January 20, 2012 (Tanunda, Australia) – Three-time road race world champion, Oscar Freire, has won the Bupa Stage 4 of the Santos Tour Down Under in a frenetic sprint into Tanunda, in South Australia’s Barossa wine growing region.

The 35 year old Spaniard led home a break of 50 riders who went clear on the final climb of the day leaving overnight leader Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) almost eight minutes behind.

“It was a difficult finale,” said Freire. “I knew I had a really good chance to win. The race was hard (so) it was better for me.

“I’m happy to score the team’s first victory of the year after joining Katusha,” said Freire who is in his first race for the Russian outfit.

The Santos Tour Down Under ochre leader’s jersey meantime is back on the shoulders of Swiss rider Martin Kohler (BMC) who finished with the lead group of 49 on today’s stage and is a mere two seconds ahead of both Australian Michael Matthews (Rabobank) and Freire who are in second and third place overall respectively.

“I didn’t expect to be back in the lead but we dropped Andre Greipel on the climb and then we were riding hard to make the gap bigger,” said Kohler. “Tomorrow there will be ten or fifteen riders contesting the win at the top of Willunga Hill. It’s going to be very hard and I don’t know if I can keep this lead or not but I’m already happy with what I’m doing here.

“Our team BMC feels at home with all the support we get but of course we are the team of Cadel Evans,” said Kohler noting the popularity of his Tour de France winning Australian team mate.

Canberra’s Matthews was a little disappointed to not be in ochre but was looking on the bright side.

“The jersey I want is ochre and I’ll try to get it tomorrow,” said Matthews. “It’s unfortunate that I missed it today by only two seconds. (But) not having the jersey today takes a lot of pressure off you but it’s also better to be ahead of everyone else.”

The 130km stage began in the suburb of Norwood and headed into the Adelaide Hills before travelling through the vineyards. A few riders tried to go clear early but the sprinters weren’t having any of that because the first of today’s two Jayco intermediate sprints was only 25 kilometres down the road at Kersbrook and bonus seconds were up for grabs. Greipel went hard at the line and nabbed the maximum three seconds with Matthews close behind to shave two seconds off his time.

After the sprint the pace settled and a small break went clear. Australian Jay McCarthy (UniSA-Australia) was in the quartet in front and collected the maximum points on offer at the first SKODA King of the Mountain for the day, a category two climb at Smith Hill (30km). Spaniard Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was second over the summit with Frenchman Blel Kadri (AG2R la Mondiale) third and Gatis Smukulis (Katusha) fourth.

Smukulis dropped back to the bunch soon after the climb but the remaining three rode on to contest the second Jayco sprint at Mt Pleasant (51km). This time Perez Moreno claimed the points ahead of Kadri and McCarthy. The lead margin hovered around the two minute mark for the next thirty kilometrees or so but as they approached the Menglers Hill category one climb (107km) they were caught by the bunch.

The capture of the trio triggered a pace increase and up Menglers the hill the tempo split the bunch with a more than a third of the peloton powering clear.

Amongst them was Freire who sailed home to win by a bike length from of Gerald Ciolek (Omega Pharma – Quickstep) (GER) who just edged out Italian Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan) for second on the line.

The Jayco Points classification is now being led by Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) who collected 12 ponts today for fourth place and sits on 36 points, one ahead of Greipel.

“I just try every day to move up on overall GC. It’s nice to have the sprint jersey,” said Boasson Hagen. “I didn’t expect it but that’s not the one I’m looking for, I want to win the jersey of the overall classification.

“My team mate [Geraint] Thomas gave me a great lead out but I came off his wheel a bit too early. The battle is still very open.”

The SKODA King of the Mountain leader is now newly crowned Australian under 23 road race and time trial champion, Rohan Dennis, (UniSA-Australia) who was first over Menglers today to take his tally to 17 points, five clear of Belgian Thomas De Gendt (Vaconsoleil-DCM).

“I didn’t think that I would lead the King of the Mountain because I only had one point from my breakaway on day one,” said Dennis. “Tomorrow at the bottom of Willunga it will be all or nothing.”

Kadri was named the Hindmarsh Most Agressive rider of the stage. Sky Pro Cycling is the Brilliant Blend leading team.

The Santos Tour Down Under continues tomorrow with the ‘Queen’ stage. Jayco stage 5 marks the first time the race has finished at the top of a climb with the 151.5km route starting in McLaren Vale and ending atop Old Willunga Hill which the riders will climb twice.

