Tour Down Under Stage 1: Jack Bobridge off to a flying start (plus gallery)

Jack Bobridge who is aiming to break the Hour record later this month, has won the opening stage of the 2015 UCI Tour Down Under.

Riding for UniSA Australia, the 25-year-old local rider took the win in Campbelltown from Astana’s Lieuwe Westra with Luke Durbridge of Orica GreenEdge third.

The trio, together with Maxim Belkov of Katusha, had formed the day’s break and just held on to contest the win as the peloton, led by Marcel Kittel’s Giant-Alpecin team, closed in on them.

“To be honest, when we heard we had only 20 seconds or so over the bunch, all the guys pretty much gave up,” said Bobridge afterwards. “It was an all-day game. We played it perfect and stayed away.

“Having Luke Durbridge along in the break, not only another Australian but a good mate of mine, was an advantage,” he said.  “The other advantage I had was knowing the roads.

He added: “The bunch was charging just behind us but I kept it cool. I've always been aggressive in this race but (this is my) first time winning a stage and being the leader tomorrow … I'm speechless.”

Kittel’s team mate Simon Geschke was left to rue a missed opportunity to set his team mate up for the win.

“We were hoping for some more help in the chase, but everyone was a bit too relaxed,” he reflected.

“We could see them down the road, but in the narrow canyon, it was harder to organise the chase and Astana was blocking a little bit.

“Marcel made it over the climb pretty easy, so we are disappointed. We want to win a stage with Marcel, and today was a good opportunity we missed. It motivates us more to keep fighting here,” he added.