Rising Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan yesterday defied a heat wave to claim the opening stage of the UCI season-opening Santos Tour Down Under in the south Australian wine-growing town of Lyndoch.
Ewan, 22, surged in the last 200m to hold off Dutchman Danny van Poppell and Ireland’s Sam Bennett and win the 118km stage in 3 hours, 24 minutes, 18 seconds.
The Orica-Scott rider is to wear the ocher leader’s jersey in today’s second stage over 148.5km from Stirling in the Adelaide Hills to the town of Paracombe.
Officials had earlier decided to shorten the stage from 145km as temperatures climbed above 40°C during the race.
“It was really stinking hot out there today,” Ewan said. “I think everyone felt the heat. It was a good idea for the race to be shortened, because we were just rolling around out there in the sun and it can’t be too good for you.”
The race started in the inner-city Adelaide suburb of Unley with the temperature already reaching 39°C.
Belgian rider Laurens De Vrees launched an early attack, but in the scorching conditions the peloton let him go, with no one willing to join him at the front.
De Vrees opened the gap to four-and-a-half minutes at one point, but the lead was soon brought back to less than two minutes, which remained constant for most of the race. The Astana rider was finally swallowed up by the peloton with 19km to go.
Another Belgian, Jan Bakelants from AG2R La Mondiale, attacked and quickly got clear.
Australian Adam Hansen tried to join him, but could not close the gap, and Bakelants, who won a stage of the 2013 Tour de France using the same tactic, looked ready to cause an upset.
However, the sprinters’ teams arrived at the front of the peloton and Bakelants was caught with only 2km to go.
World champion Peter Sagan led an attack to bring Bennett to the front, but Ewan stayed close and, with the finish line in sight, sprinted up the inside to edge Van Poppell and Bennett and repeat his opening stage win from last year.
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