John-Lee Augustyn put in another gritty performance for Team Sky but had a lucky escape when a car wreaked havoc at the GP di Lugano.

The South African, who was part of a five-man breakaway in Saturday's GP Insubria, found himself in a lead group of 24 riders once again and helped build up a two-minute advantage before they were eventually reeled back on the third of five 35.7km laps in southern Switzerland.

The action was soon to come to an abrupt halt however when a car found its way onto the course and continued head-long into the peloton on the ascent at Albonago. Augustyn swerved to avoid the vehicle but Lampre's Simon Spilak was not so lucky.

The Slovenian hit the car and landed on its bonnet, but fortunately came away with only minor scratches.

That incident prompted the event organisers to cancel the fifth and final circuit and Augustyn was among a host of riders who chose not to continue.

When the race did finally restart, a group of seven riders went clear and in a sprint finish De Rosa-Stac Plastic rider Roberto Ferrari narrowly defeated Carmiooro's Jure Kocjan at the line.

Augustyn's team-mates Chris Froome and Morris Possoni both finished in the chasing group.

Safety first

After the race Augustyn said: "It was dangerous and I was lucky to escape the crash. I though it was good though, that the race organisers listened to the riders and made things safer for us after that."

Saturday's exertions had clearly taken their toll on the 23-year-old and he revealed that was his sole reason for pulling out of the race early.

"I had gone in the early break, but I had bad legs from yesterday," Augustyn added. "I had tried to stay in the front, but as we were being pulled back, I was struggling."

Ljungqvist impressed

Marcus Ljungqvist was hugely-impressed by Augustyn's performance over the weekend and the sports director is predicting big things from the young rider in the future.

"John-Lee is showing great form. I knew who he was last year, but I had not talked to him. I see now, there is a lot of potential in that guy.

"He can win races like today as he is a climber who goes well up the hills. He has huge potential."

Although Ljungqvist felt the car incident could have been avoided, he was encouraged by the way the remaining riders rallied over the closing stages.

"Things like the car crash should not be happening," added the Swede. "We made the best out of a bad situation anyway though by finishing the race with one less lap. That way the spectators still got to see a race."

Inspiration

Ljungqvist also revealed the team had gained extra motivation ahead of the race from Juan Antonio Flecha's stunning victory at Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

"His win lifted the team's spirit even more. The riders are great friends now after so many training camps and they are very happy when another team-mate wins.

"Last night we were sending some fun photo messages to him and I am sure his inbox was full this morning."