Start list Preview and course profile Latest live report Stage 2 - January 16: Hahndorf - Strathalbyn, 150kmComplete live reportStart time: 11:00 Welcome to the live coverage of Stage 2 of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, a 150 kilometre leg from Hahndorf to Strathalbyn. Today's stage features the tough Checker Hill at 46 kilometres, an obstacle that may well split the peloton. However, the hill comes quite early in the stage with 104 kilometres still to race, meaning that a regrouping is quite possible. The race leader, Robbie McEwen (Lotto) is not a renowned climber, but his form at the moment is such that he should be able to hang on. 11:14 All the riders have started out from Hahndorf as there were no withdrawals overnight. Huge crowds are lining the streets and there is an excellent atmosphere here. Everyone's mad about Stuart O'Grady, who was very busy signing autographs this morning. There are also a lot of cyclists on the parcous, enjoying the occasion and getting to see a real slice of professional cycling. 11:30 - km 18 The peloton heads through Woodside and then towards Lenswood, with the crowds still very much in evidence. The speed starts to pick up in preparation for the climb of Checker Hill Some comments from Hahndorf prior to the start of stage 2, reported by Gabriella Ekstrom. Danilo Hondo (Telekom): The classy German sprinter realised it was not going to be easy for him today, as the Jacob's Creek TDU hit the first road stage of the tour. Hondo was echoing many of the comments of the European riders, who feel somewhat underdone after arriving in the warm and dry climate of Adelaide after early training in a northern winter. Stage 2 is a winding and hilly parcours which provides ample opportunity for breaks to go clear. "If there's a break and they stay away then that's too bad for me," said Hondo, who has won stages of the Giro d'Italia. "But if it comes back together I'll be looking for a win." 11:41 - 25 km The aggression has resulted in a breakaway of eight riders, who have a 40 second gap on the bunch after 25 kilometres. Danilo Hondo (Telekom), Daniele Nardello (Mapei Quick Step), Joerg Ludewig (Saeco), Brad Davidson (Saeco), Robbie McEwen (Lotto Adecco), Scott Sunderland (Australian Institute Of Sport), Peter Dawson (United Water), and Russell Van Hout (UniSA) have established a handy lead. Stuart O'Grady has missed it, and will certainly be chasing hard. 11:50 - 30 km Credit Agricole is chasing very hard at the front of the peloton as this break is quite dangerous. The gap is now out to 52 seconds. Andrea Tafi is also near the front of the bunch, protecting the lead of his teammate Daniele Nardello, who is in the break. One of the new stars of Australian track cycling, Mark Renshaw (United Water), was not relishing the prospect of the first real road stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, with his best chance for a stage victory not until the final circuit stage in Adelaide, where he can unleash his powerful sprint. For today's first stage, the United Water team was looking to put team leader Simon Gerrans and young Victorian rider David Pell into an early break. They've managed to get Peter Dawson up there, who is also a very handy rider. 12:05 - 40 km The leading riders are approaching the climb of Checker Hill now, and this breakaway of eight is still working well together. We spoke with several of the protagonists this morning, with more comments below. The current leader of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under admitted to pre-race nerves before the start of stage 1 in Glenelg yesterday, but prior to the start of the first road stage in Hahndorf this morning, he was feeling good about his prospects. McEwen expected a break will try to go clear within the first 60kms, with the first major climb of the tour being Checker Hill, which comes some 45km into today's stage. The sprinter will also try to get into one of the breaks which he thinks has the potential to go clear. McEwen will be keeping his eye on fellow Australian riders Scott Sunderland and Patrick Jonker, as he noticed they were both riding strongly in the Australian road championships. "They were climbing well last weekend at the nationals, and of course there's Stuart (O'grady), who knows the climbs like the back of his hand and even when Stuart's not feeling good he can still go well on this stage," McEwen said. Another rider McEwen will be watcing is Daniele Nardello, team leader of Mapei - Quick Step. "I'm really happy with the warm weather," said the Queenslander, "and I'd like a little more humidity," a view which is unlikely to be shared by most of the European riders. 