Results
1. Oscar Freire (Esp) Katusha 3:08:34
2. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
3. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank
6. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar
7. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
8. Kristijan Koren (Svk) Liquigas – Cannondale
9. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM
10. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
11. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
12. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar
13. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
14. Vincente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto-Belisol
15. José Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) Movistar
16. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha
17. Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE
18. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
19. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Procycling
20. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC
21. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank
22. Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Esp) Katusha
23. Angel Madrazo (Esp) Movistar
24. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
25. Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
26. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha
27. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol
28. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
29. Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
30. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
31. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
32. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC
33. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar
34. Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
35. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda
36. Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling
37. Gorka Izagirre Inausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
38. Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEDGE
39. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan
40. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Rabobank
41. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
42. Sérgio Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank
43. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
44. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre – ISD
45. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
46. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Barracuda
47. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC
48. Hayden Roulston (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
49. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC 0:38
50. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC 7:45
51. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha
52. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ – BigMat
53. Greg Henderson (NZL) Lotto-Belisol
54. Stuart O’grady (Aus) GreenEDGE
55. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol
56. Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
57. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol
58. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
59. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM
60. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
61. Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM
62. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM
63. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
64. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar
65. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
66. David Lopez (Esp) Movistar
67. Stefano Agostini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
68. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
69. Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
70. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
71. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
72. Tom Palmer (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
73. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM
74. Jesse Sergent (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
75. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
76. Martin Elmiger (Sui) AG2R La Mondiale
77. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
78. Mattéo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
79. Lachlan Norris (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
80. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
81. Jay Mccarthy (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
82. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD
83. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
84. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
85. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ – BigMat
86. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto-Belisol
87. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
88. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda
89. Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
90. Grega Bole (Svk) Lampre – ISD
91. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
92. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
93. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank
94. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
95. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
96. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana
97. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi
98. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana
99. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
100. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC
101. Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Astana
102. Dmitri Muravyev (Kaz) Astana
103. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
104. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
105. Andrew Fenn (GBR) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
106. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank
107. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank
108. Adrián Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 9:59
109. Matthew Brammeier (Ire) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
110. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
111. Matt Goss (Aus) GreenEDGE 14:16
112. Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda
113. William Clarke (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
114. Borut Bozic (Svk) Astana
115. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre – ISD
116. Victor Cabedo (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
117. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
118. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
119. Boris Shpilevsky (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale
120. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana
121. Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
122. Leigh Howard (Aus) GreenEDGE
123. Robbie Mcewen (Aus) GreenEDGE
124. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC
125. Alex Dowsett (GBR) Sky Procycling
126. Luke Durbridge (Aus) GreenEDGE
127. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
128. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda
129. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
130. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
131. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo Bank

GC after Stage 4
1. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC 15:03:34
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:02
3. Oscar Freire (Esp) Katusha
4. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:06
5. Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE 0:08
6. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
7. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
8. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
9. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha
10. Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 0:09
11. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10
12. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar 0:11
13. Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Esp) Katusha 0:12
14. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
15. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM
16. Kristijan Koren (Svk) Liquigas – Cannondale
17. Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling
18. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
19. Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
20. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
21. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol
22. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar
23. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
24. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
25. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
26. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC
27. José Ivan Gutierrez (Esp) Movistar
28. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda
29. Vincente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto-Belisol
30. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
31. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC
32. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Rabobank
33. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Barracuda
34. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan
35. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
36. Gorka Izagirre Inausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
37. Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
38. Angel Madrazo (Esp) Movistar
39. Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEDGE
40. Sérgio Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank
41. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar
42. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
43. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
44. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre – ISD
45. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank
46. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 0:45
47. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC 1:40
48. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Procycling 5:52
49. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 7:34
50. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM 7:51
51. Jay Mccarthy (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 7:56
52. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 7:57
53. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM
54. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
55. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
56. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
57. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
58. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
59. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM
60. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi
61. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ – BigMat
62. Martin Elmiger (Sui) AG2R La Mondiale
63. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
64. Grega Bole (Svk) Lampre – ISD
65. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
66. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 8:15
67. Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Astana 8:23
68. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha 8:30
69. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM 8:34
70. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 8:53
71. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 9:01
72. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 9:28
73. Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 9:39
74. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 10:08
75. Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM 10:49
76. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale 10:50
77. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana
78. Stefano Agostini (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
79. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD 10:53
80. Matthew Brammeier (Ire) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 11:18
81. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana 11:24
82. Hayden Roulston (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan 12:37
83. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank 13:23
84. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank
85. Adrián Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13:52
86. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda 14:28
87. Andrew Fenn (GBR) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 14:45
88. William Clarke (Aus) UNI SA – Australia 14:52
89. David Lopez (Esp) Movistar 15:04
90. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 17:21
91. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda 17:22
92. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto-Belisol 18:00
93. Matt Goss (Aus) GreenEDGE 20:08
94. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ – BigMat 20:12
95. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre – ISD 20:16
96. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 20:22
97. Tom Palmer (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
98. Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
99. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas – Cannondale
100. Jesse Sergent (NZL) RadioShack-Nissan
101. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar
102. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
103. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC
104. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
105. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank
106. Lachlan Norris (Aus) UNI SA – Australia
107. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
108. Mattéo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
109. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre – ISD 20:39
110. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC 20:59
111. Dmitri Muravyev (Kaz) Astana
112. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda 22:42
113. Greg Henderson (NZL) Lotto-Belisol 23:12
114. Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
115. Stuart O’grady (Aus) GreenEDGE 23:22
116. Robbie Mcewen (Aus) GreenEDGE 26:53
117. Leigh Howard (Aus) GreenEDGE
118. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
119. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ – BigMat
120. Borut Bozic (Svk) Astana
121. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo Bank
122. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC
123. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank 28:30
124. Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda 29:43
125. Alex Dowsett (GBR) Sky Procycling
126. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
127. Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
128. Luke Durbridge (Aus) GreenEDGE 29:53
129. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 30:37
130. Victor Cabedo (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 30:45
131. Boris Shpilevsky (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 37:16