Richie Porte remains firmly in the mix for the Tour Down Under after claiming seventh place on stage two.

The Tasmanian dug deep in the final metres to finish in the lead group in Stirling, and crucially on the same time as his rivals.

Team Sky again set about controlling the stage and on the final climb it was Pete Kennaugh who took to the front to string out the peloton.

The win on the day went to Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) after the Spaniard timed his kick to perfection, while Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) narrowly edged Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) into second on the uphill finish.

The stage was reeled off at a fast pace with Kennaugh, Chris Sutton, Salvatore Puccio and Luke Rowe all hitting the front at various points to fly the flag for Team Sky.

Jack Bobridge (Uni SA) was able to maintain his slender three-second advantage in the ochre jersey, with time bonuses meaning both Porte and Geraint Thomas (15th on the stage) sit 13 seconds back heading into a potentially selective third stage.

“It’s no secret I’m here to try and win this bike race,” said Porte after the stage. “I’m in good condition at the moment. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and stage three. It’s quite a hard and decisive climb at the end. Everything’s looking good.

“It was obvious that it was going to be a hard start straight into a 10km climb. We’ve got a good strong team here and I’m feeling quite confident so I don’t think it hurts to put the team on the front and try to control the race.

“It’s difficult to see how all the contenders are going. The finishes haven’t been quite hard enough yet. Cadel (Evans) is looking good. I’m looking forward to having a good battle with him tomorrow and hopefully on Willunga as well.”

Sports Director Kurt Asle Arvesen explained the team’s tactics after another day of controlling the race.

“It was a hectic start – really fast with a lot of attacks,” he told TeamSky.com. “In the first 30km we gained more than a thousand altitude metres. So it was a really tough start before that break went. After that we took it on and started chasing together with Uni SA. IAM also eventually came up to help us.

“We really believe Richie can win this race. That’s why we took it on – even if we don’t have the jersey. Richie and G were up there at the end. Everyone committed really well.  CJ came up at the beginning and was working for almost the whole stage. Pete, Luke, Ian (Stannard) and Salva all came up on the last lap to put us in a good position.

“Tomorrow is another day with an interesting final. Hopefully we can place Richie in a good position at the foot of the climb and then it’s over to him.”