12:10 - 46.8 km (Checker Hill) The first King of the Mountain sprint is won by Scott Sunderland (Australian Institute Of Sport), who crossed ahead of Russell Van Hout (UniSA) and Daniele Nardello (Mapei Quick Step). As this is the only hill sprint of the day, Sunderland will be in the mountains jersey tonight. The break is now at 1'05 in front of the peloton, and looking good. Scott Sunderland told Karen Forman this morning: "It's not really a climber's race, even though it's pretty hilly," said the experienced Australian rider. Sunderland was also expecting a break to go clear within the first 60kms, but as it's the first race of the year for the European riders "no one really knows who's going well". After his serious crash during the Amstel Gold in 1998, Sunderland has proved he's well and truly back, but he's "not going to let the race (JCTDU) ruin his preparation for the Spring Classics in April...I have the motivation to win, but I don't think I've done enough intensive work at this stage," Sunderland said. 12:25 - 58 km Danilo Hondo (Telekom) is the first rider to be dropped from the breakaway, as they ride through the hills. There are now seven riders left in the group: Daniele Nardello (Mapei Quick Step), Joerg Ludewig (Saeco), Brad Davidson (Saeco), Robbie McEwen (Lotto Adecco), Scott Sunderland (Australian Institute Of Sport), Peter Dawson (United Water), and Russell Van Hout (UniSA) One member, Daniele Nardello (Mapei - Quick Step) is the reigning Italian champion and leader of the Italian super-squad Mapei-Quick Step. He told Cyclingnews this morning that he thought today's first road stage looked fairly easy, "but it's difficult for me because everyone is watching me". Riders he was going to watch included Robbie McEwen - "he is strong and at the top of his form" - as well as 2001 winner Stuart O'Grady and Fabio Sacchi of Saeco - Longoni Sport. "The team will be working for me," said the Italian, who is clearly looking very strong in the early part of the season, demonstrated by his work on the front of the chasing group in yesterday's circuit race in Glenelg. 12:40 - 66 km The first sprint at has been won by Daniele Nardello (Mapei Quick Step) from Robbie McEwen (Lotto Adecco) and Scott Sunderland (Australian Institute Of Sport). Brad Davidson (Saeco) has been dropped and there are now just six riders in the lead. The latest gap is 1'43 from the leaders to the main peloton. 12:49 - 73 km Credit Agricole is chasing hard again, trying to bring this break back as the stage approaches the halfway point. The boys in green and white have brought the time gap down to 1'10 to the six leaders. Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) who was busy signing autographs at the start of stage 2 is a two-time winner of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under. He told Cyclingnews that he was "feeling good" about today's stage. One of the advantages of living in Adelaide is that he knew the hills of the course very well and would be keeping an eye on most of the major contenders, particularly current leader Robbie McEwen. His teammate Chris Jenner from New Zealand thought stage 2 "might be a pretty tough stage", with the added difficulty of unfamiliarity, as he had not ridden the course before, unlike his team-mate and pre-race favourite Stuart O'Grady. "This is the first day of the first race of the year, so I expect it will be tough," he said. In the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, Jenner is racing on his New Zealand licence, but when he competes in Europe in races like the Tour de France, the Kiwi races under a French licence, as he is married to a New Caledonian. He said the French licence makes it easier for the team, as there are not as many foreign jerseys in the team when he is entered as a French rider. His overall aim for the TDU is to use the race as preparation for Paris-Nice. 13:02 - 80 km Robbie McEwen has gone solo from this leading group, but it seems as though they will finally be caught, as the gap is now just 20 seconds. The Credit Agricole team is here with one mission, and that's to try and control the race for O'Grady. Average speed for the first 2 hours: 41 km/h. 13:06 - 83 km The break is caught, with McEwen and Jorg Ludewig still dangling 100m in front. 