Australian cyclists Matt Goss and Stuart O'Grady continued to dominate the Herald Sun Tour today as Goss won the opening stage.
The Tasmanian repeated his success from yesterday's prologue, again out-sprinting Baden Cooke to win the 130km race from Traralgon to Inverloch in country Victoria.
Yesterday, O'Grady successfully led out his CSC Saxo Bank team-mate in the final sprint.
This time, O'Grady solo break halfway through the stage meant other teams were forced to work and the rest of the CSC team could save their energy.
Windy conditions meant O'Grady was caught with 15km left.
"It was pretty windy all day but we always had someone in front and Stuey made it easy because we didn't have to do anything for the last 50 to 60km because everyone was just chasing him," Goss said.
"It was a hard day and it was good to finish off well.
"It's nice to get a win here, even though yesterday was good, this is even better."
While CSC were celebrating another successful day, rising Australian star Travis Meyer was off to hospital for x-rays on a suspected shoulder fracture.
The SouthAustralia.com-AIS rider went down in a crash at the finish that also claimed Chris Jongewaard and David Kemp, although those two riders eventually finished the stage.
Earlier, O'Grady's break quickly came to an end once he rode into a fierce head wind about 20km from the finish.
"It was the head more than anything telling me to attack and it was a moment when everyone looked pretty hammered," O'Grady said of his move.
"In the end I probably bit off a bit more than I could chew, but you've got to give it a crack.
"The conditions were just too tough for me, it was just a massive head wind the whole way and it was just too much in the end."
The tour continues tomorrow with the 118.1km second stage from Inverloch and Warrigal, a route that includes some tough climbs.
