Stage 2 was billed as the decisive day for the general classification, and it rode exactly like one. The peloton left Norwood for 148.1km to Uraidla with a rolling start and a hard truth waiting almost immediately: once the flag dropped, the road rose to Ashton and the stage never truly relaxed again.
By the finish, UAE Team Emirates-XRG had turned the hardest day in the race into a statement. Jay Vine won the stage, Jhonatan Narváez made it a one two, and the pair finished clear after a ruthless acceleration on Corkscrew Road that fractured the contenders and left the rest scrambling for time.
Early context: sprinters had the jersey, climbers had the day
After the Tanunda sprint, Tobias Lund Andresen started the morning in the leader’s jersey with seconds in hand over prologue winner Sam Watson and Ethan Vernon. It was a lead that looked fragile before the riders even clipped in, because stage 2 was built to punish anyone without climbing legs.
Race director Stuart O’Grady called it, on paper, “potentially the hardest stage we’ve had in Santos Tour Down Under history,” pointing to the altered Corkscrew finale where the riders would not simply crest and turn for Campbelltown, but continue over Montacute Road before dropping back into Uraidla for the final run to the line.
The break forms on the first climb and instantly looks organised
A long neutral section only heightened the tension. Riders swarmed the lead car, legs spinning fast, teams fighting for space, knowing the real start was effectively an uphill launch pad.
Once racing began, the first move came from Tudor through Joël Suter, with Jensen Plowright jumping across, then Martin Urianstad and Lucas Stevenson following. UAE Team Emirates-XRG were already in control and, crucially, looked content. It was a classic sign of a team that liked the shape of the day and was happy to let others do the early kilometres.
The break soon expanded again. Fran Miholjević and Pepijn Reinderink bridged across, then Storm Ingebrigtsen made it seven riders up the road, giving Uno-X Mobility two cards to play and a clear objective: keep Urianstad in prime position to hoover up more mountain points.
Ashton KOM: Reinderink steals the first big prize
With the first KOM looming, the break began to show its dynamic. Uno-X set tempo for Urianstad, but Reinderink timed his effort perfectly and surged to maximum points at Ashton, denying the KOM leader. Urianstad still took a valuable second place, Stevenson third, and the group pushed through the feedzone with a growing advantage.
Behind them, UAE’s control was calm but total. Mikkel Bjerg and Vegard Stake Laengen set a measured pace, with Ineos and Decathlon close, watching, counting, and waiting for the climbs that mattered most.
A clean, fast middle phase with the peloton kept on a tight leash
The break worked smoothly through the first loop, a steady rotation and a shared understanding that the stage would only become more selective as Corkscrew approached. Their lead hovered around two minutes, then stretched again in places, but it never looked like the peloton was losing the plot.
At 100km to go, the break swept through the first intermediate sprint, with Plowright taking it without a fight. It was a small win with useful seconds, and it underlined that Alpecin-Premier Tech were alert to every opportunity.
In the peloton, the atmosphere subtly shifted. Jayco, Visma, Decathlon, Ineos, Red Bull, Lidl-Trek and UAE all took turns hovering near the front. Speeds pushed towards 90kmph on the descents, and positioning became a constant, physical battle rather than a late-stage rush.
Photo Credit: GettyFirst Corkscrew ascent: Narváez mechanical adds a flicker of uncertainty
As the riders approached Corkscrew for the first time, the gap began to fall sharply. The road was simply too hard, too exposed, and too important for UAE to allow anything to drift.
Then came a moment that could have changed the stage. Narváez had a mechanical and dropped back, briefly without a teammate at his side, before getting a new bike and rejoining at the back of the field. UAE responded immediately by taking control of the peloton again, steadying the pace and protecting their defending champion’s chances before the stage reached its decisive sequence.
Up front, Reinderink again outsmarted the KOM competition, accelerating from fourth wheel to take maximum points on Corkscrew with no reaction strong enough to stop him. Urianstad, once more, had to settle for second.
The break’s final hour: brave, organised, and increasingly doomed
With 70km to go, the situation was clear:
- A seven rider break still committed to the rotation
- A UAE-led peloton content to keep it within reach
- The real selection still waiting on the final Corkscrew run into Uraidla
Team cars were pulled from between groups as the gap dipped below a minute, and the peloton controlled the timing carefully. The logic was simple. Do not catch too early and invite a flurry of counter-attacks. Do not allow the break enough time to take the sting out of Corkscrew.
As the race hit the bell for the final big loop, the break swept through Uraidla for the second intermediate sprint, with Plowright again taking the reward and the seconds. It was defiant, but it did not change the outcome that was now almost inevitable.
The catch and the launch: UAE flick the switch on the final Corkscrew
The break fractured inside the final 25km. Urianstad, Miholjević and Reinderink pushed on while the others were absorbed, but that was only a temporary reshuffle. Miholjević tried to force the issue, then became the final rider to be caught as the peloton regrouped and raced downhill towards the last Corkscrew approach.
At the foot of the climb, the fight for position was frantic. Lund Andresen briefly hit the front as the road rose, then peeled away after one final pull. That was the handover point.
UAE took over with real intent. Adam Yates drove, Vine sat poised, and Narváez moved into place. Riders began to be shelled from the back and the stage finally became what it had promised to be: a climb where you could lose the race.
When Vine attacked, Narváez went with him. The pair opened a gap quickly over the top and carried it beyond the KOM line, continuing to press as the road rose and then tipped into the fast, technical run toward Uraidla.
The chase unravels as UAE’s numbers become a weapon
Behind, the initial hesitation was costly. Movistar tried to respond, and Natnael Tesfazion jumped across as the gap grew. Harry Sweeney repeatedly drove the chase, and Mauro Schmid, Edoardo Zana, Pascal Eenkhoorn and Marco Brenner all found their way into a chasing group.
But UAE had left a disruptive element in the perfect place. Adam Yates sat on, forcing others to do the work, slowing the chase at precisely the moments where a clean rotation might have limited the damage.
Up the road, Vine did most of the work. Narváez held the wheel, then the pair began to stretch the advantage with every kilometre. At four kilometres to go, the gap had blown out to around 50 seconds, and the stage was settled.
The finish: Vine wins, Narváez seals the one two, the rest sprint for scraps
Vine and Narváez entered the final stretch together, glanced back, saw nothing, and committed to the line. Vine took the stage win, Narváez crossed second and pointed to his teammate in recognition of the effort that made it possible.
Behind them, the chase group fanned out for the sprint for third, with Mauro Schmid taking the best of the rest after Brenner led them into the final bend.
Afterwards, Vine summed up the significance of taking the leader’s jersey on the hardest day. “It’s been on my mind since last time I wore it. And I really love this jersey, and it’s just so incredible to win on such a really hard stage.”
Men’s Tour Down Under Stage 2 result
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