Stage 2 of the 2020 Tour Down Under featured a tricky uphill finish in Stirling, where Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) showcased his form and versatility to win ahead of Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Nathan Haas (Cofidis).
The stage was marred by a number of crashes in the tense closing phases, with Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) among those to hit the deck.
When it came to the draggy finish, Impey, winner of the past two editions of the race, hit out early on the right-hand side of the road and was tracked by Haas. Ewan, however, soon opened the taps on the left and made it look easy, winning by a country mile.
The Australian now takes the leader's ochre jersey from stage 1 winner Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) who said afterwards that he didn't have the legs to contest the tough finish.
The six bonus seconds Impey gained for his second place could yet have a say, after his two overall titles were gained that way, but a steep finish at Paracombe on stage 3 is set to tilt the balance towards the stronger climbers.
Watch how the stage 2 action unfolded in the highlights video above.
