Tour Down Under: Porte takes control with stage 2 win

Australian Richie Porte gave the home crowds a show Wednesday with an emphatic win in stage 2 of the Santos Tour Down Under. BMC Racing’s leader came home at the top of the Paracombe climb 16 seconds ahead of the second-place rider, Movistar’s Gorka Izagirre. Esteban Chaves of Orica – Scott was third.

“I had nightmares of two yeas ago when we played cat and mouse there — didn’t work,” Porte said of the finishing climb. “The BMC Racing boys were just incredible. Nice to win on the Paracombe. Now we try to defend this jersey.”

The 148.5-kilometer stage was highlighted by a solo attack by Izagirre’s German teammate Jasha Sutterlin. He was caught about 20km from the finish, and the peloton stormed into the base of the final 1.5km kicker to the line.

“We didn’t really race that hard around Sterling,” Porte said of the five hilly circuits in town before the run north to the uphill finish.

Top 10, stage 2

• 1. Richie PORTE, BMC RACING TEAM, in 3:46:06
• 2. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :16
• 3. Johan Esteban CHAVES RUBIO, ORS, at :16
• 4. Rohan DENIS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :19
• 5. Nathan HAAS, DIMENSION DATA, at :19
• 6. Diego ULISSI, UAD, at :19
• 7. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :19
• 8. Michael STORER, AUS, at :19
• 9. Michael WOODS, CDT, at :19
• 10. Luis León SANCHEZ, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :19

Porte’s accelerations on the Paracombe dropped most of the riders from the final select group. Izagirre followed briefly, but with about 1km to the finish the Australian was clear and he rode to victory with a comfortable margin.

“I’ve got good climbing legs and I didn’t want to wait around,” said Porte. “I have got a good gap on general classification. There’s some stressful days coming up, so we won’t be counting our chickens until they hatch.”

It was Porte’s first win since stage 5 at last year’s Tour Down Under.

After the pack reeled in Sutterlin, teams started working to out-maneuver each other heading toward the gorge section leading to the finish. Two-time reigning world champion Peter Sagan (Bora – Hansgrohe) was up near the front, along with stage 1 winner Caleb Ewan (Orica). Ewan led the pack for a brief period before Jose Goncalves (Katusha – Alpecin) made a move 4km from the finish as the main pack thinned out.

Goncalves quickly eased off, however, setting the scene for Porte’s bold move.

The sprinters should be back in the spotlight for Thursday’s stage 3, a 144km route from Glenelg to Victor Harbor.

