It was full gas from the get-go at today’s 150 kilometer second stage of Santos Tour Down Under from Unley to Sterling. With an undulating stage profile many teams tried to get a rider in the breakaway with the hopes of making it to the finish line – just like on stage 1. That didn’t happen. 

Instead the stage ended in a final dash for the line in a decimated group of 48 riders, where Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) was the fastest on the day with Michael Rogers finishing 18th on the stage. Tomorrow, the riders will face an important but untested stage, says Tinkoff-Saxo sport director Lars Michaelsen.

“Today was fast paced from the start. But like yesterday, the profile wasn’t quite hard enough to bring out the big GC-favorites. I think that will change tomorrow. The finale will be very interesting with a 2 k unknown climb to the finish line with percentages of around 15 %. So, we will probably see the big GC guys making a move. They have all tested the climb, so we know that they are prepared for something going down”, explains Lars Michaelsen and adds:

“In that perspective it was good that we kept calm today and focused on staying with Michael”.

During the frantic beginning of today’s stage it was clear that Michael Kolar still hadn’t overcome his illness. The Slovak had to abandon during the race, which sends Tinkoff-Saxo’s squad down to six riders. Michaelsen is reassuring but tells that he’s sad to see Kolar leave the race.

“That wasn’t why he came to Australia, he obviously wanted to continue. He fought his best to stay in the race, but when you’re ill and coughing there’s nothing to do on fast days like today. He was already sick before Tour Down Under started and now we’ll give him some time to recover”, says Lars Michaelsen, who adds that “it will not affect Michael Rogers’ chances, our team is strong and motivated”.

None of the big pre-race favorites has lost time after the two first stages. Michael Rogers is the best-placed Tinkoff-Saxo rider in 22nd in the same time as his main GC rivals.