January 20, 2016 (Stirling, Australia) – Australian Jay McCarthy has taken over the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey of the Santos Tour Down Under after winning the Staging Connections Stage 2 at Stirling. The 132 kilometre stage travelled from the cosmopolitan Adelaide suburb of Unley through the picturesque Adelaide Hills. The riders covered the 21 kilometre Stirling loop five times providing superb viewing for the 110 thousand fans who flocked to the local area.

The final battle for the line was a hectic affair marred by a crash just inside the final kilometre when eight riders hit the deck and most of the peloton was caught up behind them but under the rules they were all awarded the same time as the winner because the crash happened in the final three kilometres.

While some of the pre-race favourites missed the chance to claim a time bonus on the line, McCarthy’s Tinkoff team mates steered a course for him through the tangle so he could deliver the victory and grab the ten second stage winner’s bonus.

He edged out Diego Ulissi (Lapre Merida), who won this stage in 2014, by half a wheel with defending Santos Tour Down Under champion, Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) also avoiding the crash to ride home in third place.

“I’ve done this stage for a few years now so we certainly had a plan,” said McCarthy who was fifth in the road race at the recent Australian Championships. “This year coming into this race I was in very good shape and before the start today I was hoping to be given a chance.

“The team supported me fully and I’m also given a chance to go for GC (overall) this week as well,” he said. “It’s great to come out and get the victory today but the week is not finished (and) I hope to recover for Corkscrew (climb) tomorrow.

“There’s a lot of work ahead of us but I hope to keep getting more results,” said McCarthy.

Dennis admits the crash probably helped his result today.

“The plan was to stay out of trouble and be up there in the front, and if there was an opportunity for the sprint, go for it,” said Dennis. “I was one of the first to get around the crash, but if that crash didn’t happen, I don’t think I would have been third.

“I hope the crash doesn’t hinder (Simon) Gerrans, because no one wants to win like that,” said Dennis who is keen to claim back-to-back crowns.

Gerrans’ day was panning out perfectly until the crash. His Orica GreenEdge team mates had set him up to grab time bonuses in both iiNet intermediate sprints and they were ready to guide him to the line.

“It’s disappointing because we were right where we needed to be to have a good finish,” said Gerrans, a three time winner of the event. “It’s a shame to lose time bonuses, because a second counts for a lot in this race.

“Two of the times that I won they’ve come down to placings,” said Gerrans who despite bad luck was looking on the bright side. “All was not lost, because I don’t think I stuck my nose out into the wind more than a few minutes all day. The team did a great job protecting me.”

Tinkoff’s Sport Director Sean Yates says he expected a strong performance this week from McCarthy.

“It’s a great win for Jay,” said Yates. “We knew he was in good shape…and we worked for him today.

“It’s his first WorldTour win, so it’s a big day for him,” said Yates. “We now have the lead, and we are not just going to say, OK, we’ve won a stage, we’re happy. We know that BMC and Orica are the teams here racing for the victory, and we can try to use that to our advantage.

“It’s always good to get that first win of the season under the belt, so to have it come on the second day of racing, everyone’s happy.”

The riders set off in hot, humid conditions and the pace was on from the start because the only categorised climb of the day in the Subaru King of the Mountain competition was only 14 kilometres down the road.

Over the top at Carey Gully Italian Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff) claimed the 10 points ahead of Pat Lane (UniSA-Australia) with Lotto Soudal’s Thomas De Gendt and FDJ’s Yoann Offredo picking up the remaining points.

That win gave Boaro the lead in the Subaru King of the Mountain competition, because overnight leader Sean Lake, with whom he is tied on points, finished more than three minutes behind Boaro on today’s stage.

“Since I’m on good form and we’re here to ride at the front, I tried the KOM (King of the Mountain) because it was only ten kilometres after the start,” said Boaro. “The whole day has gone well. We knew from the Australian national championships that Jay (McCarthy) was in a great shape.

“He’s our leader and we’ll back him with the aim of winning the Tour Down Under.”

Heathfield was the location of the two iiNet intermediate sprints of the day and the first, at the 30 kilometre mark, went to Tour contender Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) with team mate and overnight leader Caleb Ewan on his wheel ahead of Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data) in third place.

Soon after the iiNet sprint Lotto-Soudal’s Adam Hansen launched an attack that no-one countered and the Australian was soon more than two minutes clear. A puncture as Hansen headed into Stirling for the second time disrupted his rhythm but he stayed clear to claim the second iiNet sprint at the 49 kilometre mark.

