Lexus Blackburn Bay Crits 2019: Race 2 - Elite Men Results

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Caleb Ewan takes his first win with Lotto Soudal (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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The peloton waits for the start (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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Caleb Ewan beat Heinrich Haussler and Marco Haller (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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Caleb Ewan celebrates with Roger Kluge (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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Caleb Ewan wins day 2 of the Bay Crits (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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Caleb Ewan sprints for the line (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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Roger Kluge leads Caleb Ewan (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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The peloton sets off (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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Nathan Haas leads the peloton (Image credit: Con Chronis)

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The peloton races past (Image credit: Con Chronis)

Caleb Ewan took his first victory of 2019 and first for Lotto Soudal by winning day two of the Lexus Blackburn Bay Crits in Geelong, Australia, on Wednesday evening.

His teammate Roger Kluge was instrumental in keeping the race together, although Ewan felt good enough to initiate a breakaway around two thirds of the way into the 60-minute race, and when the Australian sprinter was joined by Heinrich Haussler (MS All Stars), Robbie Hucker (Lexus of Blackburn) and Jay McCarthy (Novotel Geelong), it looked as though the move might stick.

However, strong work by Katusha Sports' Nathan Haas for overall leader Marco Haller ensured that the race was back together with 10 minutes still to race, with Kluge soon taking control at the head of affairs once again.

It turned out to be a job well done as Ewan put his head down and sprinted to the win ahead of Haussler and Haller, with the latter now taking a five-point lead ahead of Lexus of Blackburn's Raphael Freienstein into Thursday's final race in Williamstown.

"It feels good to get the year off to a great start and win for my new team," Ewan said. "Roger made it a little easier for me. He didn't even want to start today, but I made him do it, and I'm glad he did. This is the only race of the year that I can really ride aggressively and I think it makes it entertaining racing for all the fans.

"Last year was disappointing for me, so I really wanted to get this year off to a good start," he said. "It's so important to get that winning feeling back, and hopefully it can continue on from here."

Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal	0:59:04
2	Heinrich Haussler (Aus) MS All Stars
3	Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Sport
4	Jay McCarthy (Aus) Novotel Geelong City Of Greater Geelong
5	Michael Freiberg (Aus) Australian Cycling Academy
6	Raphael Freienstein (Ger) Lexus Of Blackburn
7	Cameron Ivory (Aus) GPM Stulz
8	Robbie Hucker (Aus) Lexus Of Blackburn
9	Reece Tucknott (Aus) Velofit Santic Racing	0:00:04
10	Koen De Kort (Ned) Novotel Geelong City Of Greater Geelong	0:00:09

General Classification
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Sport)	20	pts
2	Raphael Freienstein (Ger) Lexus Of Blackburn	15
3	Michael Freiberg (Aus) Australian Cycling Academy	13
4	Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal	12
5	Heinrich Haussler (Aus) MS All Stars	10
6	Jay McCarthy (Aus) Novotel Geelong City Of Greater Geelong	9
7	Reece Tucknott (Aus) Velofit Santic Racing	8
8	Miles Scotson (Aus) MS All Stars	8
9	Leigh Howard (Aus) Australian Cycling Academy	5
10	Cameron Ivory (Aus) GPM Stulz	4