Jesse Featonby has maintained his position in the top 20 of the Herald Sun Tour after a roller-coaster second stage from Mount Beauty to Beechworth on Friday.
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The Albury rider crossed the line 31st as part of the chasing pack, which included leader Damien Howson and defending champion Chris Froome, one minute and 17 seconds behind breakaway winner Luke Rowe.
Featonby admitted his team had plenty of luck after losing ground during the climb.
“It was another hectic day,” he said.
“The breakaway didn’t go until about 40-kilometres, so we were averaging 50km/h for the first 50 kilometres of the bike race, which was absolutely crazy.
“It was a hot day and I tried to look after myself, but in the finish it ended up pretty good.”
Featonby and his fellow Drapac riders were in a tough spot approaching the descent to Beechworth, but found a way to get out of it.
“Up the climb, the Sky guys just really accelerated the pace and I didn’t quite make it over the top with the leading climbers, but we managed to get back on the downhill which was a lucky escape,” he said.
“(My legs are) a bit sore. Hopefully the legs come good for the final day.”
The race made its way through the heart of the North East, including Tallangatta and Yackandndah.
The 29-year-old was once again in awe of the huge galleries watching on across the region.
“It was another massive crowd, the schools around Tallangatta were pretty fun,” Featonby said.
An 11-kilometre climb to Stanley just 10 kilometres before the finish made stage two far from straightforward and Featonby knows there is still plenty of work to be done to keep himself in the race.
“It’s a flatter day (Saturday), but there’s definitely no relaxing,” he said.
“The winds might pick up and make it tough, so we’ll see how we go.”
Chris Froome launched an attack in the dying stages and looked destined to pull back significant time on leader Damien Howson, who suffered a puncture at a crucial stage.
Howson’s Orica Scott teammates dropped back to assist the yellow jersey holder who caught Froome with 500 metres to go and ensured his 38-second lead remained intact.
Ireland’s Conor Dunne and American Tanner Putt were second and third, respectively, at the end of the stage behind Rowe, who added to Sky's impressive tour haul after Danny van Poppel's prologue win on Wednesday.
The tour moves to Benalla for the penultimate stage, which starts at 10.30am on Saturday, with the 100-plus riders to finish at Nagambie’s Mitchelton Winery.
