Alistair Donohoe (Atg) Aus +2:04
20 Benjamin Dyball (Stg) Aus +2:30
21 Simon Gerrans (Ors) Aus +2:41
22 Scott Bowden (Iws) Aus +3:22
23 Dylan Sunderland (Nis) Aus +3:43
24 Pavel Brutt (Gaz) Rus +3:44
25 Lawrence Warbasse (Abs) Usa +4:26
26 Daniel Fitter (Nis) Aus +4:39
27 Jason Christie (Nzl) Nzl +4:51
28 Martijn Tusveld (Rnl) Ned +5:39
29 Sam Dobbs (Nzl) Nzl +6:37
30 Steve Lampier (Jlt) Gbr +7:08
31 Robbie Hucker (Iws) Aus +7:31
32 Mario Vogt (Atg) Ger +7:31
33 Jesse Ewart (7rp) Aus +7:46
34 Samuel Jenner (Aus) Aus +7:51
35 James Oram (Nzl) Nzl +8:24
36 Tanner Putt (Uhc) Usa +8:28
37 Mitch Docker (Ors) Aus +8:30
38 Cyrus Monk (Dpv) Aus +10:35
39 Drew Morey (Dpv) Aus +10:35
40 Timothy Guy (Atg) Aus +10:40
41 Greg Henderson (Uhc) Nzl +11:36
42 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) Ned +11:37
43 Brodie Talbot (Stg) Aus +11:37
44 James Gullen (Jlt) Gbr +11:39
45 Artur Ershov (Gaz) Rus +11:39
46 Alexandr Shushemoin (Atg) Kaz +13:52
47 Luke Rowe (Sky) Gbr +14:14
48 Taco Van Der Hoorn (Rnl) Ned +14:17
49 Calvin Watson (Abs) Aus +14:20
50 Jesper Asselman (Rnl) Ned +14:22
51 Michael Hepburn (Ors) Aus +14:44
52 Angus Lyons (Aus) Aus +14:50
53 Rob Power (Ors) Aus +14:50
54 Alistair Slater (Jlt) Gbr +16:32
55 Jacob Kauffmann (Nis) Aus +17:13
56 Brad Evans (Dpv) Nzl +17:19
57 Benjamin Hill (Atg) Aus +17:20
58 Jeroen Meijers (Rnl) Ned +17:21
59 Conor Dunne (Abs) Irl +17:24
60 Nicholas Katsonis (Dpv) Aus +17:26
61 Oliver Kent-Spark (Dpv) Aus +17:27
62 Nick Van Der Lijke (Rnl) Ned +17:27
63 Sergey Nikolaev (Gaz) Rus +17:29
64 Rustom Lim (7rp) Phi +17:33
65 Travis Mccabe (Uhc) Usa +18:36
66 Joseph Cooper (Iws) Nzl +18:58
67 Edgar Nohales Neto (7rp) Esp +19:09
68 Brenton Jones (Jlt) Aus +21:50
69 Anthony Giacoppo (Iws) Aus +21:52
70 Ayden Toovey (Nis) Aus +21:55
71 Adrian Hegyvary (Uhc) Usa +21:57
72 Tim Ariesen (Rnl) Ned +21:58
73 Peter Koning (Abs) Ned +21:58
74 Nikolay Trusov (Gaz) Rus +21:58
75 Guy Kalma (Atg) Nzl +21:58
76 Joshua Taylor (Nis) Aus +21:58
77 Hamish Schreurs (Nzl) Nzl +21:59
78 Kaden Groves (Stg) Aus +22:00
79 Patrick Sharpe (Stg) Aus +22:00
80 Michel Kreder (Abs) Ned +22:01
81 Taylor Gunman (Nzl) Nzl +22:02
82 Aleksei Tcatevich (Gaz) Rus +22:02
83 Marcelo Felipe (7rp) Phi +22:07
84 Alex Frame (Jlt) Nzl +23:12
85 Leigh Howard (Abs) Aus +23:14
86 Aaron Gate (Abs) Nzl +23:16
87 James Fouche (Nzl) Nzl +23:19
88 Ivan Savitckii (Gaz) Rus +23:20
89 Ian Stannard (Sky) Gbr +23:22
90 Matthew Zenovich (Nzl) Nzl +23:23
91 Mark John Lexer Galedo (7rp) Phi +23:34
92 Philip Martz (Atg) Usa +24:08
93 Josh Berry (7rp) Aus +24:50
94 Sam Bewley (Ors) Nzl +25:42
95 Jesse Kerrison (Iws) Aus +26:14
96 Darcy Ellerm-Norton (Stg) Nzl +26:18
97 Mathew Ross (Dpv) Aus +26:31
98 Danny Van Poppel (Sky) Ned +30:14
99 Craig Evers (7rp) Aus +32:17
100 Kirill Sveshnikov (Gaz) Rus +36:14
101 Alex Wohler (Nis) Aus +37:22
102 Thomas Hubbard (Stg) Nzl +37:38
103 Jay Dutton (Stg) Aus +37:39

