Finning, Dennis claim Murray stages

Rohan Dennis (NSWIS/RoadSafe Mildura/Decked Out) and Sean Finning (Jayco/VIS) claimed stage wins at the Tour of Murray River in Australia on Monday. While the riders shared the day's stage victories, Stage 2 winner David Kemp (Virgin Blue Cycling) continues to lead the overall classification.

"This is by far my biggest win in open competition," said Dennis after his Stage 3 victory.

Dennis contested the world junior track championships in South Africa in July and won a silver medal in the individual pursuit. The 18 year-old was also a member of Australia's gold medal-winning teams pursuit line-up and is focused on the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

Kemp rode astute tactical races in both stages and leads his Virgin Blue team-mate Bernard Sulzberger by 37-seconds, with Leigh Howard in third place at 44-seconds on general classification.

"The conditions were a little bit tricky so I didn't want to use up too many bickies," he said. "There's still a long way to go until Mildura on Sunday."

The Tour of Murray River continues today with a 45-kilometre stage in Swan Hill, followed by an 88.4-kilometre journey from Swan Hill - Manangatang.

For full coverage of the Australian race, click here.