13:13 - 94 km/56 km to go The Mapei team is now gathered at the front, trying to lead out Nardello for the second sprint in Hahndorf. It fails though, as Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) takes the points ahead of Stuart O'Grady (Crédit Agricole) and Scott Sunderland (Australian Institute Of Sport), who is certainly having a good day today. Pre-stage quote from Patrick Jonker (UniSA). Like Stuart O'Grady, another South Australian rider is Patrick Jonker, who normally rides with Big Mat Auber93 in France, but for the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, is team leader of the popular UniSA (University of South Australia) team. "With this sort of race you really can't predict what will happen. It's too early in the season and it's quite open," he said. He'll be paying a lot of attention to any early breaks "as they'll be crucial. The roads are pretting winding and hilly. I think they could surprise a few people, but hopefuly not me." He would be looking at Nardello, while "McEwen's flying at the moment" and "Stuart is also looking very focused". The hills in stage 2 may not be long enough for Jonker's climbing ability to shine, as the South Australian rider certainly has shown the potential to excel on tough races, with a 12th place overall in the 1996 Tour de France an indication of his ability. 13:30 - 101 km/49 km to go The riders have passed through the feed zone now, with less than 50 kilometres to the finish in Strathalbyn. There is still a lot of aggression in the peloton, with small groups getting away. There is now a group of 15 riders clear with a 45 second gap: Stuart O'Grady (Crédit Agricole), Anthony Morin (Crédit Agricole), Alexandre Botcharov (AG2r-Prevoyance), Paul Van Hyfte (CSC - Tiscali), Daniele Nardello (Mapei Quick Step), Steffen Wesemann (Telekom), Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (AG2r-Prevoyance), Michael Rogers (Australian Institute Of Sport), Biagio Conte (Saeco), Fabio Sacchi (Saeco), Cadel Evans (Mapei Quick Step), Patrick Jonker (UniSA), Scott Davis (Australian Institute Of Sport), Robert Tighello (Australian Institute Of Sport) and Andrea Tafi (Mapei Quick Step) Ludovic Capelle (AG2r) and Daniel Mackey (United Water) are a long way behind, and will probably be eliminated. 13:45 - 114 km/36 km to go The riders have just 36 kilometres left to race, and it seems as though this breakaway of 15 will stay away to contest the stage win. The time gap has grown to 2'15 and now it remains to be seen who has the legs. O'Grady is probably the favourite here, but there is a strong presence from Mapei with three riders. 14:00 - 124 km/26 km to go The gap is still 2'15 as this breakaway group of 15 riders look set to stay away. However, there is a concerted chase now from Domo-Farm Frites, Lotto-Adecco and Telekom, who all missed the break. There is a slight headwind coming into the finish. 14:11 - 140 km/10 km to go With approximately 10 kilometres to go until the finish in Strathalbyn, the breakaways have maintained their advantage at 2'15. The overall tour winner could well come from this group...not just the stage winner. 14:16 - 144 km/6 km to go Just a few more kilometres to go in this second stage, and we will see whether Saeco's Fabio Sacchi can repeat his win in this stage from 2001. He'll have good competition from O'Grady, Daniele Nardello and perhaps Andrea Tafi. 14:25 - 150 km/0 km to go Michael Rogers (Australian Institute of Sport) has won the stage, just clear of Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) and Andrea Tafi (Mapei-Quick Step). The three were part of a seven rider break that had attacked the other eight riders. Results1 Michael Rogers (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 3.21.52 2 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco 3 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 4 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) AG2r-Prevoyance 5 Anthony Morin (Fra) Crédit Agricole 6 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) CSC - Tiscali 7 Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 8 Robert Tighello (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 0.41 9 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 10 Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance General classification after stage 2 1 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco 4.02.59 2 Michael Rogers (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 0.01 3 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei Quick Step 0.05 4 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) AG2r-Prevoyance 0.07 5 Anthony Morin (Fra) Crédit Agricole 6 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) CSC - Tiscali 7 Patrick Jonker (Aus) UniSA 8 Innar Mandoja (Est) AG2r-Prevoyance 0.45 9 Robert Tighello (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport 0.48 10 Inigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) AG2r-Prevoyance 0.50 Most aggressive rider 1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto Adecco Best young rider 1 Mark Renshaw (Aus) United Water King of the Mountains 1 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Australian Institute Of Sport Sprint King 1 Jans Koerts (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites
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