Chaves moves into Herald Sun Tour lead with Lake Mountain stage win

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With a solo stage win at Lake Mountain, Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) has taken control of the Herald Sun Tour general classification. The Colombian attacked from a select group at the base of the 20km climb to arrive alone at the finish. 

Alex Evans (Mobius-BridgeLane) was second with Rubén Guerreiro (Trek-Segafredo) edging out Cameron Meyer for third place from a ten-rider group.

Along with Chaves in yellow, Mitchelton-Scott also has Meyer in second place at 32 seconds, with defending champion Damien Howson third at 39 seconds.

"I am really happy to start this season in this form," Chaves said of his first win since Lombardia in 2016. “It is a really hard and tough race. It is not easy. It is nearly six hours on the bike but we have a really strong team, really strong guys and in the end, we have the jersey and we have the stage. It is a pretty special feeling."

With five hours of racing in the legs before the climb, Chaves tipped his hat to teammates Michael Hepburn and Alex Edmondson for their work in setting up the victory. Meyer, Howson, Lucas Hamilton and Rob Power then played their roles in the stage win on the climb.

"It is not a race about me, it is a race about the team," he said.

For Evans, the result is his best yet in his two-year cycling career since transitioning from triathlon. Like Chaves, the 21-year-old was full of gratitude for his teammates after their early work on the climb. Teammate Brad Evans, no relation, also moved back into the KOM lead to cap off a successful day for Mobius-Bridgelane.

With four day's of racing done and dusted, the general classification will be decided Sunday on the 152.1-kilometre five-lap circuit of Kinglake. Chaves is an almost certainty for the win although the podium and minor classifications remain in play. The stage is also the final opportunity for an Australian to claim a win at the 2018 edition of the Herald Sun Tour.

How it unfolded

The longest stage in recent Herald Sun Tour history, at 218 kilometres, rolled out of Mitchelton winery in Nagambie, 96 riders taking to the start line in warm conditions.

Following an aggressive start to racing, a ten-man breakaway formed a handful of kilometres out from the first intermediate sprint point in Seymour. Matt Ross (KordaMentha-Australia), Etienne Van Empel (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij), Edmund Bradbury (JLT Condor), Brad Evans (Mobius BridgeLane), Steele von Hoff (Bennelong SwissWellness), Nicholas Reddish (Oliver's Real Food Racing), Ashley Mackay (Australian Cycling Academy), Jonathan Noble (Brisbane Continental) and the McDonalds Downunder duo of Kane Richards and Alexander Ray the escapees for the day.
 
With the breakaway's advantage quickly blowing out to over five minutes, von Hoff became the virtual leader of the race. Winning the two intermediate sprint points and taking the bonus seconds further increasing his lead.

On the rolling stage, the breakaway enjoyed a maximum advantage of seven minutes 40 kilometres into the stage. The hilly parcours and peloton bringing the gap back down to manageable lead around the four-minute mark, when a touch of wheels brought down Alex Edmondson and briefly halted his work as a workhorse for the day. The crash sparing interest on an otherwise uneventful day of racing. 

Mitchelton-Scott and Trek-Segafredo were the teams doing the chase work and had the break at one minute with 45-kilometres to race. Passing through Marysville, the splintered break was caught by the peloton which itself was starting to splinter on approach to the Lake Mountain climb.

Despite Mobius setting a high tempo, Chaves made his move on the harder earlier slopes, drawing out Alex Evans with the Colombians teammates covering moves behind. Slowly building his advantage, the overall and stage double came into play for Chaves while the chase group powered up the slopes behind. Chaves though was home and hosed, taking his time at the finish to celebrate his first victory on Australian soil.

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