When a rider wins the general classification by the second-biggest margin in the race's history, you can't help but be happy with second place, and that was exactly the case for Jayco AlUla as Mauro Schmid confirmed his runner-up spot behind Jay Vine at Sunday's Tour Down Under finale.
The race for the Ochre jersey was all but wrapped up by the end of stage 2, when Vine attacked away and notched up what would become an unassailable lead of more than a minute.
Jayco raced on aggressively across home roads, launching several attempts to try and win from a breakaway, but in the end, they had to settle for second and victory in the team classification – it's far from what they wanted at the start, but it puts them on the right path for the season ahead.
"We come to the Tour Down Under to win, but when you come up against somebody like Jay Vine with the form that he’s in, he was clearly the best on the Corkscrew, and that set up his GC," said sports director Mathew Hayman.
"Mauro was very consistent across the week and had great support from the team, and had a great ride. To get second is a big step for him. We won the team's GC as well, so there are a lot of positives to take out of this week.
"We also won in Spain yesterday with Michael Matthews, so there's been a lot of good moments internally for us as a team. I mean, maybe you guys don't see it, but as far as starting the season off well, up against Jay Vine, we knew he was going to be good, and he is a tough competitor. The team did amazing under very difficult circumstances."
On Schmid himself, Hayman was most pleased with his greater reliance on the team instead of his own power alone, allowing him to better a previous GC best from the Tour Down Under of fifth to second.
Heading into the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, where he will be the defending champion, the Swiss national champion seems to have found another gear.
"Mauro's in really good form. I had hoped he'd be able to have a sprint today, which is not really his thing, a full bunch sprint. But on this finish, with Kell [O'Brien] having a puncture and almost having a crash, it put him out of position," added Hayman.
"He's worked really hard, and realised last year that with his form – he just missed it on one of the stages last year – and I think he's learned his lesson and came back with just that little bit of extra preparation and was there from day one.
"His prologue was really good, and he's followed through. It's a great result for him, and he's building confidence as a rider. For me, it's just nice to see him using the team, [because] he's often done a lot of his results by himself, just going after stuff with brute force, but this was a team effort. He was relying on the guys and using them – that's another good takeaway."
For Hayman, the attention will now turn to how he can formulate a plan so that Schmid and the Jayco AlUla team for Cadels can repeat their victory from last season. He's got a week to do so, but the confidence will be high after his podium finish.
"I'm looking forward to that one. We've just got to keep the guys hungry. Mauro is obviously going well, but the other guys will also enjoy a one-day race like that," added the Australian DS.
"I've got to sit down, have a look at the weather and have a look at the start list. We want to do well, we always do, and yes, we've won it now, but it's a race that's close to our hearts."
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