Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2017 – Prologue [Highlights – Individual Time Trial]

February 1, 2017

Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2017 – Prologue– Melbourne – Melbourne – 2,1 km

The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually over five days in February. It is named after the Herald Sun, Melbourne’s only daily tabloid newspaper. It was originally known as the Sun Tour after The Sun News-Pictorial, and changed its name when The Sun News-Pictorial merged with The Herald in 1990.

A blistering ride from Danny van Poppel saw the Team Sky rider open his win account for 2017 and claim the first leader’s jersey of the race. Chris Froome (Team Sky) was faster than his 2016 result but could only manage 26th position with Sebastian Henao the best of Sky’s GC men. Brenton Jones (JLT Condor) was just nine hundredths of a second off the win in second place with his JLT teammate Alex Frame third.

Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott), regarded as the chief rival to the defending champion Froome, was four seconds of the Briton in 64th place to set up an intriguing battle on the climb up Falls Creek tomorrow where Sky and Orica-Scott are expected to shake up the race.

After four top-four placing’s at the Tour Down Under, van Poppel ensured his Australian campaign could be judged a success with his first prologue win since the 2014 Tour of Luxembourg. As the Dutchman won’t be wearing the yellow jersey after tomorrow’s queen stage, he wanted to bask in the glory and enjoy his moment in the sunshine post-victory.

“I hope I can give it tomorrow to Chris,” he said of the jersey he had just collected from the podium. “Tomorrow is a nice day for Chris and the team, so we go full for him and maybe for the sprint stages I go for it.

“I know that I am fast in the prologue so I was focused on winning it and nothing else. I am really happy because you are always searching for your first victory for the team and yourself and I am happy I did it.”

Froome was quicker than last year, helped by repairs to smooth the road over, and heads into the mountains ready for the battle with Orica-Scott.

“It’s a great start for the team, with Danny winning – that’s giving us a lot of confidence going into the week ahead. He did a great ride,” he said briefly after finishing. “It’s definitely a bit of a lung buster – you just have two minutes to get everything out. It’s not really my kind of course, but it’s great to kick the week off.”

For Jones, it was the second time he’s raced the course and second time he’s narrowly come up short following his close call in 2015. However, the JLT Condor rider was only taking away the positives from his performance.

“I rode a great race, Danny was really fast today. He is a WorldTour rider so no disappointment in coming second. Great to see my teammates Alex in third as well,” Jones said of his ride which was also aided by the road repairs and is looking forward to taking it up to van Poppel on stages 2 and 3 which are expected to end in a bunch sprint.

Stage 1 of the race takes the peloton up the 29km climb to Falls Creek where the general classification is expected to take shape with Froome and Chaves the key protagonists.

How it unfolded

On Sunday, Melbourne’s Federation Square was packed with fans to watch an epic Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal Australian Open final unfold on the big screen. Come Wednesday and the stage had transformed into the new setting for a brief team presentation before the riders rolled out at 45-second intervals with the fans cheering roadside along the 2.1km parcours.

Jason Christie led off the proceeding at the 64th running of the Herald Sun Tour and as is often the case, the first starter was the first occupant of the hot seat. The rider on the New Zealand National Team set an early time of 2:40.40 minutes with Tim Roe (IsoWhey Sports Swisswellness) quickly dislodging the former Kiwi road champion by half a second.

Alex Frame (JLT Condor) then set a new course record as he crossed the line in 2:33.56 minutes. The Zealander was quickly bettered by van Poppel, who in turn also set a new course record. The Team Sky rider used his sprinting skills par excellence to record a 2:32.56 minute time. Chaves came through to record a 2:43 minute ride, slightly slower than Froome’s 2016 time on the same course.

Plenty of riders sprinted along the banks of the Yarra River with their eye on the double prize at the end of the long straight with Anthony Giacoppo the only man to get within three seconds before the designated team leader’s for the day started their races.

