Stage one winner Caleb Ewan has produced back-to-back victories at the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic in Geelong following another tactically sound race by ORICA-GreenEDGE.
The result mirrors the 21-year-old?s efforts in 2015 and elevates him to the clear second highest stage winner at the ?Bay Crits? with a total of nine stage wins over the past five years. Australian sprint legend Robbie McEwen remains the highest with an impressive 17 victories over ten editions.
Ewan?s second win for the year came from another bunch sprint after his ORICA-GreenEDGE teammates closed a dangerous breakaway covered by debutant Alexander Edmondson.
?The team again rode so well,? Ewan said. ?It was handy having Alex up in the breakaway.?
?I think he was just sitting on making sure it wasn’t getting get too far ahead and then the boys behind did a great job to chase as well.
?We rode it perfectly and I think everyone was pretty tired towards the end so that made the sprint a lot easier for me.?
Leaving the final chase until the closing stages of the one-hour race made for a frantic final lap.
?There was people going everywhere because teams were running out of guys so there wasn?t much organisation in the last lap,? the two-time overall champion said. ?I had Alex Edmondson with me the whole last lap and he guided me perfectly and put me in good position into the last corner.?
Despite losing powerhouse Luke Durbridge early due to a mechanical, sport director Matt Wilson said the team stuck well to the plan.
?Losing Durbo took the edge off our game plan but Alex was really attentive to cover that move,? Wilson said. ?If we didn?t get the break back, I was pretty sure that Alex was still going to win but it worked out perfectly.?
?In the final Caleb was just too strong again. He is certainly showing some great early season form.?
Back-to-back victories gives Ewan a four-point lead over Brenton Jones (Drapac Professional) who took out second place and a 12point lead over Luke Parker (State of Matter/IMAP) in third.
Images copyright Jarrod Partridge
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