January 20, 2017 (Campbelltown, South Australia) – Campbelltown was awash with bicycles even before the professional peloton powered into town as 5718 cycling enthusiasts put their skills to the test on the Bupa Challenge Tour just hours before the professionals tackled the ride from leafy Norwood. They are part of the 119 thousand fans who came out today to cheer on the race.
“It was a tricky one, because it’s hard for a lead-out train to stay together down through The Gorge,” said Ewan who had to navigate his way through the sprinting stampede to find a clear path to the line.
“I wasn’t panicking (when boxed in), and there was still a fair way to go, and luckily I got out,” explained Ewan. “Once I got out, I could open up my sprint.”
The young Australian sprinter, who covered the 150 kilometre route in a time of 3:45.19, says he is stronger than last year when he won two stages of the race.
“I am not fatiguing like I used to and I can bounce back stage after stage,” said the pint-sized powerhouse who aspires to be the best sprinter in world cycling. “You don’t always get it right. Today, I went a little later than I hoped but I was able to get around Danny (Van Poppel).”
Twenty three year old van Poppel, who launched his sprint with 200 metres to go, concedes the strongest man won on the line.
“It was a hard finish and it was better for me with an uphill finish,” said van Poppel. “I do not think there is shame to be third behind those names.
“I felt I had good legs but if you wait too long everyone comes from behind and that’s what happened the other day, so I did not want to wait.
“This is my first race and Ewan is already busy for a long time,” he said. “My shape is getting better and better, and of course, we will try again Sunday.”
Meanwhile Sagan continues to challenge for the win as his new team fine-tunes his lead out train.
“We will see how it is going,” said Sagan when asked if a win on Sunday was possible for him. “We still have tomorrow one stage, it can be good. Every day is better – (our team work) exquisite.”
The stage result did nothing to impact the overall standings with Tasmanian Richie Porte maintaining his grip on the Santos Ochre Leaders Jersey.
Porte, 31, has won tomorrow’s Queen stage up Willunga Hill for the past three years but this is the first time he goes in as the race leader.
“It’s a different scenario this year going into it (because) it’s not about the stage win tomorrow, it’s about winning the overall classification,” Porte explained. “We have a great team and I’m pretty relaxed with where I’m at. If they want to hit out early, we have a team to control (it).
“We also have Rohan Dennis who is strong and motivated. He’s racing at his best so I’m optimistic,” said Porte of his compatriot and the 2015 race champion who currently sits sixth overall at 29 seconds.
Spaniard Gorka Izaguirre remains second overall, 20 seconds in arrears, despite a tough day in the saddle. The Movistar rider lined up this morning swathed in bandages due to nasty road rash from this high speed crash in the closing kilometres of yesterday’s stage into Victor Harbor. He was assessed at Royal Adelaide Hospital after the crash and this morning the Race Doctor cleared him to continue the race.
The 132 strong field rode out from the main street of Norwood under neutral conditions for the first eight kilometres but as soon as the flag dropped the attacks began.
An early incline put some of the riders under pressure but up in front a trio managed to slip clear.
Czech rider Ondrej Cink (Bahrain-Merida), Cameron Meyer (UniSA Australia) and Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors) were soon more than a minute ahead of the peloton which made Cink, 57 seconds off the time of Porte, the virtual race leader on the road.
Recognising the danger to Porte’s overall lead the BMC Racing Team hit the front to ride tempo and keep the escapees within striking distance.
The first of two iiNet intermediate sprints was contested at the 37 kilometre mark in Birdwood with Bauer grabbing the points ahead of Meyer and Cink. 50 kilometres later the trio were still ahead and this time Meyer was first across the line for the sprint into Mt Pleasant with Bauer second and Cink third.
Not long after the sprint Meyer and Bauer left Cink in their wake and 45 kilometres from home the gap from the lead pair back to the bunch was 1:30 as they worked well together to maintain their advantage.
Cink was soon overtaken by the BMC led peloton before Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal), Will Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac) and Astana rider Michael Valgren set out in pursuit of the leaders. A puncture ended Clarke’s chase and not long afterwards a fast moving main bunch swamped Bak and Valgren.
Out in front Meyer decided his day was done but Bauer put his time trial skills to work in a bid for glory.
“My intention was to go into the breakaway today but it was always going to be hard,” said Meyer. “We needed a tail wind in the last 5km to stay away and it didn’t work out. There was too much head wind and too many people wanted a bunch sprint finish.”
Bauer soldiered on alone and 25 kilometres from home he still held a 45 seconds lead but a victory wasn’t to be. Five kilometres from the finish his day was done as the speeding peloton caught him.
“It’s the only stage of the week I thought the break was going to have a chance to succeed,” said a disappointed Bauer after the stage. “Two years ago (Jack) Bobridge shelled everybody off. Obviously it wasn’t the same stage but the same finale.
“We never had enough road really to fight for the stage but I was going to attack anyway.”
His team director Rik Van Slyke was pleased with Bauer’s efforts despite it not bringing the desired result.
“The other riders ran out of energy, but it is always if, if, if … It is also early in the season, so no one wants to let people get away too much.
“Jack was very strong…and he wanted to try something this week, and today was his day,” said Van Slyke. “Unfortunately, he could not make it with a victory, but for me, his efforts today is like a victory. If you do not try, you do not win.”
Bauer and Meyer shared the Most Competitive Rider of the day honours as a reward for their efforts.
