Simon Gerrans in control sitting in Santos Tour Down Under's hot seat

SIMON Gerrans claiming the first stage win in 2014 has laid out all of Orica-GreenEDGE's cards at the TDU, says race director Matt White.

SIMON Gerrans claiming the first UCI WorldTour stage win in 2014 has laid out all of Orica-GreenEDGE's cards at the Santos Tour Down Under, says team race director Matt White.

Gerrans win wasn't a surprise for the Australian outfit given the recent stunning form of the Victorian.

But White revealed the Australian UCI WorldTour team's tactics of keeping the peloton's key sprinters away from Gerrans wasn't fool proof.

"The only real surprise is that we didn't expect any pure sprinters to get to the (finish) line,'' White said.

"The only one who was there was (Andre) Greipel anyway but we've got a clear plan to try to win this tour with Simon and that's one box ticked anyway.

"We took control it's no surprise, we blew our cover at the national championships really and it's no surprise we've got a team to do here from day one."

Gerrans just 10 days ago claimed the Australian road championships before backing up that huge win with his second stage win at Angaston on Tuesday after winning the same stage eight years ago.

Simon Gerrans narrowly edges out Andre Greipel to win stage one of the TDU. Picture: David Mariuz/Getty Images.

In 2006, Gerrans led the Tour Down Under from start to finish.

Gerrans beat Germany's Lotto-Belisol Andre Greipel - a two-time Tour Down Under champion and record 14 stage winner - to the Angaston finish line after Drapac's Will Clarke put his team's WorldTour debut at the front of the race for about two hours before the Menglers Hill cracked the peloton just before Orica-GreenEDGE wound up its tactical plan.

Gerrans now has a five second lead over Greipel and a seven second gap over Garmin-Sharp's Australian Steele von Hoff also on the podium after finishing third.

But they're not Gerrans' main rivals for the GC.

"It was a little bit of surprise Simon (Gerrans) getting over the top of Greipel,'' White said.

"But it was a hard run into the line but Gerrans was dropped off pretty well by (teammates) Daryl Impey and Michael Matthews.

"Hats off he's done it again."

Gerrans' emphatic victory came after Clarke, 28, and UniSA's Neil van der Ploeg, 26, led a two-man breakaway which blew out to more than four minutes before the Menglers Hill challenge smacked the brave riders back to the bunch.

There was no signs of any smoke from the recent Eden Valley bushfires causing havoc with the peloton or fans as the Nuriootpa-Angaston 135km stage was played out in perfect 26C conditions as tactics came to the fore after the final climb.

With Richie Porte's Sky trying to control the race up Menglers Hills and Cadel Evans' BMC Racing just behind the British team Orica-GreenEDGE line up a perfectly timed assault on the ascent to steer Gerrans at the finish line.

Gerrans said it wasn't an easy victory.

"My teammates set me up perfectly for that final,'' Gerrans said.

"It was a tough final and probably took the sting out of Andre Greipel's legs a little bit and I was a bit fresher coming into it and I was just able to sneak past him over the line.

"These guys are some of the fastest in the world especially Andre, he's a world class sprinter, it just goes to show I'm in pretty good shape.

"For me it's all about getting to the finish fresh and fresher than anyone else."

Gerrans said repeating his amazing 2006 Tour Down Under GC feat would be challenging but the Victorian believes his team may be able to help him deliver a hat-trick of overall Australian titles.

"You can't afford to hold too much back in this race,'' Gerrans said

"Every second on the road counts and every stage win counts."