For the second day in a row Matt Goss, of the CSC Saxo Bank team, relegated Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke to the minor placings by winning the opening stage.

And just like Sunday, Goss attributed a large portion of his win in the 130km trek from Traralgon to Inverloch to the work of his teammates, particularly Stuart O’Grady, who broke away from the peloton with 65km remaining only to be caught 15km from the finish.

“It was pretty windy all day but we always had someone in front and Stuey (O’Grady) made it easy because we didn’t have to do anything for the last 50 to 60km because everyone was just chasing him,” said a jubilant Goss.

“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.”

With CSC Saxo Bank having only five riders in the race, the experienced O’Grady decided the best option for them was to go on the attack and force the others to chase.

The veteran O'Grady displayed all the determination and bravado that has made him one of Australia’s most celebrated riders to boldly sneak away from the peloton to lead by almost four minutes. At one stage it looked like the 35-year-old would pull off a stunning win, only to ride into the teeth of a ferocious head wind 20km from the finish that almost instantaneously halted his dash to the line.

“It was the head more than anything telling me to attack and it was a moment when everyone looked pretty hammered,” O’Grady said.

“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.”

Once O’Grady was caught by the chase — led by the Toyota-United and Barloworld teams - there was still plenty of team support for the 21-year-old Tasmanian Goss in the hectic run to the line.

“There was a stack in the finish but I’m not really sure what happened because it was just behind me,” Goss said.

“I was just trying to keep near the front.”

“The Toyota boys hit out at around 600m to go and (teammate) Brad McGee followed those guys and I jumped on the wheel.”

“Then Leigh Howard (Virgin Blue Australian national team) hit out at about 300m to go and he hit out well but Cookie (Baden Cooke, Barloworld) chased and I just come over the top of them.”

The crash in the sprint finish involved three riders, with the worst affected South Australia.com-AIS rider Travis Meyer, who was taken to hospital for x-rays with a suspected broken shoulder. Virgin Blues’ David Kemp and Chris Jongewaard of the Panasonic team were also involved in the crash but managed to finish the stage.

The tough conditions also contributed to Henk Vogels (Toyota-United), Greg Henderson (Yes Optus Shpt New Zealnd), Carlo Scognamiglio (Barloworld) and Matt Rice (Jelly Belly) abandoning the race.

The third place finisher on the stage, Leigh Howard has moved into the lead of the Make it Happen in Provincial Victoria U23 category.

The Cyclismo Bendigo King of the Mountains jersey was taken by Bernard Van Ulden, an American on the Jelly Belly team who claimed the points on the first climb of the tour.

For Goss the stage win also delivered the overall race lead and the Budget Forklift sprint points classification.