Angaston, Australia - Up-and-coming Australian Simon Gerrans took a big step toward winning the five-stage Tour Down Under on Wednesday with a gutsy victory that saw the list of overall contenders slashed by a decisive break.

Gerrans, in his second season with the French AG2R team, made the race-winning move move with less than 5km to race in the 148km stage between Adelaide and Angaston in the hilly Barossa wine valley.

The 25-year-old played his cards perfectly, first by joining an early break and then by linking up with defending TDU champion Luis Leon Sanchez (Liberty Seguros), Davitamon-Lotto sprinter Robbie McEwen and Rabobank’s William Walker as the lead group shattered under a searing sun.

Higgerson and McLachlan started the action

Photo: Graham Watson

Australian riders initiated the action, as Barcelona Olympian Robbie McLachlan leapt away from the bunch, accompanied by Shaun Higgerson (South Australia.com-AIS), the recently crowned U23 national time trial champion. A chase group of 21 riders soon joined them, representing every team in the race except Thor Hushovd’s Crédit Agricole squad.

By the 85km mark, the break had swollen to 29 riders — including included McEwen, Sanchez, Walker, Cadel Evans and Gene Bate — and put the main field more than 12 minutes behind.

But as the race approached Angaston for the first time at the 99km mark, the front group was under attack from within as McEwen, Gerrans, Walker, and Sanchez joined forces to form the day’s final selection.

With master sprinter McEwen in the quartet, Gerrans opted not to hang around and take him on at the line, instead launching a tough charge off the front with about 5km to go.

McEwen and Sanchez attack with 45km to go...

Photo: Graham Watson

Only Sanchez managed to hold the young Aussie’s wheel, and the two finished some nine seconds ahead of McEwen and 40 seconds up on Walker.

Sanchez’s effort underscored his desire to defend the winner’s jersey he earned at last year’s Tour Down Under.

McEwen, a two-time winner of the Tour de France green points jersey, said he suffered from the pace and the searing temperatures. The heat, coupled with an enormous gap between the escapees and the main field, prompted race officials to dispense with the usual time cut, as much of the peloton trailed in more than 20 minutes later.

"I had cramps," said the 33-year-old, who won Tuesday's 50km criterium in the streets of Adelaide with relative ease. McEwen isn’t expected to be an overall contender, but will undoubtedly be looking to add to his race record tally of 11 stage wins over the course of the next four days.

Gerrans took the overall race lead thanks to the three bonus seconds he picked up by winning the second of the day's two intermediate sprints. With the six bonus seconds awarded for winning the stage, he leads Sanchez by seven seconds on general classification. McEwen is at 18 seconds with Walker fourth at 46 seconds.

With a sprinter of McEwen's caliber in the mix, Gerrans decides to try his luck with an attack at 5km to go.

Photo: Graham Watson

With most of the rest of the peloton more than 20 minutes behind, Gerrans, Sanchez and Walker are likely to contend the general classification. Having missed out on the national champion's jersey last week, Gerrans, winner of the 2005 Herald Sun Tour, said the victory had lifted his spirits.

"I was disappointed with how I went at the nationals, so to come up and win today, I was just over the moon," said the France-based pro, who grew up in Victoria near to Australian cycling legend Phil Anderson.

"It's going to be tough to defend the overall lead for the rest of the week, but I've got a really strong team here," Gerrans added. "They're a great bunch of guys and I'm sure they'll support me all the way. This tour is always won with a matter of seconds, so it was important for me to get that second sprint bonus, and getting the time bonus at the end was a big advantage.”

The 25-year-old Victorian made his Tour de France debut last year, finishing the three-week race and taking a third-place finish on stage 17. He returned to Australia in October to take overall honors in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

Photo: Graham Watson

Thursday's stage is a 146km race from Stirling to Hahndorf.

2006 Tour Down Under - Results - Stage 1 Adelaide to Angaston
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus), Ag2r Prevoyance 148km in 3:38:33 (40.6kph),
2. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa), Liberty Seguros-Würth Team, at0:02
3. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, at 0:11
4. William Walker (Aus), United Water-Australia U/23, at 0:37
5. Gene Bates (Aus), UniSA-Australia 1:39
6. Samuel Dumoulin (F), Ag2r Prevoyance
7. Chris Jongerwaard (Aus), UniSA-Australia, at 3:10
8. Simon Clarke (Aus), South Australia.com-AIS Cycling
9. Sebastien Chavanel (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 3:32
10. Giovanni Visconti (I), Milram, at 4:09
FULLRESULTS

Jacob's Creek General classification after stage 1
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus), Ag2r Prevoyance 3:38:24
2. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa), Liberty Seguros-Würth Team, at0:07
3. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, at 0:18
4. William Walker (Aus), United Water-Australia U/23, at 0:46
5. Gene Bates (Aus), UniSA-Australia, at 1:45
6. Samuel Dumoulin (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, at 1:48
7. Chris Jongerwaard (Aus), UniSA-Australia, at 3:19
8. Simon Clarke (Aus), South Australia.com-AIS Cycling
9. Sebastien Chavanel (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 3:41
10. Giovanni Visconti (I), Milram, at 4:18
FULLRESULTS