It was a team attack with 100 kilometers to go on the Mount Buninyong circuit. Some could say a tactical masterpiece, but the truth is that the World Tour outfit had by far the strongest riders on the day, and they also had the depth. Hence, they did not wait long until making big moves to put the competition under pressure. He and
Chris Harper attacked the competition and went on to race to a comfortable win, with Plapp being allowed to cross the line in first place. Kelland O'Brien sealed the podium but a whole six minutes away from the leading duo.
“I think from the start we were all on top of it, Plappy and I came across the line one-two and it really was a team effort today," Harper said in a post-race interview. "Everybody played their part. We had numbers and could dictate the race really.Plappy was absolutely flying at the end there, so I had to tell him to ease up a little bit for me, but it’s a great day and a good hit out for us going to Tour Down Under next week as well.”