Tour Down Under, stage 4: Ewan earns a hat-trick

Jan 20, 2017

Australian Caleb Ewan won his third stage of the 2017 Santos Tour Down Under Friday, maneuvering through a disorganized sprint to cross the line first in Campbelltown.

Peter Sagan of Bora – Hansgrohe was again second to the Orica – Scott sprinter, and Sky’s Danny van Poppel was third.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year,” said Ewan, who has six wins so far in January. “My team did an amazing job. They really committed to the chase, committed to winning today.”

Top 10, stage 4

1. Caleb EWAN, ORS, in 3:45:19
2. Peter SAGAN, BOH, at :00
3. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at :00
4. Ben SWIFT, UAD, at :00
5. Nathan HAAS, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
6. Baptiste PLANCKAERT, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
7. Jay MCCARTHY, BOH, at :00
8. Callum SCOTSON, AUS, at :00
9. Jasha SÜTTERLIN, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
10. Enrico BATTAGLIN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00

On the long descent to the finish, it looked like Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors) might have a chance at riding away to victory alone. He’d been in the day’s breakaway with UniSA’s Cam Meyer and Bahrain – Merida’s Ondrej Cink. However, Bauer, the New Zealand time trial champion, was caught by the field with about 5 kilometers remaining in the 149.5km stage.

The straight, 1km run to the finish was slightly uphill, making it difficult for the sprinters to judge. Sky led out the sprint, and for a moment, van Poppel looked to be in the clear. But Ewan squeezed through a small gap on the right-side barriers, giving two-time defending world champion Sagan the slip and taking another win.

“I knew this one was going to be tough; I guess it was tough for all of the sprinters as well,” the 22-year-old Ewan added.

It was another productive day through the Adelaide hills for Tasmanian Richie Porte (BMC Racing), who worked well with his team and retained the overall lead. Porte has a 20-second advantage over Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) and a 22-second lead over Ewan’s teammate Esteban Chaves entering the final two days of racing.

Saturday’s 151.5km stage 5 features the Tour Down Under’s classic uphill finish on Willunga Hill, a stage Porte has won the last three years.

“Yesterday and today, I had so much to lose and not a lot to gain so to get that one done is a massive relief and now it’s Willunga, which I know quite well,” Porte said. “But that’s a different scenario going into it now. I don’t have to attack, I’ve just got to follow. So it’s not all about the stage win tomorrow, it’s more about trying to defend the ochre jersey.

“We have a great team and I’m pretty relaxed with where I’m at. If [the GC riders] want to hit out early, we have the team to try and control it. But we have a trump card in Rohan Dennis, he’s lean, he’s strong and he’s pretty motivated.

“The atmosphere on Willunga is incredible. It’s like riding the Tour de France every year, so it’s a special stage to win. So we’ll just see how it all pans out.”

Information from AFP was used in this report.

