Luke Durbridge wins Santos Festival of Cycling stage 1 with 80km solo break

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Luke Durbridge (Team Bike Exchange) powered away from the field, using his time-trialling prowess to not only take out stage 1 of the men’s National Road Series race at the Santos Festival of Cycling, but also to set up a commanding lead in the battle for overall victory at the four-day tour.

Long before the line approached at the end of the stage from Seppeltsfield to Tanunda it was clear the best result that the rest of the field could hope for was second. The trio of Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make), Chris Harper (Cervelo Tonsley Village) and Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange) were left to sprint for the two remaining spots on the podium. Harper fell out of contention as the sprint wound up and Freiensten, stopped BikeExchange taking the top two steps as he swung past Howson.

“It wasn’t really the plan,” said Durbridge of his 80 kilometre solo break. “All the boys were motivated and I’m glad I could finish it off. I said to myself be a bit brave. Go for it. It’s only a 100 kilometres but when we got out there and it was 40 degrees I’m like, 100 kilometres is still a long way. I countered the sprint, the first intermediate, and just sort of squeezed on a little bit and no one really came with and after I got a gap, I just settled in.”

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Full Results
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	2:34:51
2	Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make)	0:02:24
3	Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange)
4	Chris Harper (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)	0:02:26
5	Luke Plapp (Team Garmin Australia)	0:02:40
6	Cyrus Monk (Cycle House Racing)
7	Kaden Groves (Team BikeExchange)	0:02:44
8	Riley Fleming (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
9	Kane Richards (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
10	Brendon Johnston (CCS Cycling)
11	Connor Reardon (St George Continental Cycling Team)
12	Kaine Cannan (Veloﬁt Australia)
13	Ben Metcalfe (Team Bridgelane)
14	Brendon Davids (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
15	Sam Crome (St George Continental Cycling Team)
16	Kelland O'Brien (Team Garmin Australia)
17	Tim Roe (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
18	Carter Turnbull (InForm TM Insight Make)
19	Ben Hill (Team Bridgelane)
20	Angus Lyons (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:02:47
21	Cameron Meyer (Team BikeExchange)	0:02:48
22	Dylan McKenna (Nero Continental)
23	Oli Stenning (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:02:51
24	Nicholas White (Team Bridgelane)	0:02:56
25	Sam Welsford (Team Garmin Australia)	0:05:17
26	Mark O'Brien (InForm TM Insight Make)
27	Matt Ross (Cycle House Racing)
28	Zack Gilmore (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
29	Matthew Rice (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:10:44
30	Rudy Porter (InForm TM Insight Make)	0:11:45
31	Cooper Sayers (Nero Continental)	0:12:19
32	Sam Jenner (Team Bridgelane)	0:13:56
33	David Randall (Butterﬁelds Racing)	0:16:52
34	Richie Porte (Team Garmin Australia)
35	Oliver Anderson (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
36	Tristen Saunders (Butterﬁelds Racing)
37	Godfrey Slattery (GIANT Racing Team)
38	Josh Harrison (GIANT Racing Team)
39	Chris Luxton (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
40	Adam Blazevic (GIANT Racing Team)
41	Mattew Harvey (Veloﬁt Australia)
42	Conor Leahy (WorldTour Composite Team)
43	Patrick Saccani-Williams (Veloﬁt Australia)
44	Alex Holden (GIANT Racing Team)
45	Marcus Culey (WorldTour Composite Team)
46	Joshua Wilson (Veloﬁt Australia)
47	Bailey Waters (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
48	Brad Soden (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
49	Myles Stewart (Nero Continental)
50	Josh Duffy (WorldTour Composite Team)
51	Bryce Lanigan (Veloﬁt Australia)
52	Liam White (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
53	Zac Johnson (InForm TM Insight Make)
54	Jacob Langham (Veloﬁt Australia)
55	Thomas Bolton (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
56	Jensen Plowright (Team Bridgelane)
57	Zack Barnhill (St George Continental Cycling Team)
58	Terance Hore (Cycle House Racing)
59	Rylan Dowdell (Butterﬁelds Racing)
60	Jason Thomason (Butterﬁelds Racing)
61	Will Maloney-Morton (Cycle House Racing)
62	Pat Drapac (Cycle House Racing)
63	Lionel Mawditt (St George Continental Cycling Team)
64	Reece Tucknott (CCS Cycling)
65	Campbell Jones (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
66	Bill Simpson (GIANT Racing Team)
67	Drew Morey (Team Bridgelane)
68	Cameron Ivory (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
69	Justin Gassner (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
70	Daniel Siwek (Butterﬁelds Racing)
71	Zachary Marriage (Butterﬁelds Racing)
72	Alex Bogna (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
73	Sam Volkers (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
74	Jordan Kerby (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
75	Leigh Howard (Team Garmin Australia)
76	Craig Wiggins (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
77	Seb Berwick (WorldTour Composite Team)
78	Elliot Schultz (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
79	Will Golding (Butterﬁelds Racing)
80	Cam Roberts (CCS Cycling)
81	Lucas Hamilton (Team BikeExchange)
82	Alex Porter (Team Garmin Australia)
83	Jimmy Whelan (Team Garmin Australia)
84	Alex Edmondson (Team BikeExchange)
85	Steele van Hoff (InForm TM Insight Make)
86	Will Hodges (GIANT Racing Team)
87	Blake Quick (InForm TM Insight Make)
88	Carter Bettles (St George Continental Cycling Team)
89	Ryan Cavanagh (St George Continental Cycling Team)
DNF	Taj Jones (WorldTour Composite Team)
DNF	Alistair Mackellar (WorldTour Composite Team)
DNF	Alistair Christie-Johnson (Team Bridgelane)
DNF	Cameron Bayly (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
DNF	Michael Rice (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
DNF	Callum Pearce (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
DNF	Lachlan Glasspool (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
DNF	Steve Robb (Cycle House Racing)
DNF	Ryan Schilt (Cycle House Racing)
DNF	Nic Darling (CCS Cycling)
DNF	Mackenzie Edwardson (CCS Cycling)
DNF	Kris McCreath (CCS Cycling)
DNF	Byron Woods (VRM)
DNF	Brendon Green (VRM)
DNF	Xavier Cooper (Veloﬁt Australia)
DNF	Dylan Lindsey (GIANT Racing Team)
DNF	Leigh Phillips (Nero Continental)