Results
1. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 3:45:19
2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
4. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
5. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
6. Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
7. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
8. Callum Scotson (Aus) UniSA-Australia
9. Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
10. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
11. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac
12. Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
13. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
14. Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
15. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
16. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
17. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
18. Luis León Sánchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
19. Rafael Valls (Esp) Lotto Soudal
20. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
21. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
22. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
23. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott
24. Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
25. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida
26. Jesus Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
27. Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia
28. José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
29. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott
30. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
31. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
32. Enric Mas (Esp) Quick-Step Floors
33. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo
34. Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ
35. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
36. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
37. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale-Drapac
38. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
39. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
40. Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
41. Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
42. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
43. Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
44. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
45. Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky
46. José Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
47. Francois Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
48. Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Esp) Movistar Team
49. Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Esp) Movistar Team
50. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
51. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
52. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ
53. Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
54. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
55. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
56. Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
57. Samuel Jenner (Aus) UniSA-Australia
58. Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida
59. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac
60. Michael Storer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
61. Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
62. Jai Hindley (Aus) UniSA-Australia
63. James Shaw (Gbr) Lotto Soudal
64. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
65. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
66. Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team
67. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
68. Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
69. Jeremy Maison (Fra) FDJ
70. Marko Kump (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
71. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
72. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
73. Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
74. Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida
75. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
76. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
77. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
78. Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
79. Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team
80. Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
81. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
82. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
83. Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott
84. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
85. Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
86. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Dimension Data
87. Víctor de la Parte (Esp) Movistar Team
88. Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
89. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
90. Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
91. Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
92. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott
93. Cameron Meyer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
94. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
95. Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida
96. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team
97. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
98. Angel Vicioso Arcos (Esp) Katusha-Alpecin
99. Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb
100. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
101. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Quick-Step Floors
102. Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors 00:16
103. Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky
104. Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:18
105. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
106. Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 00:21
107. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
108. Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:23
109. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:26
110. Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data 00:36
111. Marc Soler (Esp) Movistar Team
112. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
113. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb 00:39
114. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb 00:41
115. Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data 00:43
116. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 00:56
117. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
118. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
119. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky 01:04
120. Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 01:08
121. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
122. Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 01:16
123. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 01:23
124. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott 01:36
125. Jacobus Venter (RSA) Dimension Data 02:17
126. Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
127. Thomas Scully (Nzl) Cannondale-Drapac 03:03
128. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team 05:14
129. Francisco Ventoso (Esp) BMC Racing Team 05:19
130. Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 06:39
131. Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott
132. William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac 09:42
GC after Stage 4
1. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team 14:20:18
2. Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Esp) Movistar Team 00:20
3. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott 00:22
4. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:24
5. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 00:27
6. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 00:29
7. Luis León Sánchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
8. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
9. Rafael Valls (Esp) Lotto Soudal
10. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
11. Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
12. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
13. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
14. Enric Mas (Esp) Quick-Step Floors
15. Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
16. Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia 00:33
17. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac
18. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
19. Jesus Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
20. Michael Storer (Aus) UniSA-Australia
21. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac 00:45
22. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
23. Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ 00:47
24. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale-Drapac 00:49
25. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
26. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
27. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo 00:52
28. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo 00:53
29. Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
30. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) UniSA-Australia
31. Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida 00:55
32. Jai Hindley (Aus) UniSA-Australia 00:57
33. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
34. Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin 01:01
35. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott 01:02
36. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott 01:07
37. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 01:12
38. José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin 01:14
39. José Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team 01:15
40. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Dimension Data 01:17
41. Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 01:19
42. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
43. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
44. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
45. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 01:20
46. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Quick-Step Floors 01:27
47. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team 01:31
48. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 01:41
49. Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal 01:43
50. Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
51. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 01:44
52. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 01:48
53. Samuel Jenner (Aus) UniSA-Australia 02:03
54. Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 02:31
55. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 02:36
56. Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal 02:46
57. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 03:02
58. Cameron Meyer (Aus) UniSA-Australia 03:04
59. Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 03:12
60. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida 03:23
61. Víctor de la Parte (Esp) Movistar Team 03:38
62. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 03:40
63. Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
64. Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data 03:41
65. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 03:50
66. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
67. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 03:53
68. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 03:55
69. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 04:03
70. Jeremy Maison (Fra) FDJ 04:09
71. Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin 04:17
72. Marc Soler (Esp) Movistar Team
73. Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 04:21
74. Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
75. James Shaw (Gbr) Lotto Soudal 04:28
76. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ 04:38
77. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team 05:03
78. Angel Vicioso Arcos (Esp) Katusha-Alpecin 05:12
79. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb 05:17
80. Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data 05:56
81. Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 06:00
82. Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 06:08
83. Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors 06:11
84. Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 06:19
85. Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team 06:25
86. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 06:42
87. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 07:18
88. Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin 07:27
89. Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ 07:43
90. Francois Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
91. Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 08:33
92. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb 08:37
93. Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Esp) Movistar Team
94. Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida 08:49
95. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 09:08
96. Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team 09:33
97. Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb 09:46
98. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 09:56
99. Jacobus Venter (RSA) Dimension Data 10:30
100. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 10:42
101. Callum Scotson (Aus) UniSA-Australia 10:55
102. Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida 11:26
103. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac 11:33
104. Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
105. Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 11:41
106. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 11:45
107. Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott
108. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
109. Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 11:48
110. Marko Kump (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 11:52
111. Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky 11:57
112. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 11:58
113. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ 12:11
114. Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 12:13
115. Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 12:49
116. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb 13:07
117. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott 13:22
118. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 13:31
119. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 13:43
120. Thomas Scully (Nzl) Cannondale-Drapac 14:30
121. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 14:51
122. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 15:08
123. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky 15:32
124. Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 16:57
125. Francisco Ventoso (Esp) BMC Racing Team 17:00
126. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 18:34
127. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb 19:40
128. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 19:57
129. William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac 21:18
130. Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 23:59
131. Damien Howson (Aus) Orica-Scott 26:02
132. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team 27:53