Anthony Giacoppo survived an almost-stage-long breakaway to take out the second stage of the Tour of the Murray River. The Genesys rider finished ahead of Blair Windsor (Budget Forklifts) and Jacob Kauffmann (Charter Mason - Drapac Development Team) to move into the general classification lead from Stage 1 winner, Luke Davison (Budget Forklifts).
Giacoppo said that being part of the Genesys outfit, which dominated the 2011 series, means that his competition is extra-keen to finish in front of him. It was just what happened earlier in the day when sprint-rival Luke Davison (Budget Forklifts) took out the opening stage.
"Like I always say, it’s good to be in front," Giacoppo said. "At the start of the day, I was just getting into the rhythm and trying to find the race legs."
The 77.8km stage from Yarrawonga to Cobram on the Victoria, New South Wales border is one of four road stages of the Tour and any time gained could prove crucial to the final overall standings.
A group of eight riders moved away from the field 12kms into the Sunday afternoon stage with the advantage soon moving out to 16 seconds. The number of riders in the break also ballooned with a maximum of 16 clear.
Josh Taylor (GPM Wilson Racing) and Pat Shaw (Genesys Wealth Advisers) were key aggressors in the breakaway, dominating the race for bonus points at the three intermediate sprint points and the one KOM of the day.
With 15km remaining in the stage, the lead group hit their maximum advantage of 40 seconds on the peloton. That gap would fall somewhat with the bunch chasing hard but only another 20 seconds could be made up at the end of the stage.
Heading into Monday's third stage, a 25.5km criterium in Numurkah, Giacoppo holds a four-second lead on Blair Windsor (Team Budget Forklifts) with a further six seconds back to Miles Scotson (SASI) and Jacob Kauffmann (Charter Mason - Drapac Development Team).
Full results
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#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Anthony Giacoppo (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
1:43:28
2
Blair Windsor (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 1 - Cell 2
3
Jacob Kauffmann (Charter Mason - Drapac Development Team)
Row 2 - Cell 2
4
Miles Scotson (SASI)
Row 3 - Cell 2
5
James McCoy (PureBlack Racing)
Row 4 - Cell 2
6
Edward White (GPM Wilson Racing)
Row 5 - Cell 2
7
Joseph Cooper (PureBlack Racing)
Row 6 - Cell 2
8
Amir Rusli (Drapac Professional Cycling)
Row 7 - Cell 2
9
James Hepburn (RBS Morgans - ATS)
Row 8 - Cell 2
10
Chris Beeck (Plan B Racing)
Row 9 - Cell 2
11
Campbell Flakemore (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 10 - Cell 2
12
Joel Pearson (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 11 - Cell 2
13
Fraser Northey (SASI)
0:00:08
14
Dean Sanfilippo (John West Cycling)
0:00:20
15
Alex Wohler (Team Downunder)
Row 14 - Cell 2
16
Alexander Smyth (Plan B Racing)
Row 15 - Cell 2
17
Louis Crosby (PureBlack Racing)
Row 16 - Cell 2
18
Kane Walker (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 17 - Cell 2
19
Luke Parker (Parramatta Race Team)
Row 18 - Cell 2
20
Patrick Shaw (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 19 - Cell 2
21
Joshua Taylor (GPM Wilson Racing)
Row 20 - Cell 2
22
Malcolm Rudolph (Drapac Professional Cycling)
Row 21 - Cell 2
23
Bradeley Hall (Plan B Racing)
Row 22 - Cell 2
24
Aaron Donnelly (Jayco-Honey Shotz)
Row 23 - Cell 2
25
Luke Davison (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 24 - Cell 2
26
Alex Carver (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 25 - Cell 2
27
Stuart Shaw (Drapac Professional Cycling)
Row 26 - Cell 2
28
James Rendall (Swan Hill Rural City)
Row 27 - Cell 2
29
Edward Bissaker (Jayco-Honey Shotz)
Row 28 - Cell 2
30
George Tansley (SASI)
Row 29 - Cell 2
31
Jarryd Jones (Moira Shire)
Row 30 - Cell 2
32
Blake Hose (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 31 - Cell 2
33
Brenton Jones (Genesys Wealth Advisers)
Row 32 - Cell 2
34
Jayden Copp (Team Downunder)
Row 33 - Cell 2
35
Luke Ockerby (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 34 - Cell 2
36
William Draffen (Team Downunder)
Row 35 - Cell 2
37
Samuel Witmitz (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 36 - Cell 2
38
Wade Edwards (Swan Hill Rural City)
Row 37 - Cell 2
39
Tyler Spurrell (Swan Hill Rural City)
Row 38 - Cell 2
40
Oliver Kent-Spark (John West Cycling)
Row 39 - Cell 2
41
Stephen Cousins (Moira Shire)
Row 40 - Cell 2
42
Alistair Crameri (Swan Hill Rural City)
Row 41 - Cell 2
43
Alex Edmondson (Jayco-Honey Shotz)
Row 42 - Cell 2
44
Ryan MacAnally (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 43 - Cell 2
45
Evan Hull (Parramatta Race Team)
Row 44 - Cell 2
46
Cameron Peterson (RBS Morgans - ATS)
Row 45 - Cell 2
47
Daniel Nelson (Moira Shire)
Row 46 - Cell 2
48
Thomas Patton (Parramatta Race Team)
Row 47 - Cell 2
49
Conor Murtagh (Charter Mason - Drapac Development Team)
Row 48 - Cell 2
50
James Boal (John West Cycling)
Row 49 - Cell 2
51
Caleb Jones (GPM Wilson Racing)
Row 50 - Cell 2
52
Jack Cummings (Parramatta Race Team)
Row 51 - Cell 2
53
Shaun McCarthy (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 52 - Cell 2
54
Peter Thompson (Drapac Professional Cycling)
Row 53 - Cell 2
55
Joshua Harrison (SASI)
Row 54 - Cell 2
56
Henry Morley (Plan B Racing)
Row 55 - Cell 2
57
Roman Van Uden (PureBlack Racing)
Row 56 - Cell 2
58
Taylor Gunman (PureBlack Racing)
Row 57 - Cell 2
59
Gordon McCauley (Drapac Professional Cycling)
Row 58 - Cell 2
60
Peter Loft (Team Budget Forklifts)
Row 59 - Cell 2
61
Harry Carpenter (SASI)
Row 60 - Cell 2
62
Jay Bourke (Moira Shire)
Row 61 - Cell 2
63
Douglas Freeburn (Team Downunder)
Row 62 - Cell 2
64
Glenn O'Shea (SASI)
Row 63 - Cell 2
65
Nicholas D'Ambrosio (Parramatta Race Team)
Row 64 - Cell 2
66
Steven Del Gallo (John West Cycling)
0:00:30
67
James Butler (John West Cycling)
0:00:49
68
Jake Magee (GPM Wilson Racing)
0:02:17
69
Andrew Crawley (GPM Wilson Racing)
0:02:44
70
Liam Dove (Plan B Racing)
0:03:24
DNS
Shannon Johnson (Charter Mason - Drapac Development Team)