# 2017 Herald Sun Tour

The 2017 Jayco Herald Sun Tour was a road cycling stage race that took place in Victoria, Australia, between 1 and 5 February 2017. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2017 UCI Oceania Tour. The race included five stages: the first was a 2.1 km (1.3 mi) prologue individual time trial stage, with the remaining four stages being road stages. The champion of the 2016 Herald Sun Tour, Chris Froome attempted to defend his title.
The race was won by Damien Howson of Orica–Scott, who took his first professional victories at the race; having won the race's queen stage to Falls Creek, Howson was able to maintain a 38-second race lead for the remainder of the Tour. The remaining podium places were taken by those that finished immediately behind Howson at Falls Creek; Jai Hindley finished second for an Australian select team, and took out the white jersey for the young rider classification, while a further 15 seconds in arrears, Kenny Elissonde took third place for Team Sky.
Just as he did in the 2016 edition of the race, Attaque Team Gusto's Ben Hill won a jersey, this time taking the polka dot jersey as winner of the mountains classification, while Jacob Kauffmann took the green jersey as winner of the sprints classification for the New South Wales Institute of Sport. The teams classification was won by Team Sky, having taking three of the five stage victories through Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Danny van Poppel.

## Teams

Fifteen teams were invited to take part in the race. These included two UCI WorldTeams, four UCI Professional Continental teams, seven UCI Continental teams and two national teams.
UCI WorldTeams
* Team Sky
* Orica–Scott
UCI Professional Continental teams
* Aqua Blue Sport
* Gazprom–RusVelo
* Roompot–Nederlandse Loterij
* UnitedHealthcare
UCI Continental teams
* 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines
* Attaque Team Gusto
* Drapac–Pat's Veg
* IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
* JLT–Condor
* New South Wales Institute of Sport
* St George Continental Cycling Team
National teams
* Australia
* New Zealand

## Route

The race route was released on 1 December 2016, with a route described by race director, and former three-time race winner, John Trevorrow as the "toughest course in recent history".
Stage schedule :
| Stage | Date | Route | Distance | Type | Winner |
| P | 1 February | Melbourne | 2.1 km (1 mi) | Individual time trial | Danny van Poppel (NED) |
| 1 | 2 February | Wangaratta to Falls Creek | 174.2 km (108 mi) | Hilly stage | Damien Howson (AUS) |
| 2 | 3 February | Mount Beauty to Beechworth | 165.5 km (103 mi) | Flat stage | Luke Rowe (GBR) |
| 3 | 4 February | Benalla to Mitchelton Winery, Nagambie | 167.7 km (104 mi) | Hilly stage | Travis McCabe (USA) |
| 4 | 5 February | Kinglake to Kinglake | 121 km (75 mi) | Hilly stage | Ian Stannard (GBR) |

## Stages
### Prologue
#### 1 February 2017 — Melbourne, 2.1 km (1 mi), individual time trial (ITT)

Result of Prologue & General classification after Prologue :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Danny van Poppel (NED) | Team Sky | 2' 32" |
| 2 | Brenton Jones (AUS) | JLT–Condor | + 1" |
| 3 | Alex Frame (NZL) | JLT–Condor | + 1" |
| 4 | Michael Hepburn (AUS) | Orica–Scott | + 2" |
| 5 | Leigh Howard (AUS) | Aqua Blue Sport | + 3" |
| 6 | Anthony Giacoppo (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 3" |
| 7 | Jesse Kerrison (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 3" |
| 8 | Ian Bibby (GBR) | JLT–Condor | + 4" |
| 9 | Travis McCabe (USA) | UnitedHealthcare | + 4" |
| 10 | Cameron Bayly (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 4" |

### Stage 1
#### 2 February 2017 — Wangaratta to Falls Creek, 174.2 km (108 mi)

Result of Stage 1 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Damien Howson (AUS) | Orica–Scott | 4h 33' 54" |
| 2 | Jai Hindley (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 32" |
| 3 | Kenny Elissonde (FRA) | Team Sky | + 47" |
| 4 | Michael Storer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 03" |
| 5 | Esteban Chaves (COL) | Orica–Scott | + 1' 10" |
| 6 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | + 1' 11" |
| 7 | Nathan Earle (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 11" |
| 8 | Lucas Hamilton (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 11" |
| 9 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 13" |
| 10 | Tim Roe (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 1' 15" |
General classification after Stage 1 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Damien Howson (AUS) | Orica–Scott | 4h 36' 32" |
| 2 | Jai Hindley (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 38" |
| 3 | Kenny Elissonde (FRA) | Team Sky | + 53" |
| 4 | Michael Storer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 10" |
| 5 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | + 1' 12" |
| 6 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 13" |
| 7 | Lucas Hamilton (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 13" |
| 8 | Nathan Earle (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 15" |
| 9 | Esteban Chaves (COL) | Orica–Scott | + 1' 15" |
| 10 | Tim Roe (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 1' 17" |