Stage 4 results

1. Caleb EWAN, ORS, in 3:45:19
2. Peter SAGAN, BOH, at :00
3. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at :00
4. Ben SWIFT, UAD, at :00
5. Nathan HAAS, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
6. Baptiste PLANCKAERT, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
7. Jay MCCARTHY, BOH, at :00
8. Callum SCOTSON, AUS, at :00
9. Jasha SÜTTERLIN, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
10. Enrico BATTAGLIN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00
11. Michael WOODS, CDT, at :00
12. Sean DE BIE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :00
13. Anthony ROUX, FDJ, at :00
14. JHONATAN RESTREPO VALENCIA, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
15. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00
16. Wilco KELDERMAN, SUN, at :00
17. Domenico POZZOVIVO, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
18. Luis León SANCHEZ, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
19. Rafael VALLS FERRI, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :00
20. Diego ULISSI, UAD, at :00
21. Rohan DENIS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00
22. Jan BAKELANTS, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
23. Simon GERRANS, ORS, at :00
24. Robert GESINK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00
25. Yukiya ARASHIRO, TBM, at :00
26. Jesus HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
27. Nathan EARLE, AUS, at :00
28. José GONÇALVES, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
29. Jhoan Esteban CHAVES RUBIO, ORS, at :00
30. Richie PORTE, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00
31. Sergio Luis HENAO MONTOYA, TEAM SKY, at :00
32. Enric MAS NICOLAU, QST, at :00
33. Jarlinson PANTANO GOMEZ, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00
34. Lorrenzo MANZIN, FDJ, at :00
35. Edward THEUNS, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00
36. Tom-Jelte SLAGTER, CDT, at :00
37. Patrick BEVIN, CDT, at :00
38. Petr VAKOC, QST, at :00
39. Lucas HAMILTON, AUS, at :00
40. Paul MARTENS, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00
41. Odd Christian EIKING, FDJ, at :00
42. Dries DEVENYNS, QST, at :00
43. Tiago MACHADO, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
44. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
45. Kenny ELISSONDE, TEAM SKY, at :00
46. Jose HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
47. François BIDARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
48. Carlos BARBERO CUESTA, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
49. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
50. Matthieu LADAGNOUS, FDJ, at :00
51. Ben GASTAUER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
52. Arnaud COURTEILLE, FDJ, at :00
53. Clement CHEVRIER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
54. Damiano CARUSO, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00
55. Alex HOWES, CDT, at :00
56. Marco MARCATO, UAD, at :00
57. Samuel Jenner, AUS, at :00
58. Chun Kai FENG, TBM, at :00
59. Tom VAN ASBROECK, CDT, at :00
60. Michael STORER, AUS, at :00
61. Chris HAMILTON, SUN, at :00
62. Jai HINDLEY, AUS, at :00
63. James SHAW, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :00
64. Janez BRAJKOVIC, TBM, at :00
65. Peter STETINA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00
66. Miles SCOTSON, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00
67. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at :00
68. Sander ARMEE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :00
69. Jérémy MAISON, FDJ, at :00
70. Marko KUMP, UAD, at :00
71. Giovanni VISCONTI, TBM, at :00
72. Adam HANSEN, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :00
73. Koen DE KORT, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00
74. Ondrej CINK, TBM, at :00
75. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :00
76. Nikias ARNDT, SUN, at :00
77. Eros CAPECCHI, QST, at :00
78. Julien BERARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
79. Matti BRESCHEL, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
80. Maurits LAMMERTINK, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
81. Gianluca BRAMBILLA, QST, at :00
82. Laurent DIDIER, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00
83. Roger KLUGE, ORS, at :00
84. Paolo TIRALONGO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
85. Sven erik BYSTRØM, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
86. Ben O’CONNOR, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
87. Victor DE LA PARTE GONZALEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :00
88. Manuele MORI, UAD, at :00
89. Louis MEINTJES, UAD, at :00
90. Alexey VERMEULEN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00
91. NICCOLO’ BONIFAZIO, TBM, at :00
92. Daryl IMPEY, ORS, at :00
93. Cameron MEYER, AUS, at :00
94. Vegard Stake LAENGEN, UAD, at :00
95. Tsgabu Gebremaryam GRMAY, TBM, at :00
96. MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
97. Matteo MONTAGUTI, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :00
98. Ángel VICIOSO ARCOS, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
99. Lennard HOFSTEDE, SUN, at :00
100. Geraint THOMAS, TEAM SKY, at :00
101. Jack BAUER, QST, at :00
102. Martin VELITS, QST, at :16
103. SEBASTIAN HENAO GOMEZ, TEAM SKY, at :16
104. Michal KOLÁR, BOH, at :18
105. Thomas DE GENDT, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :18
106. Artyom ZAKHAROV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :21
107. Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA, at :21
108. Rüdiger SELIG, BOH, at :23
109. Sam BENNETT, BOH, at :26
110. Jacques Willem JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :36
111. Marc SOLER GIMENEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :36
112. Johannes FRÖHLINGER, SUN, at :36
113. Simon GESCHKE, SUN, at :39
114. Phil BAUHAUS, SUN, at :41
115. Lachlan MORTON, DIMENSION DATA, at :43
116. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at :56
117. Danilo WYSS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :56
118. AMAEL MOINARD, BMC RACING TEAM, at :56
119. Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY, at 1:04
120. Koen BOUWMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 1:08
121. Bert-Jan LINDEMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 1:08
122. Robert Thomas WAGNER, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 1:16
123. Mads PEDERSEN, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:23
124. Luke DURBRIDGE, ORS, at 1:36
125. Jaco VENTER, DIMENSION DATA, at 2:17
126. Gregor MÜHLBERGER, BOH, at 2:17
127. Tom SCULLY, CDT, at 3:03
128. Oscar GATTO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 5:14
129. Francisco Jose VENTOSO ALBERDI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 5:19
130. Lukas PÖSTLBERGER, BOH, at 6:39
131. Damien HOWSON, ORS, at 6:39
132. William CLARKE, CDT, at 9:42