Stage 2 results

• 1. Richie PORTE, BMC RACING TEAM, in 3:46:06
• 2. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :16
• 3. Johan Esteban CHAVES RUBIO, ORS, at :16
• 4. Rohan DENIS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :19
• 5. Nathan HAAS, DIMENSION DATA, at :19
• 6. Diego ULISSI, UAD, at :19
• 7. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :19
• 8. Michael STORER, AUS, at :19
• 9. Michael WOODS, CDT, at :19
• 10. Luis León SANCHEZ, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :19
• 11. Nathan EARLE, AUS, at :19
• 12. Sergio Luis HENAO MONTOYA, TEAM SKY, at :19
• 13. Jesus HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :19
• 14. Jay MCCARTHY, BOH, at :19
• 15. Domenico POZZOVIVO, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :19
• 16. Rafael VALLS FERRI, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :19
• 17. Enric MAS NICOLAU, QST, at :19
• 18. Wilco KELDERMAN, SUN, at :19
• 19. Robert GESINK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :19
• 20. JHONATAN RESTREPO VALENCIA, TEAM KATUSHA, at :19
• 21. Odd Christian EIKING, FDJ, at :29
• 22. Peter STETINA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :30
• 23. Jarlinson PANTANO GOMEZ, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :35
• 24. Giovanni VISCONTI, TBM, at :35
• 25. Patrick BEVIN, CDT, at :35
• 26. Lachlan MORTON, DIMENSION DATA, at :35
• 27. Petr VAKOC, QST, at :35
• 28. Jai HINDLEY, AUS, at :35
• 29. Lucas HAMILTON, AUS, at :35
• 30. Ondrej CINK, TBM, at :35
• 31. Dries DEVENYNS, QST, at :35
• 32. Chris HAMILTON, SUN, at :35
• 33. Jan BAKELANTS, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :35
• 34. Tom-Jelte SLAGTER, CDT, at :35
• 35. Sven erik BYSTRØM, TEAM KATUSHA, at :47
• 36. Marc SOLER GIMENEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :50
• 37. Anthony ROUX, FDJ, at :50
• 38. Simon GERRANS, ORS, at :50
• 39. Ben O’CONNOR, DIMENSION DATA, at :55
• 40. Gianluca BRAMBILLA, QST, at :57
• 41. Jack BAUER, QST, at :57
• 42. Daryl IMPEY, ORS, at :57
• 43. Sander ARMEE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :57
• 44. Geraint THOMAS, TEAM SKY, at :57
• 45. Jose HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :57
• 46. Paul MARTENS, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :57
• 47. Louis MEINTJES, UAD, at :57
• 48. Eros CAPECCHI, QST, at :57
• 49. José GONÇALVES, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:06
• 50. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:06
• 51. MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 1:21
• 52. Maurits LAMMERTINK, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:21
• 53. Clement CHEVRIER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 1:24
• 54. James SHAW, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:24
• 55. Laurent DIDIER, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:26
• 56. Tiago MACHADO, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:26
• 57. Sean DE BIE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:34
• 58. Damiano CARUSO, BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:34
• 59. Samuel Jenner, AUS, at 1:34
• 60. Ben SWIFT, UAD, at 1:34
• 61. Yukiya ARASHIRO, TBM, at 1:48
• 62. Artyom ZAKHAROV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 1:48
• 63. Janez BRAJKOVIC, TBM, at 2:06
• 64. Vegard Stake LAENGEN, UAD, at 2:06
• 65. Matteo MONTAGUTI, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 2:18
• 66. Jérémy MAISON, FDJ, at 2:24
• 67. Alexey VERMEULEN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 2:25
• 68. Simon GESCHKE, SUN, at 2:52
• 69. Cameron MEYER, AUS, at 2:59
• 70. Victor DE LA PARTE GONZALEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 3:16
• 71. Gregor MÜHLBERGER, BOH, at 3:21
• 72. Adam HANSEN, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 3:21
• 73. Enrico BATTAGLIN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 3:28
• 74. Jacques Willem JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at 3:31
• 75. Ben GASTAUER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 3:31
• 76. Peter SAGAN, BOH, at 3:42
• 77. Danilo WYSS, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:57
• 78. AMAEL MOINARD, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:57
• 79. Manuele MORI, UAD, at 3:59
• 80. Marco MARCATO, UAD, at 3:59
• 81. Matthieu LADAGNOUS, FDJ, at 4:16
• 82. Ángel VICIOSO ARCOS, TEAM KATUSHA, at 4:50
• 83. Martin VELITS, QST, at 5:33
• 84. Thomas DE GENDT, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:01
• 85. Jasha SÜTTERLIN, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 6:01
• 86. Koen DE KORT, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 6:01
• 87. Miles SCOTSON, BMC RACING TEAM, at 6:03
• 88. Jaco VENTER, DIMENSION DATA, at 6:57
• 89. Edward THEUNS, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 7:08
• 90. Baptiste PLANCKAERT, TEAM KATUSHA, at 7:17
• 91. Lorrenzo MANZIN, FDJ, at 7:33
• 92. François BIDARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 7:33
• 93. Nikias ARNDT, SUN, at 8:27
• 94. Lennard HOFSTEDE, SUN, at 8:27
• 95. Carlos BARBERO CUESTA, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 8:27
• 96. Tsgabu Gebremaryam GRMAY, TBM, at 8:27
• 97. Callum SCOTSON, AUS, at 8:27
• 98. NICCOLO’ BONIFAZIO, TBM, at 8:27
• 99. Alex HOWES, CDT, at 9:23
• 100. Matti BRESCHEL, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 9:23
• 101. Caleb EWAN, ORS, at 9:28
• 102. Chun Kai FENG, TBM, at 9:28
• 103. Luke DURBRIDGE, ORS, at 10:17
• 104. Damien HOWSON, ORS, at 10:17
• 105. William CLARKE, CDT, at 10:17
• 106. Tom SCULLY, CDT, at 10:17
• 107. Phil BAUHAUS, SUN, at 10:56
• 108. Michal KOLÁR, BOH, at 10:59
• 109. Sam BENNETT, BOH, at 11:01
• 110. Rüdiger SELIG, BOH, at 11:01
• 111. Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA, at 11:23
• 112. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 11:23
• 113. Robert Thomas WAGNER, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 11:23
• 114. Roger KLUGE, ORS, at 11:23
• 115. Francisco Jose VENTOSO ALBERDI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 11:23
• 116. Paolo TIRALONGO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 11:23
• 117. Bert-Jan LINDEMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 11:23
• 118. SEBASTIAN HENAO GOMEZ, TEAM SKY, at 11:23
• 119. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at 11:23
• 120. Tom VAN ASBROECK, CDT, at 11:23
• 121. Marko KUMP, UAD, at 11:23
• 122. Lukas PÖSTLBERGER, BOH, at 11:23
• 123. Arnaud COURTEILLE, FDJ, at 11:23
• 124. Kenny ELISSONDE, TEAM SKY, at 11:23
• 125. Julien BERARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 11:51
• 126. Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY, at 13:13
• 127. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at 13:13
• 128. Koen BOUWMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 14:41
• 129. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 14:51
• 130. Oscar GATTO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 17:15
• 131. Johannes FRÖHLINGER, SUN, at 17:15
• 132. Mads PEDERSEN, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 17:15

