Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2019 – Stage 2 [Highlights]

January 31, 2019

Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2019 – Stage 2 – Wonthaggi – Churchill : 127 km

The Herald Sun Tour is ready to roll out for its 65th edition in Victoria from January 30 through February 3. The UCI 2.1 race began in 1952 as the first professional stage race in Victoria since the 1934 Centenary Thousand Classic, and it continues through this season with only a couple interruptions in the 67-year run. This year’s race features five stages that will take riders from Phillip Island on stage 1 to Melbourne on the final day. Along the way, the 2019 Herald Sun Tour will visit Wonthaggi, Churchill, Sale, Warragul, Cape Schanck and Arthurs Seat.

Canada’s Michael Woods made it two wins out of two for his EF Education First team at the 2019 Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Churchill, Victoria, on Thursday, out-sprinting Trek-Segafredo’s Richie Porte after the two riders escaped on stage 2’s final, gravelled climb.

Woods attacked just before the start of the 1.1km dirt-road section on the Jeeralang climb, with Porte scrambling to stay on his wheel. The Canadian was first over the top of the climb with a small gap to Porte, with 12 kilometres left to race, but the Australian managed to get back on the descent, and the two of them worked together to distance their rivals, with Woods eventually out-kicking Porte at the finish.

“I actually reconned this course beforehand, including the descent, so I took the descent pretty fast,” said Woods, “although it was still a pedalling descent, and I didn’t want to gas myself, in case somebody else got back on, like Richie did. Then we just talked to each other, and said, ‘Let’s just drill it until the last kilometre.'”

Porte confirmed the conversation, but that final kilometre was clearly a free-for-all.

“We said not to play around, and then he sits on for the last kilometre,” said Porte. “But that’s racing, I suppose, and I tip my hat to Michael. He’s a great athlete, and he’s a great guy, so I think he deserved to win today.”

Team Sky’s Kenny Elissonde and Dylan van Baarle were the best of the rest on a day when the race was blown apart by both the climbs and strong winds, and Woods now leads the race overall by four seconds from Porte, with Elissonde in third, another 23 seconds back.

How it unfolded

Six riders escaped early on Thursday’s second stage from Wonthaggi to Churchill, building up a lead of over three minutes on the relatively flat first half of the 127km stage.

Three of those riders – Shane Archbold (EvoPro), Oliver’s Real Food Racing’s Karl Michelin-Beard and Thomas Coates (Futuro-Maxxis) – were left behind on the day’s first ‘king of the mountains’ climb at Mirboo after 50 kilometres, and Nick White (Team Bridgelane), Liam White (Drapac Cannondale Holistic) and EvoPro Racing’s Cyrus Monk pushed on alone towards the day’s second intermediate sprint with just under 40km to go.

Shortly afterwards, and with the three riders still out at the front, a crash in the bunch took down a number of riders, with Nick Miller, Carter Bettles and Rhys Robotham – all of Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling – and the KordaMentha Australian Team’s Rudy Porter unable to finish the stage.

Up at the front of the bunch – where Elissonde told reporters he wasn’t even aware of there having been a crash – Team Sky, and Luke Rowe, in particular, turned the screw to try to take the race apart in what were increasingly strong winds, which they succeeded in doing ahead of the day’s final climb at Jeeralang.

On the climb, an attack from Sky’s Pavel Sivakov and Chris Harper (Team Bridgestone) – with the Australian doing an excellent ride to be among what was otherwise only WorldTour teams up at the front of the race – got a gap, and the pair were joined by Sivakov’s teammate Elissonde.

In the chasing group, Mitchelton-Scott were represented by three riders – Lucas Hamilton, Damien Howson and Nick Schultz – while race favourites Porte and Woods were there, and Sky also had Dutchman Dylan van Baarle.

Harper struggled to stay with Elissonde and Sivakov, and the two Sky riders pushed on, approaching the climb’s gravel section. But it was Woods who attacked once the lead pair had been pulled back, and only Porte could follow him. The Canadian led onto the gravel, with Porte yo-yoing on and off Woods’ wheel.

Woods was first over the climb, with a small gap, but when Porte made contact again, the two riders agreed to ride together on the descent to try to put some time into the Sky and Mitchelton-Scott riders chasing behind, and when they crossed the finish line – Woods ahead of Porte – they soon discovered that they’d put 17 seconds into third-placed Elissonde and 19 seconds into Van Baarle and Hamilton.

Friday’s 161.6km third stage between Sale and Warragul is hilly again, but it’s on Saturday’s stage 4 on which the race should be decided – probably between Woods and Porte, with Elissonde also likely to be in the mix – when the race’s penultimate stage finishes with four climbs of Arthurs Seat.

