Sports Director Sean Yates reckons Team Sky put down a real marker with their one-two on their competitive debut.

Greg Henderson led home Chris Sutton as Team Sky made the perfect start as a pro team by dominating the Cancer Council Helpline Classic in Adelaide, the curtain-raiser to the Tour Down Under.

The race proper gets under way on Tuesday and Yates, in charge of the team in Australia, was delighted to see the seven-man squad hit the ground running.

"They followed the instructions to the letter and it definitely bodes well for the days ahead," he said.

"Now everyone will be taking notice not just of the win but also the manner of it," added Yates, referring to the perfect lead-out train which delivered Henderson and Sutton to what was a relatively clear-cut victory ahead of HTC-Columbia's André Greipel and Team Katusha's Robbie McEwen.

Action replay?

"Hopefully we'll do the same thing a couple more times in the Tour Down Under before we head back to Europe - everyone is very, very happy with the start."

Yates also paid tribute to the way the squad have gelled in such a short space of time, saying: "Working with these guys is an absolute pleasure. The way they've bonded together is amazing.

"We're on a mission and we've accomplished the first part of it but we've got to focus on the first stage proper now."