Back in the bunch Orica-GreenEdge upped the speed to ensure Gerrans collected the second place time bonus at Heathfield. That, along with his bonus from winning the first iiNet sprint shaved five seconds off his overall race time. Ewan again crossed behind him to bring his bonus total for the day to three seconds.

But for him the points were more important and whilst the 21 year old would end the day more than six minutes down and ranked 114th overall, he retained his lead in the iiNet Sprint classification.

The burst of speed from Orica-GreenEdge in the lead up to the sprint brought the gap to Hansen down under a minute but when the peloton settled, the gap extended again, and at the third loop through Stirling, Hansen was back out to a 1min50sec lead.

Over the next 20 kilometres Hansen stayed clear as, initially, Orica GreenEdge and later BMC controlled the pace on the front of the peloton to keep Hansen within catching distance.

But as the finish approached the chase began in earnest and by the bell lap Hansen was less than 40 seconds ahead. He was caught 19 kilometres from home.

“We knew we wanted to race aggressively today and after that first group was caught, I decided to go,” said Hansen. “It’s always complicated when you are one alone against the pack, but it was a good try.”

Drapac’s Brenton Jones was off the pace early in the day but struggled on nonetheless only to be cut from the race for finishing outside the allowed time limit.

Salvatore Pucci (Team SKY) and Mattero Penuchi (IAM Cycling) both withdrew form then race during today’s stage.

The beachside suburb of Glenelg is in the spotlight for the start of tomorrow’s Thomas Foods Stage 3 that will see the 137 riders travel through the Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Hills.

The riders will tackle the infamous Corkscrew Road climb before a fast descent and tight turn to finish in Campbelltown.

Results
1. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff 3:26:40
2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre–Merida
3. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
4. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
5. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx–Quick-Step
6. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale
7. Juan José Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Team Movistar
8. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky
9. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
10. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL–Jumbo
11. Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek–Segafredo
12. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
13. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Giant–Alpecin
14. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
15. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Team Dimension Data
16. Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale
17. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale
18. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
19. Patrick Shaw (Aus) UniSA-Australia
20. Georg Preidler (Aut) Giant–Alpecin
21. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek–Segafredo
22. Jesús Herrada (Esp) Team Movistar
23. Rein Taaramäe (Est) Team Katusha
24. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale
25. George Bennett (Nzl) LottoNL–Jumbo
26. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
27. Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Esp) Team Movistar
28. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek–Segafredo
29. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
30. Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Soudal
31. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Esp) Astana
32. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff
33. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL–Jumbo
34. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha
35. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky
36. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff
37. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
38. Patrick Lane (Aus) UniSA-Australia
39. Gavin Mannion (USA) Drapac Pro Cycling
40. Louis Meintjes (Rsa) Lampre–Merida
41. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling
42. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lotto Soudal
43. Steve Morabito (Sui) FDJ
44. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
45. Carlos Verona (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
46. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) UniSA-Australia
47. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
48. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
49. Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
50. Davide Malacarne (Ita) Astana
51. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana
52. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa)
53. Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) Team Katusha
54. Chris Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
55. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
56. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
57. Jascha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Movistar
58. Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale
59. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
60. Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Lampre–Merida
61. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal
62. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
63. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff
64. José Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Team Movistar
65. Jaco Venter (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
66. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
67. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team
68. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
69. Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx–Quick-Step
70. Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff
71. Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
72. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Team Movistar
73. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
74. Nathan Earle (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
75. Carter Jones (USA) Giant–Alpecin
76. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Movistar
77. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica–GreenEdge
78. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana
79. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana
80. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
81. Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
82. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
83. Steele von Hoff (Aus) UniSA-Australia 01:24
84. Songezo Jim (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
85. Nathan Haas (Aus) Team Dimension Data
86. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
87. Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
88. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ 01:41
89. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre–Merida 01:51
90. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre–Merida
91. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge
92. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge
93. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica–GreenEdge
94. Simon Geschke (Ger) Giant–Alpecin 02:16
95. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal 02:26
96. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale
97. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky
98. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
99. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 03:08
100. Sean Lake (Aus) UniSA-Australia
101. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek–Segafredo
102. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana
103. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek–Segafredo 04:16
104. Adam Blythe (Gbr) Tinkoff
105. Marcel Aregger (Sui) IAM Cycling
106. Davide Martinelli (Ita) Etixx–Quick-Step
107. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 04:38
108. Koen De Kort (Ned) Giant–Alpecin
109. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
110. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana
111. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) AG2R La Mondiale
112. Murilo Fischer (Bra) FDJ
113. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff
114. Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre–Merida
115. Bert De Backer (Bel) Giant–Alpecin 06:01
116. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 06:21
117. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky 06:50
118. Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Dimension Data
119. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Dimension Data
120. Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
121. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
122. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 07:59
123. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
124. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge
125. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek–Segafredo
126. Martijn Keizer (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
127. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
128. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
129. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre–Merida
130. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha
131. Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling
132. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale
133. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek–Segafredo 10:12
134. Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM Cycling
135. Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale 10:38
136. Cheng Ji (Chn) Giant–Alpecin 11:27
137. Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team Katusha 15:47
OTL Brenton Jones (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling 26:33
DNF Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
DNF Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling

