Jack Bobridge (UniSA-Australia) sprinted to victory on stage one of the Santos Tour Down Under as the sprint teams mistimed their chase into Campbelltown.

Bobridge was part of the day’s four-man break who managed to hold a slender lead into the finish, and proved fastest of the quartet on the slight uphill finish.

Preparing for his UCI Hour Record attempt, in his home region, Bobridge out-sprinted Lieuwe Westra (Astana) and compatriot Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEDGE) to earn the first leader’s jersey of the race.

The peloton, meanwhile, were led in by Lampre-Merida’s Niccolo Bonifazio – recording the same time as the leaders but never in contention for the stage honours.

And Bobridge admitted the leaders had not expected to stay out, particularly as the bunch seemed to have them in check for much of the race.

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

“The advantage I had was also knowing the roads. I learned a lesson at the Nationals [when he sprinted too soon].

“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.”

Fellow home favourite Durbridge had ensured Orica-GreenEDGE were represented in the day’s break with four riders in total allowed to go clear.

Westra wasted little time to get some breakaway miles in his legs, jumping clear from the flag with Durbridge and Maxim Belkov (Katusha) on his wheel.

Bobridge was the final rider to join the move, with the four men given license to build a small lead.

Giant-Alpecin – buoyed by Marcel Kittel’s People’s Choice Classic win – put riders on the front of the bunch, despite the threat of Checker Hill derailing their sprint train.

Team Sky and BMC Racing, meanwhile, protected their GC men by helping to set the pace on the front and keep the considerable engines of Westra and co in check.

Bobridge bagged three bonus seconds at the first sprint, while Durbridge led the way through the second with the four crossing in such a way that they all gained a three-second bonus overall.

The peloton remained unperturbed, however, holding their position just a kilometre down the road as the big teams continued to trade efforts on the front.

A fight for position ahead of Checker Hill ensued as the day’s lone categorised ascent drew nearer, at the same point as the front men began to up their efforts to stretch their lead back out to more than a minute.

The gradient of the climb – lined with the charred evidence of the recent bush fires – soon began to take its toll however, as Bobridge led out the chase for the first King of the Mountains points and held off Durbridge’s challenge to guarantee what he thought at the time would be two days in the polka dot jersey.

The two Australians hit the descent hard, recording speeds of close to 100km/h as the peloton crested the climb behind them – British champion Peter Kennaugh leading the way.

Kennaugh’s urgency, with BMC Racing and IAM Cycling lending a hand, reined the leaders back in to a manageable distance.

A handful of sprinters – Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) and Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) included – lost contact with the bunch on the climb, but Giant-Alpecin were soon re-joining the fray at the front with Kittel safe.

The breakaway’s efforts to stay clear on the climb initially looked to play into the hands of the sprinters, with the GC teams continuing to lend firepower to the chase as they passed under the 10km-to-go banner, but their lead held as the sprint teams held back.

Etixx-QuickStep finally took over responsibility from Team Sky and BMC Racing with eight kilometres remaining, but as the kilometres ticked down the four leaders managed to stretch their advantage again.

Giant-Alpecin spotted the danger and came forward too, but with three kilometres remaining the gap was once again at 40 seconds – a case of too little, too late for the sprint trains.

Up the road, Belkov was first to make a move, injecting a sudden burst of pace with two kilometres remaining – the four leaders exchanging glances over their shoulders as the flamme rouge drew nearer.

The four were together as they entered the final kilometre, with Belkov leading the way and Etixx-QuickStep frantically leading the peloton behind them.

Belkov continued to lead as they hit the rise to the finish, but Bobridge timed his attack to perfection to win by a couple of bike lengths.

Westra followed in second, with Durbridge third and Belkov forced to settle for fourth.

It means Bobridge will pull on the ochre jersey on stage two, with his bonus time putting him four seconds clear of Westra overall.

The peloton followed moments later, with the fast men left to rue what might have been.

Tour Down Under 2015: stage one – result

1) Jack Bobridge (AUS) – UniSA-Australia – 2.59.44hrs
2) Lieuwe Westra (NED) – Astana – ST
3) Luke Durbridge (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE
4) Maxim Belkov (RUS) – Katusha
5) Niccolo Bonifazio (ITA) – Lampre-Merida
6) Gianni Meersman (BEL) – Etixx-QuickStep
7) Juan Jose Lobato (ESP) – Movistar
8) Heinrich Haussler (AUS) – IAM Cycling
9) Steele Von Hoff (AUS) – UniSA-Australia
10) Daryl Impey (RSA) – Orica-GreenEDGE

General classification

1) Jack Bobridge (AUS) – UniSA-Australia – 2.59.31hrs
2) Lieuwe Westra (NED) – Astana +4”
3) Luke Durbridge (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE +6”
4) Maxim Belkov (RUS) – Katusha +10”
5) Niccolo Bonifazio (ITA) – Lampre-Merida +13”
6) Gianni Meersman (BEL) – Etixx-QuickStep – ST
7) Juan Jose Lobato (ESP) – Movistar
8) Heinrich Haussler (AUS) – IAM Cycling
9) Steele Von Hoff (AUS) – UniSA-Australia
10) Daryl Impey (RSA) – Orica-GreenEDGE