20-year-old sprinter Caleb Ewan has claimed ORICA-GreenEDGE’s second consecutive victory at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, taking out the stage two sprint into Nagambie.

 

Yesterday’s stage winner and current race leader Cameron Meyer also finished safely in the bunch to retain the yellow leader’s jersey.

With a strong lead out from his experienced teammates, Ewan entered the final U-turn 300m from the finish in perfect position and was too strong in the kick to the line.  

 

“A win is a win and they all feel good but it’s good to get a UCI (classified) win,” Ewan said. “I am aiming for five or six wins in UCI races this year so it’s good to get one on the board.

 

“We were getting challenged coming down the back straight here but our guys were still pretty fresh and we hit out into the last corner and I came around in good position and won from there.

 

"I think with ten km to go, all the lead out trains started to go to the front and we sat back and waited a bit, watching it all happening on the right hand side of the road. When everyone started to die down little bit, maybe a kilometre before the corner [with 400m to go] we came to the front and drilled it.

 

“After you win one stage your confidence lifts a fair bit and I know I can beat all of the guys here in the sprint now so going into the next stage I will be a lot more confident.

 

"After nationals and not winning and then going to Cadel's race and not even finishing, I felt a bit of pressure today to get a good result and definitely win. It's sort of a relief to come across the line first and a lot of pressure is lifted of your shoulders.

 

"Hopefully we have the same scenario as today and we can do a good lead out and hopefully go for another stage win today."

 

"Yesterday was never going to suit me and the plan was not to get into the front group as I don't think anyone would have wanted to take me to the line so it was good to have our GC guys in front and it was a pretty easy day for me and the other sprinters as well. Today, I had good legs and the plan was to go for the win today."

 

"They are pretty important," he said of wins in Australia. "If you can get a few wins before you even get over to Europe it gives you more confidence throughout the year and takes more pressure off you."

 

The 20-year-old was relieved to have avoided the crash.

 

“When I was crossing the line it didn’t sound too good so I was pretty happy to be in front of that one,” he said.

 

On paper, the second stage from Bendigo to Nagambie look set for a sprint and proceedings didn’t offer much threat to that prediction.

 

After an aggressive start to the race, a trio of riders did the hard yards off the front, but ORICA-GreenEDGE was supported at the front of the peloton by a number of other teams to keep the gap below three minutes. 

 

The outcome was a relatively stress-free defense of the yellow jersey for Meyer.

 

“Every single team was attacking us and we just couldn’t get control of the race in the start,” Meyer said of his lead defense.

 

“There was breaks of 20-30 guys going up the road and it was really hard but in the end it did come back, three guys away, a perfect sprint for Caleb and he nailed it so we got through the day well.

 

“Today was favourable for us to have an easier day and let the other teams chase the break and have a go at the sprint with Caleb.”

 

“I heard the temperature is going up so that’s going to be hard but, the way they attacked today, geez, we could be in for a hard one,” he said about tomorrow's stage. “A few more hills, it’s going to be an interesting day but I think we’ve got the team to control it.”

 

The start of the penultimate day of racing tomorrow will be hosted at Mitchelton Winery, a familiar fixture in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour course over the past few years, and again finish in Nagambie.  The Highlands present a serious climb mid-race, with a flat run into the finish.