Overall standings

• 1. Richie PORTE, BMC RACING TEAM, in 7:10:14
• 2. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :20
• 3. Johan Esteban CHAVES RUBIO, ORS, at :22
• 4. Jay MCCARTHY, BOH, at :24
• 5. Nathan HAAS, DIMENSION DATA, at :27
• 6. Diego ULISSI, UAD, at :29
• 7. Nathan EARLE, AUS, at :29
• 8. Rohan DENIS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :29
• 9. Luis León SANCHEZ, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :29
• 10. Rafael VALLS FERRI, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :29
• 11. Robert GESINK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :29
• 12. Domenico POZZOVIVO, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :29
• 13. Wilco KELDERMAN, SUN, at :29
• 14. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :29
• 15. Sergio Luis HENAO MONTOYA, TEAM SKY, at :29
• 16. Michael WOODS, CDT, at :29
• 17. Enric MAS NICOLAU, QST, at :29
• 18. Michael STORER, AUS, at :29
• 19. JHONATAN RESTREPO VALENCIA, TEAM KATUSHA, at :29
• 20. Jesus HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :29
• 21. Odd Christian EIKING, FDJ, at :39
• 22. Peter STETINA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :40
• 23. Patrick BEVIN, CDT, at :45
• 24. Chris HAMILTON, SUN, at :45
• 25. Petr VAKOC, QST, at :45
• 26. Jarlinson PANTANO GOMEZ, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :45
• 27. Lucas HAMILTON, AUS, at :45
• 28. Jan BAKELANTS, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :45
• 29. Giovanni VISCONTI, TBM, at :45
• 30. Tom-Jelte SLAGTER, CDT, at :45
• 31. Jai HINDLEY, AUS, at :45
• 32. Ondrej CINK, TBM, at :45
• 33. Lachlan MORTON, DIMENSION DATA, at :45
• 34. Dries DEVENYNS, QST, at :45
• 35. Sven erik BYSTRØM, TEAM KATUSHA, at :57
• 36. Simon GERRANS, ORS, at :58
• 37. Anthony ROUX, FDJ, at 1:00
• 38. Marc SOLER GIMENEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 1:00
• 39. Ben O’CONNOR, DIMENSION DATA, at 1:05
• 40. Jack BAUER, QST, at 1:07
• 41. Geraint THOMAS, TEAM SKY, at 1:07
• 42. Gianluca BRAMBILLA, QST, at 1:07
• 43. Paul MARTENS, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 1:07
• 44. Daryl IMPEY, ORS, at 1:07
• 45. Louis MEINTJES, UAD, at 1:07
• 46. Sander ARMEE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:07
• 47. Eros CAPECCHI, QST, at 1:07
• 48. Jose HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 1:07
• 49. José GONÇALVES, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:14
• 50. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:16
• 51. MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 1:31
• 52. Maurits LAMMERTINK, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:31
• 53. Clement CHEVRIER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 1:34
• 54. James SHAW, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:34
• 55. Tiago MACHADO, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:36
• 56. Laurent DIDIER, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:36
• 57. Ben SWIFT, UAD, at 1:41
• 58. Sean DE BIE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:43
• 59. Samuel Jenner, AUS, at 1:44
• 60. Damiano CARUSO, BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:44
• 61. Yukiya ARASHIRO, TBM, at 1:58
• 62. Artyom ZAKHAROV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 1:58
• 63. Janez BRAJKOVIC, TBM, at 2:16
• 64. Vegard Stake LAENGEN, UAD, at 2:16
• 65. Matteo MONTAGUTI, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 2:28
• 66. Jérémy MAISON, FDJ, at 2:34
• 67. Alexey VERMEULEN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 2:35
