By Les Clarke in Hahndorf After a day of attrition in yesterday's opening stage to Angaston, Liberty...
Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) (Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Davis gets elusive win as Gerrans defends superbly
By Les Clarke in Hahndorf
After a day of attrition in yesterday's opening stage to Angaston, Liberty Seguros-Wurth's Allan Davis broke through for his first stage win in this event, beating Paul Crake in a two up sprint into the main street of Hahndorf this afternoon. Davis, who is on his eighth visit to the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, made his way to the early break which formed after 30 kilometres and stayed away from the peloton for the entire day.
It wasn't until the final kilometres, however, that Davis was able to make the decisive move, breaking clear of the 11-rider breakaway with UniSA's stairmaster extraordinaire Paul Crake and riding home for a popular win. "We knew something was going to go today after yesterday, so I was pretty geed up last night to get in a winning move and I did it today," said a very satisfied Davis after the finish. "It's just a little treat for my two kids, especially my little newborn."
But it was so much more for Davis, who admits that although he's won races on the international stage the win in Australia's premier stage race is very special. "I can't describe how hungry I was for a win this year," said Davis. "I got very close last year when Luis pretty much dominated the Tour, but now I've got it."
AG2R's Simon Gerrans benefited from a dominant display of controlled riding by his teammates to maintain his lead in the general classification. "The guys did an awesome job today; they rode absolutely perfectly," said a hot but happy Gerrans at the finish in Hahndorf. "They let the right breaks get away - there was just no one there so I could focus on GC and we rode the right pace all day. They just controlled it," he said. Indeed it was a controlled race from the French squad, but with Davis' teammate Luis Leon Sanchez staying close to Gerrans all day, it was a great day for the Liberty Seguros-Wurth squad.
