Australian cycling champion Simon Gerrans is proving his world class talent

AFTER winning the first stage of the Tour Down Under, Simon Gerrans has become the cyclist who can do no wrong.

Simon Gerrans after winning stage one of the Tour Down Under. Picture: SARAH REED

SIMON Gerrans has become the cyclist who can do no wrong.

Nine days after putting away the best field ever assembled in the national championship road race, the versatile Victorian logged did the same to a quality international line-up in the first stage of the Tour Down Under.

The Orica-GreenEDGE star is now perfectly poised to win Australia's only WorldTour event for what would be a record third time, having triumphed in 2006 and 2012.

Gerrans surprised even himself by overtaking champion German sprinter Andre Griepel, of Lotto-Belisol, in a dash to the line after a 135km trip around the Barossa Valley wine region, watched by an estimated 88,000 people.

Uphill and into the wind, it was a virtual carbon copy of Gerrans' stage win in the Tour de France last year, when he went past another of the world's best finishers, Slovakian Peter Sagan.

News_Rich_Media: Gerrans claims TDU stage one

He was brilliantly led out by South African teammate Daryl Impey that day, and again yesterday.

Gerrans explosive start to the new year has been all the more impressive given he had to cut short his 2013 season when a hairline fracture of the pelvis forced him to stop midway through the Tour of Spain in September.News_Image_File: Simon Gerrans sprints home. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

GreenEDGE sports director Matt White said yesterday that having been forced off his bike for longer than usual, and earlier than usual, had been a blessing in disguise.

"He's in a good place now," White said.

Gerrans agreed. "I'm in pretty good shape and for me its all about getting to the finis fresher than everyone else," he said.

Gerrans picked up 11 seconds in time bonuses _ one for a third place in an intermediate sprint and 10 for the stage win _ and leads Griepel, also a dual winner overall, by five seconds with third placegetter, promising young Australian Steele Von Hoff, another two seconds adrift.

The bonuses are invaluable because the TDU is almost always won by a small margin after six days of racing.

In 2006 Gerrans also won the first stage into Angaston, collecting the leader's ochre jersey that was awarded for the first time that year, and kept it on his back for the entire race.

"It's going to be a heck of a tough ask this time," he said.

"The race is at a much higher level than in 06 but we have a fantastic team here and the guys are giving me a real opportunity to do that.

"I'm optimistic of holding it to the end.

"It is fantastic to start the season going well and getting some wins on the board, creating momentum for not only me but the whole team. Early wins count for a lot."

The race came down to a bunch finish after the peloton reeled in a long two-man breakaway by Australians Will Clarke of Drapac and Neil ven den Ploeg of Uni-SA before the category one climb up Mengler's Hill, about 10k from the finish.

When Griepel, not a noted climber but far from incompetent at it either, was still with the leaders after that, few would have bet against him prevailing in the sprint.

But he admitted the course wasn't suited to his style of sprinting. "It was a perfect finish for Gerro," he said.

Former Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, who finished second behind Gerrans at the nationals, rode strongly to finish in the leading bunch, and is 11 seconds behind.

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