Luke Davison claims shock Herald Sun Tour win

LUKE Davison was surprised by his win in stage two of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in every sense of the word.

Herald Sun Tour

LUKE Davison was surprised by his win in stage two of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in every sense of the word.

There was, of course, the surprise that he'd manage to defeat some of Australia's best cyclists to the finish line.

But there was also surprise that the race was over.

A final 6km loop around the streets of Healesville created chaos for riders and officials alike this afternoon as the 146.6km stage from Mitchelton Winery came to a close.

The peloton sprinted their hearts out to the finish line the first time around - only to realise there was a lap to go.

And then Davison (Sasi Cycling P/B Feelgood Fitness) and breakaway companion Will Walker (Drapac) crossed the finish line - for real - so indiscriminately that nobody noticed the race had been won.

Not even Davison himself.

They had no lead car in front of them, as amongst the haze of backmarkers officials mistook them for riders that had been left behind by the peloton.

But alas, he won, and the 2008 Australian junior track rider of the year had a stage win in a major road race.

The win was sweet, but not as sweet as it could have been.

Davison and Walker went it alone with about 30km to go and with 20km remaining had forged a two-minute lead on their nearest rivals.

That would have almost been enough to lift Davison (sixth overnight) or Walker (12th overnight) into the yellow jersey.

But the peloton launched a spirited fightback over the final 10km and slashed the gap to only a couple of seconds by the finish, leaving Aaron Donnelly to retain the lead he won so gallantly in Friday's heat.

It appeared as if the Australian national team had their heart set on fighting their way back in to overall contention after a disappointing first stage.

Defending champion Nathan Haas led the charge, winning the two King of the Mountain climbs at the 49.8km and 57.8km marks, with youngster Jay McCarthy and experienced campaigner Simon Clarke alongside him in what was an 11-man breakaway that by the 50km mark had put nearly a minute between themselves and the peloton.

But just as the race looked to be set up for the tour's stars, the peloton swallowed them and before long there was a new order establishing themselves at the front.

Walker, Davison, Stuart Smith (Search2Retain P/B Health), Joseph Lewis (GPM Data), Karl Evans and Sam Horgan (both Team Budget Forklifts) streamed away to a 2:36 lead at the 109km mark.

As riders departed the stunning scenery of Mitchelton Winery this morning, temperatures were much cooler than the scorcher they had to endure yesterday, although by the time they had made it to Yea - almost the halfway point of the 146.6km second stage - it had risen to 35C.

The stage wasn't without incident, with two crashes occurring near the town of Seymour, one of which forced the withdrawal of Alastair Slater (Great Britain national team) and Dylan Hately (Target Trek).