Sutton finally snatches victory

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The battlelines were drawn in this year's Herald Sun Tour when Chris Sutton picked up his first stage win of the event and preface winner Jonathan Cantwell took over the leader's yellow jersey.

The two riders are the form contenders in this year's event and both survived a hectic day of wind and crashes that cast many potential winners aside, leaving a select group of riders that will go into the final few stages with hopes of overall victory.

Sutton was overcome in Sunday’s preface by local rider Cantwell (Fly V Australia) while Tour de France stage winner Jaan Kirsipuu (LeTua) swept up the spoils in yesterday’s opening stage.

Cantwell finished a close second from today’s for man sprint. The Scody Cup winner may have missed a stage win, but receives a consolation by claiming the leader’s jersey ahead of tomorrow’s third stage. It will be the first time Cantwell gets to don the jersey at this year’s race, as his stage win on Sunday didn’t contribute to the race’s overall classification.

For Sutton it was the continuation of a family tradition that stretches back to 1983, when his uncle, Shane, won the title. The following year brother Gary claimed the win.

Now finding himself in a position to do continue the 'dynasty', Sutton knows what's ahead if he wants to make his mark on the race. "Whilst it is always sweet to get a win, especially in Australia, hopefully I've got another couple in me yet," said Sutton.

"I've still got hopes of winning overall so we can become the first father and son combination to do it."

Chris' father Gary, who has a Commonweatlh Games gold medal and a world championship title to his name, is a tough man to please, something of which the latest member of the family to make their mark on the Herald Sun Tour is well aware. "He'll probably say 'Good on ya son, but not as good as me'," said Sutton, with a laugh.

"But I think he's quietly proud of me - especially now I'm cooking, cleaning and speaking a couple of languages," he added. "I look up to my dad, he's a great coach. And then there's Uncle Shane, who coaches me. He'll say, 'It's about time'."

How it unfolded

The early part of the day was almost a replica of stage one, with a big breakaway of around 40 and a series of crashes that sent 10 men out of the race, three via hospital; the finish was a quite a contrast, however.

This time just six were left to battle it out for stage honours and the all-important time bonuses that go with the podium placings. They were the remnants of a 13-man group that broke away from the lead pack of around 50 riders with almost 30km to race.

Initially the focus was on Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) as he continued his domination of the Budget Forklifts green jersey classification, with a second win in the day's two intermediate sprints at Cheese World. Then tactics took over with 17km mark to go to the stage finish on Flagstaff Hill.

Five kilometres further on, he broke away with 2007 Tour winner Matt Wilson (Jayco Australia) and a resilient David Pell (Savings and Loans), establishing a 20-second break on most of the other leaders - ominously for the trio, they had Garmin's Svein Tuft for company.

Predictably perhaps, his mere presence resulted in the Canadian's teammates - pre-race favourite Bradley Wiggins and Sutton - making it across to join the group to contest the finish.

Despite a lack of awareness about the uphill nature of the finale, Sutton prevailed just, but not sufficiently to deny Cantwell the prized yellow jersey.

"I had [team director] Henk Vogels on the phone and I knew it was a headwind finish but we underestimated how hard it was," explained Cantwell. "I hadn't looked at the race book. It was a bit of a mistake on my behalf, I guess."

The Queenslander, who claimed on Monday he was happy to have then missed yellow to avoid the associated pressure, clearly had experienced a change of heart overnight.

"It's a dream come true - to put this [the yellow jersey] on my shoulders. We have had a great preparation, the team has worked inside out, everything together," added Cantwell.

And he did not rule out keeping it for a good while yet, in spite of the aspirations of Sutton and his mates.

"I've been trying to get as many time bonuses as I can on guys like Tuft and Wiggins before the time trial on Friday. If I can go with 30 seconds on them, I'll be happy," explained Cantwell.

"A 10 kilometre time trial is definitely within my reach. I've been working on both my hill climbing and time trialling for most of 2009."

Taking third and fourth respectively Matthew Wilson (Jayco Australia National) and David Pell (Savings & Loans) made it an all-Aussie affair in the lead group, with Great Britain’s Bradley Wiggins and Canadian Svein Tuft the next riders to cross the line. The Garmin-Slipstream duo finished three and nine seconds behind their stage winning team-mate respectively.

Tomorrow's third stage should see the wind at the 85 remaining riders' backs as they journey the picturesque 164 kilometres from Warrnambool to Apollo Bay, with intermediate sprints at Peterborough and the 12 Apostles and the race's toughest climb over Lavers Hill.

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