Caleb Yuan (opens in new tab) (Lotto Soudal) avoided a major crash on the run-in to Stirling and rode through the undulating finale with confidence to win stage 2 and take the overall lead in the 2020 Tour Down Under. (Open in new tab)

He is now tied with Tuesday's opening stage winner, Sam Bennett (open in new tab) (Detunink-Quickstep), but thanks to "Count Back," he wears the ochre leader jersey: Ewan's first stage 7th place, outpaced Bennett's 10th place on stage 2.

"We always know it's going to be a pretty tough day coming here to Stirling. In the end, it was a mixed podium, with Darryl in second and Nathan Haas in third. [Daryl was second and Nathan Haas was third. It was one of the exciting stages and it was really hard to pick it out before the start," Ewan said. He also won the last time he finished in Stirling in 2018, ahead of then-teammate Jay McCarthy of Impy and Beulah Hansgrohe.

A crash with 1.5 km to go brought down a number of riders, including Haas' Cofidis teammate Elia Viviani and Simon Yates, teammate of Impy's Mitchelton Scott, with Richie Porte involved and given the same time.

As a result of the injuries to Viviani and Yates, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to start Thursday's third stage.

"I was in front of the crash, but I could hear it," Ewan said. 'The sound of shattering carbon is never nice, but luckily I was right in front of it.'

"I think everyone is pretty nervous at the finish because a lot of guys are moving up and there are always gaps opening up in the pack.

"Obviously the GC riders don't want to get caught behind these gaps, and all the sprinters and punchers are going for the stage and trying to get to the front as well. Basically every team is trying to get to the front, but today it was a lot easier than usual. Normally it's a bit harder around here, so I think the whole group was very nervous in the last part."

Reflecting on the last few kilometers of the race, Ewan praised the former Mitchelton-Scott Team Defending Tour Down Under Champion for setting up Impy, but not for his teammate in Lotto Soudal on Tuesday's opening stage. Yuan was generous with his praise, which helped him forget the disappointment of finishing seventh.

"Mitchelton did a good job. Mitchelton did a good job. But my team was always there, keeping me out of trouble and holding my position on the last long climb."

"That's basically what I needed: and in the last 2km after the rotary, they took me to near the front of the pack. From there I was able to find the wheels on my own, and that set me up nicely for the sprint."

"I had to deal with yesterday," he continued, explaining how the team learned its lesson from losing the sprint win on stage 1 to Bennett.

"It happens. But I was always able to bounce back. We had a good debrief last night as we discussed areas for improvement.

Ewan's wife and young daughter were on hand in Stirling to celebrate the victory, and the 25-year-old sprinter enjoyed the moment in the leader's jersey.

"It's always a great pleasure to race with you. In fact, I've raced with my daughter three times since she's been alive, and I've won all three times. So I guess I'll have to keep bringing her," Ewan laughed. [Yesterday he didn't show up and I lost, but today he came and I won."

His daughter won the second of her three Tour de France stage wins in Nimes last year, when Ewan made his debut in La Grande Boucle.

"The next time she came was Sunday in the Schwalbe Classic, and this is the third time. I might bring her tomorrow," he smiled.