### Stage 2
#### 3 February 2017 — Mount Beauty to Beechworth, 165.5 km (103 mi)

Result of Stage 2 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Luke Rowe (GBR) | Team Sky | 4h 08' 23" |
| 2 | Conor Dunne (IRL) | Aqua Blue Sport | + 33" |
| 3 | Tanner Putt (USA) | UnitedHealthcare | + 56" |
| 4 | Robbie Hucker (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 57" |
| 5 | Steven Lampier (GBR) | JLT–Condor | + 57" |
| 6 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 12" |
| 7 | Martijn Tusveld (NED) | Roompot–Nederlandse Loterij | + 1' 17" |
| 8 | Janier Acevedo (COL) | UnitedHealthcare | + 1' 17" |
| 9 | Ian Bibby (GBR) | JLT–Condor | + 1' 17" |
| 10 | Lucas Hamilton (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 17" |
General classification after Stage 2 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Damien Howson (AUS) | Orica–Scott | 8h 46' 12" |
| 2 | Jai Hindley (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 38" |
| 3 | Kenny Elissonde (FRA) | Team Sky | + 53" |
| 4 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 08" |
| 5 | Michael Storer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 10" |
| 6 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | + 1' 12" |
| 7 | Lucas Hamilton (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 13" |
| 8 | Nathan Earle (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 15" |
| 9 | Esteban Chaves (COL) | Orica–Scott | + 1' 15" |
| 10 | Tim Roe (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 1' 17" |

### Stage 3
#### 4 February 2017 — Benalla to Mitchelton Winery, Nagambie, 167.7 km (104 mi)

Result of Stage 3 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Travis McCabe (USA) | UnitedHealthcare | 3h 46' 00" |
| 2 | Mitchell Docker (AUS) | Orica–Scott | + 0" |
| 3 | Leigh Howard (AUS) | Aqua Blue Sport | + 0" |
| 4 | Luke Rowe (GBR) | Team Sky | + 0" |
| 5 | Alexey Tsatevich (RUS) | Gazprom–RusVelo | + 0" |
| 6 | Ben Hill (AUS) | Attaque Team Gusto | + 0" |
| 7 | Ivan Savitskiy (RUS) | Gazprom–RusVelo | + 0" |
| 8 | Jesper Asselman (NED) | Roompot–Nederlandse Loterij | + 0" |
| 9 | Jesse Kerrison (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 0" |
| 10 | Brad Evans (NZL) | Drapac–Pat's Veg | + 0" |
General classification after Stage 3 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Damien Howson (AUS) | Orica–Scott | 12h 32' 12" |
| 2 | Jai Hindley (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 38" |
| 3 | Kenny Elissonde (FRA) | Team Sky | + 53" |
| 4 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 08" |
| 5 | Michael Storer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 10" |
| 6 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | + 1' 12" |
| 7 | Lucas Hamilton (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 13" |
| 8 | Nathan Earle (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 15" |
| 9 | Esteban Chaves (COL) | Orica–Scott | + 1' 15" |
| 10 | Tim Roe (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 1' 17" |

### Stage 4
#### 5 February 2017 — Kinglake to Kinglake, 121 km (75 mi)

Result of Stage 4 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Ian Stannard (GBR) | Team Sky | 2h 52' 44" |
| 2 | Aaron Gate (NZL) | Aqua Blue Sport | + 0" |
| 3 | Taco van der Hoorn (NED) | Roompot–Nederlandse Loterij | + 0" |
| 4 | Ben Hill (AUS) | Attaque Team Gusto | + 0" |
| 5 | Robbie Hucker (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 0" |
| 6 | Alistair Slater (GBR) | JLT–Condor | + 0" |
| 7 | Jason Christie (NZL) | New Zealand (national team) | + 0" |
| 8 | Daniel Fitter (AUS) | New South Wales Institute of Sport | + 0" |
| 9 | Cyrus Monk (AUS) | Drapac–Pat's Veg | + 0" |
| 10 | Travis McCabe (USA) | UnitedHealthcare | + 0" |
Final general classification :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Damien Howson (AUS) | Orica–Scott | 15h 25' 13" |
| 2 | Jai Hindley (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 38" |
| 3 | Kenny Elissonde (FRA) | Team Sky | + 53" |
| 4 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 08" |
| 5 | Michael Storer (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 10" |
| 6 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | + 1' 12" |
| 7 | Lucas Hamilton (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 13" |
| 8 | Nathan Earle (AUS) | Australia (national team) | + 1' 15" |
| 9 | Esteban Chaves (COL) | Orica–Scott | + 1' 15" |
| 10 | Tim Roe (AUS) | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness | + 1' 17" |

## Classification leadership table

| Stage | Winner | General classification | Sprint classification | Mountains classification | Young rider classification | Most competitive rider | Team classification |
| P | Danny van Poppel | Danny van Poppel | not awarded | not awarded | Ayden Toovey | not awarded | JLT–Condor |
| 1 | Damien Howson | Damien Howson | Jacob Kauffmann | Damien Howson | Jai Hindley | Steven Lampier | Australia (national team) |
| 2 | Luke Rowe | Damien Howson | Jacob Kauffmann | Ben Hill | Jai Hindley | Luke Rowe | Team Sky |
| 3 | Travis McCabe | Damien Howson | Jacob Kauffmann | Ben Hill | Jai Hindley | Aaron Gate | Team Sky |
| 4 | Ian Stannard | Damien Howson | Jacob Kauffmann | Ben Hill | Jai Hindley | Cyrus Monk | Team Sky |
| Final | Final | Damien Howson | Jacob Kauffmann | Ben Hill | Jai Hindley | no final award | Team Sky |