Results :
1 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling 2:55:44
2 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
3 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:00:17
4 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky 0:00:19
5 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
6 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky 0:00:43
7 Chris Harper (Aus) Team Bridgelane
8 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
9 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
10 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:54
11 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Bridgelane
12 Sam Jenner (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
13 Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) Trek-Segafredo
14 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling
15 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
16 Daniel Whitehouse (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:02:22
17 Nicholas White (Aus) Team Bridgelane
18 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling
19 Cyrus Monk (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:03:56
20 Freddy Ovett (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
21 Michael Freiberg (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
22 Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
23 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
24 Marcus Culey (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:05:23
25 Jesse Featonby (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:06:04
26 Carter Turnbull (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team 0:07:19
27 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 0:07:37
28 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:07:43
29 Brenton Jones (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
30 Liam White (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
31 Jesse Ewart (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling
32 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky
33 Owain Doull (Gbr) Team Sky
34 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
35 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
36 Muhammad Zawawi Azman (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
37 Hayden Mccormick (NZl) Team Bridgelane
38 Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
39 Dylan Newbery (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling
40 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane
41 Patrick Burt (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
42 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling
43 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling
44 Benjamin Andrews (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
45 Muhsin Al Redha Misbah (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling 0:08:31
46 Theodore Yates (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:09:37
47 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First Pro Cycling
48 Neil Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:10:34
49 William Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
50 Sebastian Presley (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
51 Tom Mcfarlane (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
52 Corbin Strong (Aus) St George Continental
53 Thomas Hubbard (Aus) St George Continental
54 David Williams (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
55 Liam Magennis (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
56 Jason Lea (Aus) Team Bridgelane
57 Craig Wiggins (Aus) St George Continental
58 Aaron Gate (Aus) EvoPro Racing
59 Conor Murtagh (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
60 Michael Potter (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
61 Ryan Cavanagh (Aus) St George Continental
62 Taj Jones (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
63 Jonathon Noble (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
64 Sam Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
65 Nathan Elliot (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
66 Daniel Mclay (GBr) EF Education First Pro Cycling
67 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) EvoPro Racing
68 Ashley Mackay (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
69 Luke Mudgway (Aus) EvoPro Racing
70 Michael Vink (NZl) St George Continental
71 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
72 Oliver Martin (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
73 Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo 0:19:02
74 Thomas Coates (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling
75 Wouter Wippert (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:19:19
76 Karl Michelin-Beard (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:19:42
77 Tom Kaesler (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
78 Timothy Cameron (Aus) St George Continental
79 Angus Lyons (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
80 Zachary Johnson (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:21:09
81 Shane Archbold (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:24:44
82 Cameron Layton (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling 0:25:24
83 Rowan Dever (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:26:21
84 Christopher Williams (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling
DNF Rudy Porter (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
DNF Nick Miller (NZl) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling
DNF Carter Bettles (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling
DNF Rhys Robotham (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling

General Classification after Stage 2 :
1 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling 5:12:32
2 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:04
3 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:00:27
4 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:29
5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky 0:00:33
6 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky 0:00:53
7 Chris Harper (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:00:57
8 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
9 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
10 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:04
11 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:02:08
12 Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) Trek-Segafredo
13 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
14 Sam Jenner (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
15 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling
16 Nicholas White (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:02:36
17 Daniel Whitehouse (Aus) EvoPro Racing
18 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:02:44
19 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:04:06
20 Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:04:10
21 Freddy Ovett (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
22 Michael Freiberg (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
23 Cyrus Monk (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:04:59
24 Marcus Culey (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:05:45
25 Jesse Featonby (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:06:18
26 Carter Turnbull (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team 0:07:41
27 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:07:45
28 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky 0:07:47
29 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 0:07:49
30 Owain Doull (Gbr) Team Sky 0:07:53
31 Brenton Jones (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team 0:07:57
32 Hayden Mccormick (NZl) Team Bridgelane
33 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
34 Liam White (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:08:01
35 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling 0:08:04
36 Jesse Ewart (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:08:05
37 Muhammad Zawawi Azman (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
38 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
39 Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
40 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
41 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling
42 Patrick Burt (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:08:12
43 Benjamin Andrews (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
44 Muhsin Al Redha Misbah (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling 0:09:05
45 Theodore Yates (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:09:47
46 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First Pro Cycling
47 Daniel Mclay (GBr) EF Education First Pro Cycling 0:10:34
48 Tom Mcfarlane (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team 0:10:48
49 Craig Wiggins (Aus) St George Continental
50 Jason Lea (Aus) Team Bridgelane
51 Aaron Gate (Aus) EvoPro Racing
52 Michael Vink (NZl) St George Continental
53 Corbin Strong (Aus) St George Continental 0:10:56
54 Liam Magennis (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
55 William Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
56 Sebastian Presley (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
57 Neil Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Team Bridgelane
58 Ashley Mackay (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
59 Conor Murtagh (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
60 Michael Potter (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
61 Ryan Cavanagh (Aus) St George Continental
62 Sam Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
63 Nathan Elliot (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team
64 Oliver Martin (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic
65 Taj Jones (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:11:14
66 Jonathon Noble (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
67 Dylan Newbery (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling 0:11:17
68 David Williams (Aus) KordaMentha Australian Team 0:11:58
69 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:12:18
70 Luke Mudgway (Aus) EvoPro Racing
71 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
72 Thomas Hubbard (Aus) St George Continental 0:16:44
73 Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo 0:19:16
74 Wouter Wippert (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:19:25
75 Angus Lyons (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:20:04
76 Karl Michelin-Beard (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:20:08
77 Timothy Cameron (Aus) St George Continental 0:20:11
78 Tom Kaesler (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:21:25
79 Shane Archbold (Aus) EvoPro Racing 0:25:35
80 Christopher Williams (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling 0:26:50
81 Rowan Dever (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:26:52
82 Zachary Johnson (Aus) Drapac Cannondale Holistic 0:29:05
83 Cameron Layton (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling 0:31:34
84 Thomas Coates (Aus) Futuro-Maxxis Pro Cycling 0:31:38