19/01/2023

Tour Down Under: Rohan Dennis wins stage 2 as GC race explodes and Alberto Bettiol cracks

It was a dramatic finale to stage 2 of the Tour Down Under, as the GC fight erupted in Nettle Hill, with Rohan Dennis taking a strong win. Alberto Bettiol suffered with cramps as the sprinters failed to chase back on the day.

Again a modest breakaway took up the realms on the day, which has seen the GC riders ride off to bonus seconds in the early intermediate sprints. It was a stage where the riders focused on Nettle Hill and with good reason as the stage was decided on the slopes of the ascent. Michael Matthews punctured at the bottom, and the GC riders took off up the slopes.

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Jay Vine launched the initial move. Simon Yates, Rohan Dennis, Jai Hindley and Mauro Schmid joined him. The group grew a good gap quickly as the peloton reorganized after the climb, and although Yates would not initially ride, the quintet kept the gap into the final kilometers.

Race leader Alberto Bettiol suffered with cramps and dropped from the peloton. The gap to the front shrunk in the closing kilometers, however the win was in front. Hindley made an early move, and Rohan Dennis counter-attacked, getting a gap within 500 meters of the finish line.

He managed to extend it and took a short solo win, aswell as taking crucial time for the overall classification which he now leads. Jay Vine and Mauro Schmid finished second and third two seconds behind, the peloton rode in 11 seconds back.