Simon Gerrans put himself in an even stronger position to claim a record fourth Tour Down Under, with today's second consecutive stage win.
Having demonstrated his sprinting prowess yesterday, Gerrans again comfortably outpaced his rivals, beating Ben Swift of Sky and Trek-Segafredo rider Giacomo Nizzolo, with his nearest GC rival Jay McCarthy back in fourth.
Nobody had so far managed to hold onto the ochre jersey for more than a day, but Orica-GreenEDGE were again in supreme form from the start. An early break by Astana's Lieuwe Westra was quickly reeled in, as the Australian team ratcheted up the pace with the first intermediate sprint in mind.
Their efforts paid off perfectly, as Gerrans took the intermediate victory, and more significantly the three bonus seconds. Jay McCarthy saw what was coming but didn't quite have enough to spoil the plan, finishing second, thus only giving up one second in the GC standings.
As the pace dropped slightly after the sprint, Alexis Gougeard (ALM), David Tanner (IAM) and Pat Shaw (UNA) broke away, getting a lead of almost six minutes, before Orica-GreenEDGE, still in control at the front of the peloton as they have been for seemingly the whole race, began to bring the gap down to a more manageable two minutes.
The break's lead did last long enough for them to reach the second intermediate sprint, which was only really contested by Pat Shaw, who took the honours for UniSA-Australia.
They were caught just as the race came to the foot of the Crow's Nest, the day's only categorised climb. Richie Porte attacked it but perhaps, as with the end of yesterday's stage, made his bid for glory too early, as he was caught and passed by the polka dot jersey holder Sergio Henao, who picked up all ten points to increase his King of the Mountains lead.
The lead group was around 40 over the summit, which rose past 50 on the increasingly fast descent to the finish, despite a crash which brought down a handful of riders shortly after the Crow's Nest.
It was Sky who attempted to control the pace, keeping it high to suit their hope for the stage win, Ben Swift, although joined towards the end by the ever-prominent Orica-GreenEDGE, along with Katusha, Dimension Data and a clutch of other isolated riders, including Tinkoff's sprint jersey holder and second overall Jay McCarthy.
On the beautifully flat and straight final run to the line, Daryl Impey gave Simon Gerrans the perfect lead out, and the ochre jersey holder was never seriously threatened by Ben Swift, who in turn had enough to hold off Giacomo Nizzolo, with McCarthy unable to find a way past the Italian, and having to settle for fourth, with no bonus seconds meaning he gave up 11 on the day to Gerrans.
tourdownunder.com.au
Ostensibly a day of little change, with none of the jerseys changing hands, but perhaps the most important change is the widening of the gap at the front of the race, with Gerrans now 14 seconds clear of McCarthy, and 26 ahead of Rohan Dennis.
Tomorrow's queen stage, the double climb of Willunga Hill, is the last chance the chasing pack has left to shake up the GC standings before Sunday's expected sprint finale.
Stage winner Simon Gerrans (OGE):
“We had a really good run in to the finish, the team set me up for the intermediate sprint and then again for the final, they really make my life as easy as possible.
"I still have to be very attentive going into tomorrow, there's a nice little buffer there, but there's still a heck of a lot of work to be done."
Stage results
1. Simon Gerrans (OGE) 3:13:59
2. Ben Swift (SKY) + :00
3. Giacomo Nizzolo (TFR) + :00
General Classification
1. Simon Gerrans (OGE) 13:41:58
2. Jay McCarthy (TNK) + :14
3. Rohan Dennis (BMC) + :26
4. Sergio Henao (SKY) + :28
5. Steve Morabito (FDJ) + :28
6. Ruben Fernandez Andujar (MOV) + :28
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (ALM) + :28
8. Michael Woods (CPT) + :32
9. Rafael Valls Ferri (LTS) + :36
10. Richie Porte (BMC) + :36
King of the Mountains Classification
1. Sergio Henao (SKY) 26
2. Michael Woods (CPT) 12
3. Richie Porte (BMC) 12
Sprint Classification
1. Jay McCarthy (TNK) 46
2. Simon Gerrans (OGE) 43
3. Rohan Dennis (BMC) 27
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