GC after Stage 2
1. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff 6:50:43
2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre–Merida 00:04
3. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 00:05
4. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 00:06
5. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa) 00:09
6. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale 00:10
7. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL–Jumbo
8. Juan José Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Team Movistar
9. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Giant–Alpecin
11. Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek–Segafredo
12. Patrick Shaw (Aus) UniSA-Australia
13. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Team Dimension Data
14. Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale
15. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky
16. Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) UniSA-Australia
17. Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) Team Katusha
18. José Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Team Movistar
19. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
20. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Esp) Astana
21. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha
22. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lotto Soudal
23. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
24. Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Esp) Team Movistar
25. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff
26. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling
27. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
28. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana
29. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana
30. Carlos Verona (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
31. Steve Morabito (Sui) FDJ
32. Davide Malacarne (Ita) Astana
33. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
34. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky
35. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica–GreenEdge
36. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx–Quick-Step
37. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx–Quick-Step
38. Jascha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Movistar
39. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
40. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
41. George Bennett (Nzl) LottoNL–Jumbo
42. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana
43. Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
44. Louis Meintjes (Rsa) Lampre–Merida
45. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale
46. Jesús Herrada (Esp) Team Movistar
47. Georg Preidler (Aut) Giant–Alpecin
48. Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
49. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek–Segafredo
50. Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx–Quick-Step
51. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
52. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL–Jumbo
53. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff
54. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
55. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
56. Nathan Haas (Aus) Team Dimension Data
57. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal
58. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
59. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff
60. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Team Movistar
61. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
62. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale
63. Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Soudal
64. Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff
65. Rein Taaramäe (Est) Team Katusha
66. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
67. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana
68. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek–Segafredo
69. Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale
70. Gavin Mannion (USA) Drapac Pro Cycling
71. Patrick Lane (Aus) UniSA-Australia
72. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
73. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
74. Nathan Earle (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
75. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
76. Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
77. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
78. Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Lampre–Merida
79. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica–GreenEdge
80. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Movistar
81. Chris Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
82. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
83. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
84. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
85. Carter Jones (USA) Giant–Alpecin
86. Songezo Jim (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
87. Jaco Venter (Rsa) Team Dimension Data
88. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
89. Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Pro Cycling
90. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 00:50
91. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 01:15
92. Steele von Hoff (Aus) UniSA-Australia 01:34
93. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ 01:51
94. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre–Merida 02:01
95. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre–Merida
96. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal
97. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale
98. Simon Geschke (Ger) Giant–Alpecin 03:14
99. Sean Lake (Aus) UniSA-Australia 03:15
100. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 03:18
101. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek–Segafredo 03:37
102. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky 03:41
103. Adam Blythe (Gbr) Tinkoff 04:26
104. Davide Martinelli (Ita) Etixx–Quick-Step
105. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek–Segafredo
106. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 04:45
107. Koen De Kort (Ned) Giant–Alpecin 04:48
108. Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre–Merida
109. Murilo Fischer (Bra) FDJ
110. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff
111. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo
112. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana
113. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) AG2R La Mondiale
114. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 06:18
115. Bert De Backer (Bel) Giant–Alpecin 06:33
116. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Dimension Data 06:54
117. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky 07:00
118. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
119. Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
120. Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Dimension Data 08:01
121. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 08:03
122. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale 08:05
123. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek–Segafredo 08:09
124. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre–Merida
125. Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling
126. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx–Quick-Step
127. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha
128. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
129. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 08:49
130. Marcel Aregger (Sui) IAM Cycling 09:55
131. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek–Segafredo 10:22
132. Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM Cycling
133. Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale 10:48
134. Martijn Keizer (Ned) LottoNL–Jumbo 13:38
135. Cheng Ji (Chn) Giant–Alpecin 14:23
136. Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team Katusha 15:57
137. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica–GreenEdge 16:05