Cycling: Geraint Thomas leads Down Under

Geraint Thomas wears the leader's jersey after winning stage two of the Tour Down Under (Getty Images)

Team Sky's Geraint Thomas took the lead of the Tour Down Under with a dramatic win on stage two to Rostrevor.

The Welshman, part of Great Britain's gold medal-winning team pursuit line-ups at the last two Olympics, made a bold break on the daunting Corkscrew Hill climb and was rewarded with victory in a sprint finish.

"I felt good from the start," Thomas said afterwards. "The boys worked well for me all day.

"I've worked hard all the winter and since the track all I've been thinking about is the road. You know, this year that's what kept me racing after the Games, like after Beijing I was out having a lash for a few months but this time I was straight back on the road thinking about this year."

Thomas avoided a late pile-up which took down the world champion Philippe Gilbert and edged out Movistar's Javier Moreno for the stage win, with Ben Hermans third for RadioShack.

The same trio occupy the podium positions in the general classification, with Thomas holding a five-second lead.