ADELAIDE (Australia), Jan 17, 2010 (AFP) – Britain’s all-new Team Sky stormed to a one-two win in the Cancer Council Helpline Classic on Sunday, their debut race and a prelude to next week’s season-opening Tour Down Under.

New Zealand’s Greg Henderson took the victory narrowly ahead of Australian team-mate Chris Sutton and HTC-Columbia’s German rider Andre Greipel, after Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong’s mid-race challenge faded.

The Sky riders obliterated a late attack by HTC-Columbia to take the race honors and send out an ominous warning to their rival teams on the UCI ProTour.

“It doesn’t get any better,” Henderson said. “We were joking about it in the room, we said the best way that Team Sky could put themselves on the map is the very, very first race we get together we end up winning the bike race.

“That happened tonight, it was just unbelievable. The lead-out was so fast, I don’t think I’ve been on the back of anything faster. In the end my job was pretty easy. What an amazing feeling.”

Sky left their attack until the race’s closing stages after a breakaway led by Armstrong and fellow Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro was reeled in with three laps of the Adelaide streets to go.

Australia’s Robbie McEwen finished fourth for Katusha while reigning Tour Down Under champion Allan Davis of Australia was seventh in the 30-lap, 51-kilometer (32 miles) event.

Armstrong finished eight seconds off the pace in 62nd with Australia’s world road race champion Cadel Evans 78th and Pereiro 99th.

The Classic is a separate prelude to the six-stage, 800-kilometer (500-mile) Tour Down Under, which starts on Tuesday.