Gerrans steals stage three in photo-finish

Simon Gerrans is back, with the Australian cycling star winning stage three of the Tour Down Under and taking the overall lead.

The Orica-GreenEDGE leader timed his sprint perfectly at the end of the 139km stage from Glenelg to Campbelltown and beat defending champion Rohan Dennis by a couple of centimetres.

Gerrans leads previous leader Jay McCarthy by three seconds after the Australian finished fourth on the stage.

Dennis is also well-placed in third overall at five seconds.

Gerrans' season last year was ruined by a horror run of crashes and this is his first individual win since 2014.

"This is great - it's been a long time between drinks," Gerrans said.

The three-time Tour Down Under champion missed last year's edition because of a broken collarbone.

Far from a temporary setback, that injury turned out to be the start of a miserable run of luck.

It had also extended into this year's race, with Gerrans crashing near the end of stage two when he was positioning to go for the win.

But on Thursday, Gerrans survived the frantic run to the base of the crucial Corkscrew climb, less than 10km from the finish.

The riders averaged 93km/h through the valley before a sharp left-hand turn onto the climb and a crash claimed five of them, although none appeared to be hurt seriously.

Gerrans was part of a 10-rider selection that formed over the top of the climb and the fast descent to the finish.

Asked about the new finish, Gerrans replied "yeah, I'm not a fan.

"It felt like we really had to take our lives into our hands in that final.

"There was a big crash on the Gorge (before Corkscrew), a couple of very hairy moments on the descent of the Corkscrew.

"I'm thrilled to be able to have won the stage, but there was some risk involved."

Gerrans later softened his comments, saying it was a combination of the course and the riders taking high-speed risks.

And race director Mike Turtur strongly defended the course, saying it was far from the riskiest that the riders would face during a season.

It has already been a great Tour for Orica-GreenEDGE with two wins from three stages.

But Gerrans has made it clear he wants a fourth title.

Earlier on Thursday, Belgian Laurens De Vreese (Astana) attacked by himself and led until the last 21km.

Cycling legend Jens Voigt observed that the peloton had let De Vreese dangle out the front of the race in the 35-degree heat "like a slowly-cooked chicken".