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Ziptrack Sprint 1: Magnolia Road
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Alex Porter (Team Garmin Australia)	3
2	Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make)	2
3	Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange)	1

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Ziptrack Sprint 2: Magnolia Road
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	3
2	Sam Welsford (Team Garmin Australia)	2
3	Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make)	1

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Sprint Finish
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	3
2	Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make)	2
3	Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange)	1
Shimano King of the Mountain 1 - Menglers Hill	category 3
1	Matt Ross (Cycle House Racing)	5
2	Cooper Sayers (Nero Continental)	3
3	Ben Hill (Team Bridgelane)	2
Shimano King of the Mountain 2 - Menglers Hill	category 3
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	5
2	Brendon Davids (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)	3
3	Brad Soden (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)	2

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Teams
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Team BikeExchange	7:49:41
2	Team Bridgelane	0:03:16
3	InForm TM Insight Make	0:05:17
4	Team Garmin Australia	0:05:33
5	ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast	0:05:47
6	CERVELO-Tonsley Village	0:16:54
7	OLIVERS Real Food Racing	0:17:12
8	St George Continental Cycling Team
9	Cycle House Racing	0:19:41
10	Nero Continental	0:26:51
11	Veloﬁt Australia	0:31:20
12	MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team
13	CCS Cycling
14	GIANT Racing Team	0:45:28
15	Butterﬁelds Racing
16	WorldTour Composite Team

