Sam Bennett faded in the sprint at the end of stage 2 at the Tour Down Under and slipped out of the race lead as a result.
The uphill bunch sprint was won by Australian Caleb Ewan; the Lotto-Soudal rider taking the leader's jersey from the shoulders of his Irish rival in the process.
Deceuninck-QuickStep have Bennett an excellent lead-out, with Michael Mørkøv dropping Bennett off on the front within striking distance of the finish line.
However, when the Irish man reached for his finishing kick it simply wasn't there today and the riders around him kicked on.
Ewan won it at a canter from Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Nathan Haas (Cofidis).
After Bennett sat up from the sprint he continued to ride for the finish line, ensuring he did not lose any time.
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And that means that after winning yesterday's opening stage Bennett is equal on time at the top of the general standings with Ewan.
However, the Australian leads because of his superior combined finishing positions so far.
Elia Viviani, the Cofidis rider Sam Bennett is expected to battle this season, crashed today about 1.5km from the finish.
The Italian said afterwards while he had suffered abrasions in the fall medical checks at hospital had confirmed he had no broken bones.
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