Howson has claimed the biggest victory of his life, winning the Jayco Herald Sun Tour at Kinglake today.
Howson rode himself into the yellow jersey on the decisive opening road stage, attacking on the final 30km climb up Falls Creek to take his first professional victory.
The 24-year-old started today with a 38second buffer from his nearest rival Jai Hindley (Australia), and despite a dangerous attack from Chris Froome (Team Sky) on the final climb, Howson finished comfortably in the group of main contenders to celebrate over the line.
“It’s a big sigh of relief now,” Howson said. “It’s been an amazing week and to finish it off the way we did, capitalise on our position, I couldn’t be happier.”
“It comes with a lot of honour (to win the Tour). There are a lot of prestigious names on that list… and I am really happy to join that list of guys.
“To get my first win only a couple of days ago and to continue all the way through and keep the yellow jersey on the final day, it’s my first overall win ever, so it’s nice to break into new territory.”
Team Sky classics specialist Ian Stannard won the final stage after breaking clear from a lead group in the final moments of the 121km race.
Herald Sunt Tour 2017 – stage 4 results (Kinglake – Kinglake):
| 1 | Ian Stannard (Team Sky) | 2:52:44 |
| 2 | Aaron Gate (Aqua Blue Sport) | ,, |
| 3 | Taco van der Hoorn (Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij) | ,, |
| 4 | Benjamin Hill (Attaque Team Gusto) | ,, |
| 5 | Robbie Hucker (IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness) | ,, |
| 6 | Alistair Slater (JLT Condor) | ,, |
| 7 | Jason Christie (New Zealand) | ,, |
| 8 | Daniel Fitter (NSW Institute of Sport) | ,, |
| 9 | Cyrus Monk (Drapac–Pat’s Veg) | ,, |
| 10 | Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare) | ,, |
Final general classification:
| 1 | Damien Howson (Orica-Scott) | 15:25:13 |
| 2 | Jai Hindley (Australia) | +38” |
| 3 | Kenny Elissonde (Team Sky) | +53” |
| 4 | Cameron Meyer (Australia) | +01’08” |
| 5 | Michael Storer (Australia) | +01’10” |
| 6 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | +01’12” |
| 7 | Lucas Hamilton (Australia) | +01’13” |
| 8 | Nathan Earle (Australia) | +01’15” |
| 9 | Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) | ,, |
| 10 | Timothy Roe (IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness) | +01’17” |