Metro Trains Sprint Classification After Stage 1
1 Jacob Kauffmann (Nis) Aus 12 Pt
2 Damien Howson (Ors) Aus 10
3 Jai Hindley (Aus) Aus 8
4 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) Ned 8
5 Kenny Elissonde (Sky) Fra 6
6 Michael Storer (Aus) Aus 4
7 Benjamin Hill (Atg) Aus 2
8 Mathew Ross (Dpv) Aus 2

Intermediate Sprints

Sprint #1 Myrtleford
1 Jacob Kauffmann (Nis) 6 Pt
2 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) 4
3 Mathew Ross (Dpv) 2

Sprint #2 Bright
1 Jacob Kauffmann (Nis) 6 Pt
2 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) 4
3 Benjamin Hill (Atg) 2

Sprint #3 (Stage Finish)
1 Damien Howson (Ors) 10 Pt
2 Jai Hindley (Aus) 8
3 Kenny Elissonde (Sky) 6
4 Michael Storer (Aus) 4

Subaru Hill Climb Classification After Stage 1
1 Damien Howson (Ors) Aus 24 Pt
2 Benjamin Hill (Atg) Aus 20
3 Jai Hindley (Aus) Aus 16
4 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) Ned 12
5 Kenny Elissonde (Sky) Fra 8
6 Mathew Ross (Dpv) Aus 6
7 Michael Storer (Aus) Aus 4
8 Calvin Watson (Abs) Aus 2

Hill Climbs

Kom #1 Tawonga Gap Cat2
1 Benjamin Hill (Atg) 20 Pt
2 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Rnl) 12
3 Mathew Ross (Dpv) 6
4 Calvin Watson (Abs) 2

Kom #2 Falls Creek Cat1
1 Damien Howson (Ors) 24 Pt
2 Jai Hindley (Aus) 16
3 Kenny Elissonde (Sky) 8
4 Michael Storer (Aus) 4

Teams Stage Result
1 Korda Mentha Real Estate Australian National Team (134, 137, 132) 13h44:28
2 Team Sky (3, 1, 4) 55
3 Orica – Scott (13, 12, 11) +1:03
4 Unitedhealthcare Pro Cycling Team (41, 42, 46) +2:04
5 Isowhey Sports Swisswellness (97, 94, 95) +3:30
6 Jlt Condor (61, 62, 64) +7:19
7 New Zealand National Team (147, 145, 142) +16:57
8 Attaque Team Gusto (87, 84, 86) +17:05
9 Drapac Pat’s Veg Holistic Development Team (107, 105, 106) +20:07
10 Nsw Institute Of Sport (122, 124, 121) +22:49
11 Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij (26, 23, 22) +28:38
12 Gazprom – Rusvelo (31, 33, 37) +29:48
13 Aqua Blue Sport (53, 52, 57) +33:06
14 St George Continental Cycling Team (111, 115, 113) +33:09
15 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines (75, 73, 74) +40:53

Teams General Classification After Stage 1  
1 Korda Mentha Real Estate Australian National Team 13h52:26
2 Team Sky 43
3 Orica – Scott 54
4 Unitedhealthcare Pro Cycling Team +2:00
5 Isowhey Sports Swisswellness +3:18
6 Jlt Condor +7:03
7 New Zealand National Team +17:00
8 Attaque Team Gusto +17:09
9 Drapac Pat’s Veg Holistic Development Team +20:09
10 Nsw Institute Of Sport +22:48
11 Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij +28:40
12 Gazprom – Rusvelo +29:54
13 Aqua Blue Sport +33:01
14 St George Continental Cycling Team +33:13
15 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines +41:29

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