Van Poppel takes victory in Herald Sun Tour prologue

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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.

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