JLT Condor’s Brenton Jones missed the win by point nine of a second as the seventh last finisher with Leigh Howard (Aqua Blue Sports) also coming close to post fifth place. No one could get close to van Poppel though with the Dutchman claiming Sky’s first win of the season and ensuring Sky’s winning run at the Herald Sun Tour continues into 2017.

Ayden Toovey (NSW Institute of Sport) put in a solid ride as the best young rider and collect the other jersey on offer for the day with the KOM and points jerseys to be handed out after stage 1.

Results :
1 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 0:02:32
2 Brenton Jones (Aus) JLT Condor 0:00:01
3 Alex Frame (NZl) JLT Condor
4 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-Scott 0:00:02
5 Leigh Howard (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport 0:00:03
6 Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
7 Jesse Kerrison (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
8 Ian Bibby (GBr) JLT Condor 0:00:04
9 Travis McCabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
10 Cameron Bayly (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
11 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
12 Joseph Cooper (NZl) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
13 Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-Scott 0:00:05
14 Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
15 Ayden Toovey (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport 0:00:06
16 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky
17 Robbie Hucker (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
18 Cameron Meyer (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
19 Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott
20 Brad Evans (NZl) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
21 Jacob Kauffmann (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
22 Greg Henderson (NZl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:00:07
23 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
24 Darcy Ellerm-Norton (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
25 Lachlan Norris (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
26 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
27 James Fouche (NZl) New Zealand National Team 0:00:08
28 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott
29 Timothy Roe (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
30 Jason Christie (NZl) New Zealand National Team
31 Jeroen Meijers (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
32 Benjamin Hill (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
33 Angus Lyons (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
34 Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
35 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
36 Edmund Bradbury (GBr) JLT Condor
37 Brodie Talbot (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
38 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
39 Alistair Slater (GBr) JLT Condor
40 Rob Power (Aus) Orica-Scott
41 Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij 0:00:09
42 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
43 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
44 Daniel Fitter (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
45 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
46 Cyrus Monk (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
47 Alex Wohler (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
48 James Oram (NZl) New Zealand National Team
49 Guy Kalma (NZl) Attaque Team Gusto
50 Mario Vogt (Ger) Attaque Team Gusto
51 Ivan Savitckii (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
52 Joshua Taylor (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
53 Drew Morey (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
54 Steve Lampier (GBr) JLT Condor 0:00:10
55 Mitch Docker (Aus) Orica-Scott
56 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
56 James Gullen (GBr) JLT Condor
58 Nathan Earle (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
59 Hamish Schreurs (NZl) New Zealand National Team
60 Sam Dobbs (NZl) New Zealand National Team
61 Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
62 Artur Ershov (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
63 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:11
64 Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica-Scott
65 Kaden Groves (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
66 Patrick Sharpe (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
67 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
68 Kirill Sveshnikov (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
69 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
70 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij 0:00:12
71 Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
72 Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
73 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
74 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky
75 Jai Hindley (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
76 Matthew Zenovich (NZl) New Zealand National Team
77 Michael Storer (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team 0:00:13
78 Nicholas Katsonis (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
79 Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
80 Taylor Gunman (NZl) New Zealand National Team
81 Jesse Featonby (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
82 Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
83 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
84 Philip Martz (USA) Attaque Team Gusto 0:00:14
85 Oliver Kent-Spark (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
86 Scott Bowden (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
87 Nick van der Lijke (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
88 Thomas Hubbard (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
89 Timothy Guy (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
90 Samuel Jenner (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team 0:00:15
91 Tom Robinson (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
92 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
93 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Aqua Blue Sport
94 Alexandr Shushemoin (Kaz) Attaque Team Gusto
95 Sergey Nikolaev (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo 0:00:16
96 Marcelo Felipe (Phi) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:18
97 Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto 0:00:19
98 Josh Berry (Aus) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:20
99 Rustom Lim (Phi) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines
100 Mathew Ross (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg 0:00:21
101 Edgar Nohales Neto (Spa) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:23
102 Mark John Lexer Galedo (Phi) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines
103 Jesse Ewart (Aus) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:24
104 Craig Evers (Aus) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:30

