Caleb Ewan beats Peter Sagan at the opening Tour Down Under Classic

The first race of the  2019 season saw high speeds and frenetic riding, as the Down Under Classic showed that the riders really meant business this year

While several breaks tried to control the day, the sprint teams brought them back every time. The pace ramping up, two crashes in the last two laps created splits. While Austrian National Champion, Lukas Pöstlberger, was brought down here, he picked himself up to ride to the finish.

But the BORA-hansgrohe team kept their heads and saw Peter Sagan safely to the finish, the Slovak National Champion unlucky to be beaten to the top spot, taking second on the line in a reduced sprint, while on his birthday, Daniel Oss took a well-deserved fifth position.

VIDEO: 2019 Down Under Classic Finish

2019 Tour Down Under Classic Top 10

1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 1:03:59 
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe   
3 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott   
4 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:00:02 
5 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:04 
6 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:05 
7 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:09 
8 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team   
9 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin   
10 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) CCC Team