Cadel Evans blew the Santos Tour Down Under wide open when he won the third stage to take over the lead of the race.
Race leader Simon Gerrans of Orica Green Edge admitted to being in good form as the 145km stage from Norwood to Campbelltown got underway with 135 riders who knew that the main climb of the day, where the temperature was around thirty two degrees, was The Corkscrew, which has 2.8kms at 13% gradient.
The father of the peloton - 42 year old Jens Voigt (pictured below) in his final season, was first to attack and Andriy Grivko (Astana), Travis Meyer (Drapac), Jérôme Cousin (Europcar) went with the Trek rider.
The quartet took a lead of 2.30 as they approached the first Adam Internet sprint in Kersbrook after 38.7kms. Travis Meyer, went for it and took the five points and three bonus seconds on offer in front of Grivko and Cousin.
The second sprint was in Williamstown after 53.5kms and this time, Grivko, now the leader on the road, beat Meyer to the five points and three bonus seconds.
At an average speed for the opening 75kmh of 37.7kmh, the gap started to drop to the two minute mark.
Through the hydration station at Mount Pleasant, the four up front were 1.45 ahead with 60kms remaining.
With 53.4kms to go, Cousin was dropped, leaving Voigt, Grivko and Meyer to fend off the peloton.
Voigt upped the pace and their lead went out to 2.26 as Cousin dropped back into the peloton. However, with 23kms to go, their lead was down to ninety seconds.
Bradley Linfield of the Uni SA team and Bjorn Thurau crashed on a hairpin bend as the escapers started on a minor climb. Both continued as the neutral service vehicles and race commissaire went past.
An FDJ rider cooked it with 20kms to go and went down. The peloton being driven by Team Sky moved to within thirty seconds of the three front runners.
After three hours and twelve minutes of racing and with 16kms left, Voigt, Grivko and Meyer were caught.
BMC with Cadel Evans in second wheel, did their turn on the front as did Andrei Greipel.
With twelve kilometres, the riders turned left and started on another climb with BMC leading following by King Of The Mountains leader Adam Hansen of Lotto Belisol and Geraint Thomas of Team Sky (pictured below).
Riders were strung out all over the road as Richie Porte and Cadel Evans (pictured below), the former Tour De France winner went away. Simon Gerrans was on his own as Evans kicked and shot off. Gerrans caught Porte but Evans took the King Of The Mountains and went into the lead of the race by four seconds from Gerrans.
On the descent, Evans was hitting speeds close to seventy miles an hour as he rode to a 25 second over Porte and Gerrans.
A chasing group including Geraint Thomas caught the two chasers but there was no stopping Evans, who was thirteen seconds down on Gerrans, who rode into Campbelltown and won the stage in 3.34.08and with Gerrans only fifth and fifteen seconds down, he took over the lead of the race.
Nathan Haas was second, followed by Ulissi, Hansen, Gerrans, Sutherland, Bookwalter, Hermans, Impey and Gesink.
Evans leads the race by twelve seconds from Gerrans with Ulissi third. Geraint Thomas is now sixth,29 seconds down.
Evans said to Paul Sherwen about his win: "I had an idea of what I might do and I had the opportunity and ran with it.
"It was a good scrap and the GC is what we are really here for. It has been a pleasure so far and things could not brought me more satisfaction."
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