Rowe wins stage 2 of Herald Sun Tour

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Team Sky's Luke Rowe enjoyed his first victory since 2012 on a day that almost saw the Herald Sun Tour blow apart and the breakaway survive on stage 2 into Beechworth. Rowe won alone, crossing the line more than 30 seconds ahead of Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport) and Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare) who were second and third on the stage.

Rowe’s win was the second for Team Sky at this year’s race after Danny Van Poppel’s victory in the prologue.

A mechanical problem for race leader Damien Howson at the base of the final climb, with 20km to go, on stage 2 could have spelled disaster as Sky looked to capitalise and move Chris Froome up the general classification. Howson had his Orica-Scott teammates drag him back to the head of the reduced peloton, making contact with the Froome group inside the final kilometre to ensure his race lead remained intact.

"There weren't too many words that were spoken. I think we all knew what we had to do," Howson said after collecting the yellow jersey following the fight to keep his lead. "It was a matter of giving it our all and hoping we didn't come up short which obviously didn't result and I can't be more grateful for what everyone has done for me today.”

Post-stage, Froome confirmed that as the race was in "full swing" and that there was no waiting around for Howson to recover from his misfortune.

"For us back in the bunch, obviously we wanted to shake things up on the general classification so we hit the climb hard," Froome said of the stage finale. "Halfway up the climb, we heard that Howson had punctured but by then the race was in full swing and there was no stopping."

There were conflicting comments from stage winner Rowe post-stage though as he explained that he heard over the radio the command to 'stop riding' but he was unsure of the specifics.

"It sounded quite chaotic. I am not exactly sure what happened but I know Damien was behind at one point and I heard over the radio at one point, 'stop riding' because it is not really a classy way to take the win and rather try and do it on another stage on a climb," he said. "I think they knocked it off and it came back together and good on Damo because he is a great guy. It is great to see him in the jersey and I am glad he kept it to be honest."

For Rowe, the winning plan was hatched the night prior to the stage after Sky lost out to Orica-Scott on Falls Creek and to prove himself as the strongest rider on the day capped it off despite the uncertainty over what occurred when Howson punctured.

"Last night, I said I wanted to go in the breakaway because it could stay today. It wasn't by coincidence or chance. I was really trying for the breakaway, it was my goal for the day so I did that," said Rowe. "Then it was just a case of ten guys decking it out and on a climb like that, I don't want to sound too big headed, on a climb like the strongest guy is going to win and it came down to that. I took the opportunity."

A beautiful start in Mt Beauty

The fast rolling roads out of Mt Beauty saw riders reach speeds of 70kph as the break attempted to form with Aqua Blue Sports and UnitedHealthcare the chief animators. The attacking and aggressive start continued for the opening kilometres as the peloton approached the first KOM of the day at Mullagong Rd.

Ben Hill took the KOM points with Joe Cooper second and Larry Warbasse in third which was enough for the Attaque Gusto man to take the lead in the classification.

Steve Lampier (JLT Condor) and Rowe launched a two-man move on the descent off the climb. Tim Ariesen (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij), Robbie Hucker (IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness), Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sports), and Josh Taylor (NSW Institute of Sport) set off in pursuit of Lampier and Rowe with points leader Jake Kauffman (NSW Institute of Sport) trying to catch on with the peloton one minute behind the leaders.

The escapees were almost reeled in with the peloton deciding it wasn't happy with Rowe's presence up the road. At 30km in, the duo were caught by the early quartet of Arriense, Hucker, Dunne, and Taylor who had rolled the dice again 34km into the stage. UnitedHealthcare's Tanner Putt successfully bridged across to the front group of seven riders, dragging Nick Katsonis (Drapac-Pat's Veg) and Alexey Tsatevich (Gazprom-Rusvelo) with him.

The trio ensured a 10-man breakaway for the day, with a nature break in the peloton signalling its comfort with the composition of the leaders who had pulled out a four-minute lead. At the first intermediate sprint, won by Kauffman, the gap to the peloton was 4:53 minutes which would remain consistent for most of the day. There was no contest at the second sprint with the breakaway letting Kauffmann take the maximum prize and secure a second day in green.

The breakaway's advantage hovered around the five-minute mark with both groups of the road knowing the stage winner would be decided by what the time gap was at the Stanley climb.

Rolling the dice

Rowe decided to roll the dice for his chance to take the win as the breakaway started to splinter in approach to the climb and Dunne punctured. Putt and Hucker joined Rowe at the head of the race with the leader's advantage down to a touch over three minutes. While the four leaders, Dunne had re-joined his breakaway companions, were fighting for the stage win knowing they had a significant buffer, there was chaos in the chasing peloton.

A flat front tyre for Howson, just before the climb, saw Orica-Scott commit its team and Mitch Docker his wheel to keep the overall aspirations of the race leader alive. Froome, meanwhile, had attacked and closed the gap by several minutes to have the breakaway in his sights. Over the radio, Sky was reportedly told not to ride with a group of seven riders bridging up to Froome who had slowed his pace. In that group was Kenny Elissonde, Ian Bibby (JLT Condor), Ben Dyball (St George) and a KordaMentha quartet.

Behind, Orica-Scott had fully committed to Howson with Power, Esteban Chaves and Simon Gerrans all turning domestique for a rider more common with the reversal knowing the race was slipping away.

While Rowe was forging ahead on his own down the fast descent into Beechworth, the eight-man 'Froome group' was also bombing on and with 3km to race were 27 seconds off Rowe with Howson's group a further 18 seconds back.

Rowe enjoyed his solo victory as Dunne then Putt crossed the line with Hucker and Lampier next to follow. Howson's group made contact with Froome's group inside the final kilometre and with a belly full of rage, Howson then decided to sprint for the line. A dropped chain was a further slice of drama for the day but the Australian and his teammates had done enough to secure the lead.

A late attack inside the final few hundred metres saw Cam Meyer steal vital seconds to move up to fourth overall with final changes to the general classification likely to come on Sunday's circuit around Kinglake.

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