Watch: Chris Froome and Peter Kennaugh destroy the field at the Herald Sun Tour

It's not often that you see a Tour de France contender flex their muscles so early in the racing season, but that's exactly what Chris Froome did as he guided Sky teammate Peter Kennaugh to the stage win and race lead at the Herald Sun Tour.

Froome put in his attack on the final categorised climb of stage one 30km from the finish with Kennaugh in tow, just after the day's break had been reeled in, with the British pair then quickly putting time into the peloton behind.

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“We had had a good plan for today’s stage, which worked out perfectly. It was to make it hard going into that last climb for Froomey to have a go and I then I was just to follow wheels and judge the situation, and if I felt like I could jump across to him then do that,” Kennaugh said after the race.

The result leaves the Manxman in charge of the GC with seven seconds over Froome by virtue of the opening prologue on Wednesday, with Dion Smith of British team One Pro Cycling the next best placed rider in third, 23 seconds back.