Overall standings

1. Richie PORTE, BMC RACING TEAM, in 14:20:18
2. Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :20
3. Jhoan Esteban CHAVES RUBIO, ORS, at :22
4. Jay MCCARTHY, BOH, at :24
5. Nathan HAAS, DIMENSION DATA, at :27
6. Rohan DENIS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :29
7. Luis León SANCHEZ, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :29
8. Diego ULISSI, UAD, at :29
9. Rafael VALLS FERRI, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :29
10. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :29
11. Robert GESINK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :29
12. Domenico POZZOVIVO, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :29
13. Wilco KELDERMAN, SUN, at :29
14. Enric MAS NICOLAU, QST, at :29
15. JHONATAN RESTREPO VALENCIA, TEAM KATUSHA, at :29
16. Nathan EARLE, AUS, at :33
17. Michael WOODS, CDT, at :33
18. Sergio Luis HENAO MONTOYA, TEAM SKY, at :33
19. Jesus HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :33
20. Michael STORER, AUS, at :33
21. Tom-Jelte SLAGTER, CDT, at :45
22. Jan BAKELANTS, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :45
23. Odd Christian EIKING, FDJ, at :47
24. Patrick BEVIN, CDT, at :49
25. Petr VAKOC, QST, at :49
26. Giovanni VISCONTI, TBM, at :49
27. Peter STETINA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :52
28. Jarlinson PANTANO GOMEZ, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :53
29. Chris HAMILTON, SUN, at :53
30. Lucas HAMILTON, AUS, at :53
31. Ondrej CINK, TBM, at :55
32. Jai HINDLEY, AUS, at :57
33. Dries DEVENYNS, QST, at :57
34. Sven erik BYSTRØM, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:01
35. Simon GERRANS, ORS, at 1:02
36. Daryl IMPEY, ORS, at 1:07
37. Anthony ROUX, FDJ, at 1:12
38. José GONÇALVES, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:14
39. Jose HERRADA LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 1:15
40. Ben O’CONNOR, DIMENSION DATA, at 1:17
41. Paul MARTENS, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 1:19
42. Gianluca BRAMBILLA, QST, at 1:19
43. Geraint THOMAS, TEAM SKY, at 1:19
44. Louis MEINTJES, UAD, at 1:19
45. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:20
46. Jack BAUER, QST, at 1:27
47. MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 1:31
48. Ben SWIFT, UAD, at 1:41
49. Sean DE BIE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 1:43
50. Maurits LAMMERTINK, TEAM KATUSHA, at 1:43
51. Damiano CARUSO, BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:44
52. Laurent DIDIER, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:48
53. Samuel Jenner, AUS, at 2:03
54. Artyom ZAKHAROV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 2:31
55. Matteo MONTAGUTI, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 2:36
56. Sander ARMEE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 2:46
57. Eros CAPECCHI, QST, at 3:02
58. Cameron MEYER, AUS, at 3:04
59. Clement CHEVRIER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 3:12
60. Yukiya ARASHIRO, TBM, at 3:23
61. Victor DE LA PARTE GONZALEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 3:38
62. Peter SAGAN, BOH, at 3:40
63. Alexey VERMEULEN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 3:40
64. Lachlan MORTON, DIMENSION DATA, at 3:41
65. Enrico BATTAGLIN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 3:50
66. Adam HANSEN, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 3:50