General classification after Prologue
1 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 0:02:32
2 Brenton Jones (Aus) JLT Condor 0:00:01
3 Alex Frame (NZl) JLT Condor
4 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-Scott 0:00:02
5 Leigh Howard (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport 0:00:03
6 Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
7 Jesse Kerrison (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
8 Ian Bibby (GBr) JLT Condor 0:00:04
9 Travis McCabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
10 Cameron Bayly (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
11 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
12 Joseph Cooper (NZl) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
13 Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-Scott 0:00:05
14 Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
15 Ayden Toovey (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport 0:00:06
16 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky
17 Robbie Hucker (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
18 Cameron Meyer (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
19 Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott
20 Brad Evans (NZl) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
21 Jacob Kauffmann (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
22 Greg Henderson (NZl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:00:07
23 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
24 Darcy Ellerm-Norton (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
25 Lachlan Norris (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
26 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
27 James Fouche (NZl) New Zealand National Team 0:00:08
28 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott
29 Timothy Roe (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
30 Jason Christie (NZl) New Zealand National Team
31 Jeroen Meijers (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
32 Benjamin Hill (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
33 Angus Lyons (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
34 Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
35 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
36 Edmund Bradbury (GBr) JLT Condor
37 Brodie Talbot (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
38 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
39 Alistair Slater (GBr) JLT Condor
40 Rob Power (Aus) Orica-Scott
41 Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij 0:00:09
42 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
43 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
44 Daniel Fitter (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
45 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
46 Cyrus Monk (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
47 Alex Wohler (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
48 James Oram (NZl) New Zealand National Team
49 Guy Kalma (NZl) Attaque Team Gusto
50 Mario Vogt (Ger) Attaque Team Gusto
51 Ivan Savitckii (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
52 Joshua Taylor (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
53 Drew Morey (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
54 Steve Lampier (GBr) JLT Condor 0:00:10
55 Mitch Docker (Aus) Orica-Scott
56 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
56 James Gullen (GBr) JLT Condor
58 Nathan Earle (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
59 Hamish Schreurs (NZl) New Zealand National Team
60 Sam Dobbs (NZl) New Zealand National Team
61 Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
62 Artur Ershov (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
63 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:11
64 Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica-Scott
65 Kaden Groves (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
66 Patrick Sharpe (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
67 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
68 Kirill Sveshnikov (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
69 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
70 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij 0:00:12
71 Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
72 Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
73 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
74 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky
75 Jai Hindley (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team
76 Matthew Zenovich (NZl) New Zealand National Team
77 Michael Storer (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team 0:00:13
78 Nicholas Katsonis (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
79 Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
80 Taylor Gunman (NZl) New Zealand National Team
81 Jesse Featonby (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
82 Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo
83 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
84 Philip Martz (USA) Attaque Team Gusto 0:00:14
85 Oliver Kent-Spark (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg
86 Scott Bowden (Aus) IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
87 Nick van der Lijke (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
88 Thomas Hubbard (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
89 Timothy Guy (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
90 Samuel Jenner (Aus) KordaMentha Real Estate Australian National Team 0:00:15
91 Tom Robinson (Aus) NSW Institute of Sport
92 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
93 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Aqua Blue Sport
94 Alexandr Shushemoin (Kaz) Attaque Team Gusto
95 Sergey Nikolaev (Rus) Gazprom–RusVelo 0:00:16
96 Marcelo Felipe (Phi) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:18
97 Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto 0:00:19
98 Josh Berry (Aus) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:20
99 Rustom Lim (Phi) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines
100 Mathew Ross (Aus) Drapac–Pat’s Veg 0:00:21
101 Edgar Nohales Neto (Spa) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:23
102 Mark John Lexer Galedo (Phi) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines
103 Jesse Ewart (Aus) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:24
104 Craig Evers (Aus) 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines 0:00:30