Robert Gesink (Belkin) proved that he is up for the challenge in this year's Tour Down Under when he finished 5th in the uphill sprint in Stirling on the second day of the race. Being up against some real specialists in this kind of finish, the Belkin captain was happy with his ride and is now confident that he has the form to finish near the top of the overall standings.

Robert Gesink showed he’s one of the strongest riders at the Santos Tour Down Under during Wednesday’s second stage. The Belkin Pro Cycling Team rider placed fifth on the traditional uphill finish in Stirling, and the Dutchman rose to the eight place in the general classification with his performance. Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) won the stage, and completed the race in the same time as Gesink in 150 kilometres between Prospect and Stirling.

Bram Tankink guided his teammate to the front with just three kilometres to go. A green train nestled at the front of the peloton, allowing Gesink to sprint to fifth place.

The team started the stage without David Tanner who had crashed in yesterday's finale and was left with a broken collarbone. Gesink missed his in-form teammate at the finish where a better position could possibly have allowed him to finish even higher in the standings.

“Of course we really miss David Tanner, but the team worked very hard for me”, Gesink said. “I would have liked to be in a better position in the sprint though, as a couple of riders in front me couldn’t handle the pace. Luckily we all got the same time."

Nonetheless, he was pleased with his performance.

"I’m happy with my fifth place," he said. "I’m between some strong riders and that proves I’ve had a good winter. This is good for my confidence. My teammates know how strong I am now and that’s good for the morale as well.”

Gesink would have liked the stage to be a bit harder.

“Last year the local lap was ridden five times, this time only twice. More laps would have been good for me, as everybody would have been a bit more worn out, and that’s an advantage to me.”

Gesink expects a tough stage on Thursday. With the steep Corkscrew climb just a 7,4km kilometres from the finish line, the Dutch climber expects the ride to be decisive.

“The GC will be determined tomorrow. Of course, we still have Wilunga Hill on Saturday, but tomorrow is a big day. We have done the climb during a training ride, so we know what we can expect.”