67. Ben GASTAUER, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 3:53
68. Janez BRAJKOVIC, TBM, at 3:55
69. Vegard Stake LAENGEN, UAD, at 4:03
70. Jérémy MAISON, FDJ, at 4:09
71. Tiago MACHADO, TEAM KATUSHA, at 4:17
72. Marc SOLER GIMENEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 4:17
73. Marco MARCATO, UAD, at 4:21
74. Manuele MORI, UAD, at 4:21
75. James SHAW, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 4:28
76. Matthieu LADAGNOUS, FDJ, at 4:38
77. Danilo WYSS, BMC RACING TEAM, at 5:03
78. Ángel VICIOSO ARCOS, TEAM KATUSHA, at 5:12
79. Simon GESCHKE, SUN, at 5:17
80. Jacques Willem JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at 5:56
81. Gregor MÜHLBERGER, BOH, at 6:00
82. Jasha SÜTTERLIN, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 6:08
83. Martin VELITS, QST, at 6:11
84. Koen DE KORT, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 6:19
85. Miles SCOTSON, BMC RACING TEAM, at 6:25
86. AMAEL MOINARD, BMC RACING TEAM, at 6:42
87. Edward THEUNS, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 7:18
88. Baptiste PLANCKAERT, TEAM KATUSHA, at 7:27
89. Lorrenzo MANZIN, FDJ, at 7:43
90. François BIDARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 7:43
91. NICCOLO’ BONIFAZIO, TBM, at 8:33
92. Nikias ARNDT, SUN, at 8:37
93. Carlos BARBERO CUESTA, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 8:37
94. Tsgabu Gebremaryam GRMAY, TBM, at 8:49
95. Caleb EWAN, ORS, at 9:08
96. Matti BRESCHEL, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 9:33
97. Lennard HOFSTEDE, SUN, at 9:46
98. Alex HOWES, CDT, at 9:56
99. Jaco VENTER, DIMENSION DATA, at 10:30
100. Thomas DE GENDT, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 10:42
101. Callum SCOTSON, AUS, at 10:55
102. Chun Kai FENG, TBM, at 11:26
103. Tom VAN ASBROECK, CDT, at 11:33
104. Rüdiger SELIG, BOH, at 11:33
105. Kenny ELISSONDE, TEAM SKY, at 11:41
106. Sam BENNETT, BOH, at 11:45
107. Roger KLUGE, ORS, at 11:45
108. Paolo TIRALONGO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 11:45
109. Michal KOLÁR, BOH, at 11:48
110. Marko KUMP, UAD, at 11:52
111. SEBASTIAN HENAO GOMEZ, TEAM SKY, at 11:57
112. Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA, at 11:58
113. Arnaud COURTEILLE, FDJ, at 12:11
114. Julien BERARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 12:13
115. Robert Thomas WAGNER, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 12:49
116. Phil BAUHAUS, SUN, at 13:07
117. Luke DURBRIDGE, ORS, at 13:22
118. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at 13:31
119. Bert-Jan LINDEMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 13:43
120. Tom SCULLY, CDT, at 14:30
121. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 14:51
122. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at 15:08
123. Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY, at 15:32
124. Koen BOUWMAN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 16:57
125. Francisco Jose VENTOSO ALBERDI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 17:00
126. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 18:34
127. Johannes FRÖHLINGER, SUN, at 19:40
128. Mads PEDERSEN, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 19:57
129. William CLARKE, CDT, at 21:18
130. Lukas PÖSTLBERGER, BOH, at 23:59
131. Damien HOWSON, ORS, at 26:02
132. Oscar GATTO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 27:53

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