• 68. Simon GESCHKE, SUN, at 3:02
• 69. Cameron MEYER, AUS, at 3:09
• 70. Victor DE LA PARTE GONZALEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 3:26
• 71. Gregor MÜHLBERGER, BOH, at 3:31
• 72. Adam HANSEN, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 3:31
• 73. Enrico BATTAGLIN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 3:38
• 74. Jacques Willem JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at 3:41
• 75. Ben GASTAUER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 3:41
• 76. Peter SAGAN, BOH, at 3:52
• 77. Danilo WYSS, BMC RACING TEAM, at 4:07
• 78. AMAEL MOINARD, BMC RACING TEAM, at 4:07
• 79. Marco MARCATO, UAD, at 4:09
• 80. Manuele MORI, UAD, at 4:09
• 81. Matthieu LADAGNOUS, FDJ, at 4:26
• 82. Ángel VICIOSO ARCOS, TEAM KATUSHA, at 5:00
• 83. Martin VELITS, QST, at 5:43
• 84. Jasha SÜTTERLIN, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 6:08
• 85. Koen DE KORT, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 6:11
• 86. Thomas DE GENDT, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:11
• 87. Miles SCOTSON, BMC RACING TEAM, at 6:13
• 88. Edward THEUNS, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 7:18
• 89. Baptiste PLANCKAERT, TEAM KATUSHA, at 7:27
• 90. Jaco VENTER, DIMENSION DATA, at 7:37
• 91. Lorrenzo MANZIN, FDJ, at 7:43
• 92. François BIDARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 7:43
• 93. Nikias ARNDT, SUN, at 8:37
• 94. NICCOLO’ BONIFAZIO, TBM, at 8:37
• 95. Carlos BARBERO CUESTA, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 8:37
• 96. Tsgabu Gebremaryam GRMAY, TBM, at 8:37
• 97. Callum SCOTSON, AUS, at 8:37
• 98. Lennard HOFSTEDE, SUN, at 9:27
• 99. Caleb EWAN, ORS, at 9:28
• 100. Matti BRESCHEL, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 9:33
• 101. Alex HOWES, CDT, at 9:33
• 102. Chun Kai FENG, TBM, at 10:01
• 103. William CLARKE, CDT, at 10:27
• 104. Tom SCULLY, CDT, at 10:27
• 105. Sam BENNETT, BOH, at 11:07
• 106. Rüdiger SELIG, BOH, at 11:10
• 107. Luke DURBRIDGE, ORS, at 11:17
• 108. Phil BAUHAUS, SUN, at 11:21
• 109. Michal KOLÁR, BOH, at 11:22
• 110. Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA, at 11:33
• 111. Marko KUMP, UAD, at 11:33
• 112. Robert Thomas WAGNER, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 11:33
• 113. Arnaud COURTEILLE, FDJ, at 11:33
• 114. Francisco Jose VENTOSO ALBERDI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 11:33
• 115. Tom VAN ASBROECK, CDT, at 11:33
• 116. Roger KLUGE, ORS, at 11:33
• 117. Kenny ELISSONDE, TEAM SKY, at 11:33
• 118. SEBASTIAN HENAO GOMEZ, TEAM SKY, at 11:33
• 119. Paolo TIRALONGO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 11:33
• 120. Lukas PÖSTLBERGER, BOH, at 11:33
• 121. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at 11:59
• 122. Julien BERARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 12:01
• 123. Bert-Jan LINDEMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 12:23
• 124. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at 13:23
• 125. Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY, at 13:55
• 126. Damien HOWSON, ORS, at 14:02
• 127. Koen BOUWMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 14:51
• 128. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 14:55
• 129. Johannes FRÖHLINGER, SUN, at 17:25
• 130. Mads PEDERSEN, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 17:25
• 131. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 18:26
• 132. Oscar GATTO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 21:00

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