Jones finishes second in Tour prologue
Warragul cyclist Brenton Jones finished second in Wednesday’s Herald Sun Tour prologue in Melbourne’s central business district.
Jones finished runner-up behind Dutch powerhouse Danny van Poppel, who broke the course record to claim stage victory.
The flying Dutchman bettered Australian Will Clarke’s record set in 2016 of 2:34.27, blasting through the course at 49.6km/h to set a new best time of 2:32.56.
Jones finished one second back, with JLT Condor teammate Alex Frame third, just a tenth of a second in arears.
It was another close call for Jones, having finished third in the Prologue in 2015. He refused to be drawn on whether he was cursed, instead looking for positives in the result.
“Maybe you could say that but I think it’s great consistency as well,” he said.
I’m not regretting anything. I rode a good race.
“Danny was really fast today; he’s a WorldTour rider so there’s no disappointment in coming second.
“It was great to see my teammate Alex in third as well.
“It’s a great course... I’m happy.”
Regarded as the toughest Tour seen in years, the action took in Falls Creek, Mount Beauty and Strathbogie Ranges before concluding on Sunday with a four-lap circuit around Kinglake to decide the yellow jersey.
Named by experts as one to watch for the prologue, Jones also featured strongly in stage three.
Nervousness in the peloton in the final kilometres, ahead of the technical finale, contributed to the two crashes that occurred inside the last five kilometres.
The incidents also ruled out some of the pre-stage contenders even being in with a chance of attempting the win, including van Poppel and Jones.
Arizona sprinter Travis McCabe made himself right at home in the heat, confidently driving the UnitedHealthcare Blue Train to victory for the stage.
Overall leader Damien Howson (ORICA-Scott) was spared from having his advantage diminish after he was caught behind the crashes, .
He finished safely in the bunch in stage four to hold his lead and be crowned overall winner.
Team Sky’s Ian Stannard came out on top on Sunday’s final day of racing.
Warragul cyclist Cyrus Monk of the Drapac Pat’s Veg team had earlier formed part of an 18 rider breakaway before the start of the first ascent of the four and a half kilometre long King of the Mountain.
Monk was the first man over the final KOM, but Ben Hill’s earlier efforts had been enough to ensure he had a double celebration for his 27th birthday