Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) bounced back from his late crash on stage two to claim stage victory and move into the Tour Down Under race lead on stage three.
The Aussie, favourite for the overall win, outsprinted defending champion Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) in Campbelltown to win from a reduced leading group.
Bonus seconds at the finale were enough to see Gerrans nudge former leader, stage two winner Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff), into second and pull on the ochre jersey.
The day had started well for McCarthy on the back of his stage two victory, with his Tinkoff team taking charge of the bunch behind lone breakaway rider Laurens de Vreese (Astana).
With the Belgian allowed to build a sizable solo lead, McCarthy bagged a bonus second apiece at both intermediate sprints to strengthen his position overall.
A steady rhythm in the peloton allowed De Vreese to extend his lead to more than four minutes at one point but when the peloton dropped the hammer he was soon reeled back in.
The pace continued to increase once the Astana man had been caught, with still more than 20km to ride, and Tinkoff’s efforts actually split the peloton.
Gerrans was one of the riders caught out, but rallied to rejoin his rivals at the front while a crash took down several riders including Tyler Farrar (Dimension Data), Marcus Burghardt (BMC Racing) and Julian Arredondo (Trek-Segafredo).
Up front, the riders remained undeterred though, the pace continue to increase as Sky and Tinkoff lined out the peloton on the run in to Corkscrew Road.
Ag2r-La Mondiale and LottoNL-Jumbo took charge on the lower slopes but the individual attacks soon started with Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Sergio Henao (Team Sky) and Michael Woods (Cannondale) all making efforts to surge clear.
Henao and Woods had the advantage on the descent – Henao having crested first to lead the KoM classification – but Porte and Dennis bridged the ten-second gap and brought across a small group also including Gerrans and McCarthy.
With ten riders in all in the front group, the smart money looked to be on the experience of Gerrans and the 35-year-old timed his sprint to perfection.
Dennis was nudged into second, and Woods bagged the final bonus seconds – denying McCarthy, who consequently lost his overall lead.
Henao, Porte, Steve Morabito (FDJ), Rafael Valls (Lotto-Soudal), Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Ruben Fernandez (Movistar) all finished in the front group to maintain their overall ambitions meanwhile.
Gerrans leads overall though, with a three-second advantage over McCarthy and a further two to Dennis ahead of an expected sprint finish on stage four.
1) Simon Gerrans (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE – 3.37.34hrs
2) Rohan Dennis (AUS) – BMC Racing – ST
3) Michael Woods (CAN) – Cannondale
4) Jay McCarthy (AUS) – Tinkoff
5) Steve Morabito (SUI) – FDJ
6) Rafael Valls (ESP) – Lotto-Soudal
7) Sergio Henao (COL) – Team Sky
8) Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale
9) Richie Porte (AUS) – BMC Racing
10) Ruben Fernandez (ESP) – Movistar
1) Simon Gerrans (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE – 10.28.12hrs
2) Jay McCarthy (AUS) – Tinkoff +3”
3) Rohan Dennis (AUS) – BMC Racing +5”
4) Michael Woods (CAN) – Cannondale +11”
5) Sergio Henao (COL) – Team Sky +15”
6) Rafael Valls (ESP) – Lotto-Soudal – ST
7) Ruben Fernadez (ESP) – Movistar
8) Steve Morabito (SUI) – FDJ
9) Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale
10) Richie Porte (AUS) – BMC Racing
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