Thompson claims opening stage

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Tineli Racing's Peter Thompson took out the opening stage of the Tour of Toowomba, a 138 kilometre circuit starting and finishing in the town of Pittsworth. Thompson had the speed to outkick a group of around half a dozen riders at the finish line which stayed away for the majority of the stage, with Jayco-2XU's Mark Jamieson and Luke Davison claiming the minor placings.

The stage covered a lot of the area devastated by the Queensland floods earlier this year, with some of the parcours having to be changed following damage to the roads. Many riders suffered punctures, particularly early on in the race.

Raced over largely flat roads the stage was marked by strong cross-winds which split the peloton after the first 25 kilometres with the Genesys Wealth Advisers and Jayco-2XU teams dominant. The race pace was high, with an average of 47 kilometres an hour held for all but the last 30 kilometres.

"It was all about conserving energy really and trying to sit in the top 10 out of the wind and conserving energy for the sprint," said race winner Thompson.

As the front group moved closer towards Pittsworth, the front group came under attack from within, with Jamieson and another of his teammates, Nick Dougall moving off the front in a last-ditch effort. Genesys pulled the group back together with 5 kilometres to go.

"There were some good strong riders off the front, but myself being a sprinter I wasn't too concerned with trying to go with them, I was just crossing my fingers that it would come down to a bunch kick which it did," explained Thompson.

Tomorrow's second stage should have a huge bearing on the final general classification, with three KOM's in the 108 kilometres, with the final third of the race largely uphill. The race will visit the town of Grantham, in the Lockyer Valley, which was hit by a huge wall of water during the floods, leaving 12 dead and dozens more missing.

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