TDU Stage 2: Kiwi Patrick Bevin claims win after huge crash
New Zealand rider Patrick Bevin has taken advantage of a huge crash in the final kilometre and held off some of the world’s best sprinters to claim the second stage of the Tour Down Under at Angaston. Recap all the action.
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New Zealand rider Patrick Bevin has taken advantage of a huge crash in the final kilometre and held off some of the world’s best sprinters to claim the second stage of the Tour Down Under.
The CCC Team cyclist avoided the crash which blocked the road to the Angaston finish line to claim the 122km stage win — and the ochre jersey — from Aussie Caleb Ewan from Lotto-Soudal and Slovakian star Peter Sagan from Bora-Hansgrohe.
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Bevin now leads the general classification by five seconds ahead of Stage 1 winner Elia Viviani from Deceuninck-Quick-Step. He is nine seconds ahead of Ewan.
The peloton once again had to endure scorching temperatures on the stage which started at Norwood and was cut pre-race by 26.9km in a bid to keep riders from blowing up in the extreme weather.
ðŸ That was HECTIC 😲 @PaddyBevin took full advantage of a huge crash in the last KM to take a fabulous win on Novatech Stage 2 ahead some of the world's best sprinters!! Chapeau ðŸ‘🼠#TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/7ZBCuJIwOu
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴â€â™€ï¸ (@tourdownunder) January 16, 2019
Bevin’s win comes after he picked up important sprint points in the home stretch on Stage 1 on Tuesday, the Kiwi who finished 10th in the 2016 TDU telling The Advertiser it was part of a calculated plan to gain crucial time he hopes will pay off at the race’s conclusion on Sunday.
“It was definitely a gamble, you could take five seconds today and lose two minutes in three days’ time but that’s bike racing, we’re here to try to win it and to lie down and wait for Willunga I’m not going to win it so I have to fight for every single second and that started at kilometre zero today,” he said.
Originally published as TDU Stage 2: Kiwi Patrick Bevin claims win after huge crash