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General classification after stage 1
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	2:34:38
2	Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make)	0:02:28
3	Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange)	0:02:32
4	Chris Harper (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)	0:02:39
5	Luke Plapp (Team Garmin Australia)	0:02:53
6	Cyrus Monk (Cycle House Racing)
7	Kaden Groves (Team BikeExchange)	0:02:57
8	Riley Fleming (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
9	Kane Richards (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
10	Brendon Johnston (CCS Cycling)
11	Connor Reardon (St George Continental Cycling Team)
12	Kaine Cannan (Veloﬁt Australia)
13	Ben Metcalfe (Team Bridgelane)
14	Brendon Davids (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
15	Sam Crome (St George Continental Cycling Team)
16	Kelland O'Brien (Team Garmin Australia)
17	Tim Roe (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
18	Carter Turnbull (InForm TM Insight Make)
19	Ben Hill (Team Bridgelane)
20	Angus Lyons (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:03:00
21	Cameron Meyer (Team BikeExchange)	0:03:01
22	Dylan McKenna (Nero Continental)
23	Oli Stenning (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:03:04
24	Nicholas White (Team Bridgelane)	0:03:09
25	Sam Welsford (Team Garmin Australia)	0:05:28
26	Mark O'Brien (InForm TM Insight Make)	0:05:30
27	Matt Ross (Cycle House Racing)
28	Zack Gilmore (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
29	Matthew Rice (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:10:57
30	Rudy Porter (InForm TM Insight Make)	0:11:58
31	Cooper Sayers (Nero Continental)	0:12:32
32	Sam Jenner (Team Bridgelane)	0:14:09
33	Alex Porter (Team Garmin Australia)	0:17:02
34	David Randall (Butterﬁelds Racing)	0:17:05
35	Richie Porte (Team Garmin Australia)
36	Oliver Anderson (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
37	Tristen Saunders (Butterﬁelds Racing)
38	Godfrey Slattery (GIANT Racing Team)
39	Josh Harrison (GIANT Racing Team)
40	Chris Luxton (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
41	Adam Blazevic (GIANT Racing Team)
42	Mattew Harvey (Veloﬁt Australia)
43	Conor Leahy (WorldTour Composite Team)
44	Patrick Saccani-Williams (Veloﬁt Australia)
45	Alex Holden (GIANT Racing Team)
46	Marcus Culey (WorldTour Composite Team)
47	Joshua Wilson (Veloﬁt Australia)
48	Bailey Waters (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
49	Brad Soden (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
50	Myles Stewart (Nero Continental)
51	Josh Duffy (WorldTour Composite Team)
52	Bryce Lanigan (Veloﬁt Australia)
53	Liam White (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
54	Zac Johnson (InForm TM Insight Make)
55	Jacob Langham (Veloﬁt Australia)
56	Thomas Bolton (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
57	Jensen Plowright (Team Bridgelane)
58	Zack Barnhill (St George Continental Cycling Team)
59	Terance Hore (Cycle House Racing)
60	Rylan Dowdell (Butterﬁelds Racing)
61	Jason Thomason (Butterﬁelds Racing)
62	Will Maloney-Morton (Cycle House Racing)
63	Pat Drapac (Cycle House Racing)
64	Lionel Mawditt (St George Continental Cycling Team)
65	Reece Tucknott (CCS Cycling)
66	Campbell Jones (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
67	Bill Simpson (GIANT Racing Team)
68	Drew Morey (Team Bridgelane)
69	Cameron Ivory (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
70	Justin Gassner (CERVELO-Tonsley Village)
71	Daniel Siwek (Butterﬁelds Racing)
72	Zachary Marriage (Butterﬁelds Racing)
73	Alex Bogna (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
74	Sam Volkers (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
75	Jordan Kerby (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
76	Leigh Howard (Team Garmin Australia)
77	Craig Wiggins (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)
78	Seb Berwick (WorldTour Composite Team)
79	Elliot Schultz (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)
80	Will Golding (Butterﬁelds Racing)
81	Cam Roberts (CCS Cycling)
82	Lucas Hamilton (Team BikeExchange)
83	Jimmy Whelan (Team Garmin Australia)
84	Alex Edmondson (Team BikeExchange)
85	Steele van Hoff (InForm TM Insight Make)
86	Will Hodges (GIANT Racing Team)
87	Blake Quick (InForm TM Insight Make)
88	Carter Bettles (St George Continental Cycling Team)
89	Ryan Cavanagh (St George Continental Cycling Team)

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Ziptrak© Sprint Classiﬁcation
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	6
2	Raphael Freiensten (InForm TM Insight Make)	5
3	Alex Porter (Team Garmin Australia)	3
4	Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange)	2
5	Sam Welsford (Team Garmin Australia)	2

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Shimano King of the Mountain Classiﬁcation
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange)	5
2	Matt Ross (Cycle House Racing)	5
3	Brendon Davids (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)	3
4	Cooper Sayers (Nero Continental)	3
5	Ben Hill (Team Bridgelane)	2
6	Brad Soden (MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team)	2

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Focus Young Rider Classiﬁcation
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Plapp (Team Garmin Australia)	2:37:31
2	Kaden Groves (Team BikeExchange)	0:00:04
3	Riley Fleming (OLIVERS Real Food Racing)
4	Connor Reardon (St George Continental Cycling Team)
5	Ben Metcalfe (Team Bridgelane)
6	Kelland O'Brien (Team Garmin Australia)
7	Carter Turnbull (InForm TM Insight Make)
8	Dylan McKenna (Nero Continental)	0:00:08
9	Zack Gilmore (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:02:37
10	Matthew Rice (ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast)	0:08:04

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Wilson Parking Winning Team Classiﬁcation
Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Team BikeExchange	7:49:41
2	Team Bridgelane	0:03:16
3	InForm TM Insight Make	0:05:17
4	Team Garmin Australia	0:05:33
5	ARA Pro-Racing Sunshine Coast	0:05:47
6	CERVELO-Tonsley Village	0:16:54
7	OLIVERS Real Food Racing	0:17:12
8	St George Continental Cycling Team
9	Cycle House Racing	0:19:41
10	Nero Continental	0:26:51
11	Veloﬁt Australia	0:31:20
12	MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling Team
13	CCS Cycling
14	GIANT Racing Team	0:45:28
15	Butterﬁelds Racing
16	WorldTour Composite Team

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.