Tour Down Under 2019: Stage 5

Hello and welcome to our live coverage from stage 5 of the Santos Tour Down Under, the first race of the 2019 UCI WorldTour. Today's stage will take the peloton 149.5km from Glenelg to Strathalbyn.

• 2019 Tour Down Under Race Page
• Tour Down Under Start List
• Tour Down Under race tech mega gallery
• Tour Down Under: Impey twists the Corkscrew for stage 4 win
• Tour Down Under: Impey and Bevin square up in GC battle - Podcast
• Stage 5 Preview

Stage 4 top 10

1 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 3:03:27
2 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team
3 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
4 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
5 Rubén Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team
6 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma
7 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
8 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling
9 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
10 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky

General Classification after stage 4

1 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team 13:23:30
2 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:07
3 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:11
4 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:21
5 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
6 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
7 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma
8 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
9 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
10 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling

Hello race fans! Are you ready for the penultimate stage of the 2019 Tour Down Under?

Today's 150km stage starts along the south coast in Glenelg, a suburb of Adelaide known for its many beaches, restaurants and general tourist attractions. The race starts with a 9.2km neutral roll out that takes the peloton southeast to the start on Marion Road in Sturt. Once the flag drops, the race heads due south to Old Noarlunga and on toward the first and only KOM of the day at Sellicks Hill at 43.9km into the day.

A brief descent off the KOM sets up the first intermediate sprint in Myponga at 47.2km. The sprint offers both points and time bonuses of three, two and one seconds on the line. After Myponga, the race continues south along the coast to Yankalilla and then turns inland toward Inman Valley and the second sprint at 73.9km.

After Inman Valley the race continues east to Victor Harbor, then follows the coastline to Port Elliott, Middleton and Goolwa before turning north to Currency Creek and eventually the finish in Strathalbyn. Total climbing for the day is 1,778 metres.

Mitchelton-Scott director Matt White told Cyclingnews this day should be a straightforward chance for the sprinters, with a chance of winds kicking up some excitement.

Our man on the ground in the press room, Australian Editor Ellis Bacon, says today's weather calls for winds out of the south/southeast at 12mph, so a gentle-to-moderate headwind for much of the stage and then 'side/tail' for the final third. Temperatures should be around 23C/24C all day, so about 75F.

You can read Matt White's stage 5 preview and check out the stage map, video and profile HERE

While we get underway, give a listen to our latest podcast from our reporters at the race, which is taking place in South Australia, using Adelaide as the hub.

In this latest podcast, we hear from Richie Porte, Daryl Impey, Patrick Bevin, Matt White, Tom Southam and Michael Woods. Listen to the podcast HERE

The peloton has rolled away from the start for 9.2km of neutral. Maybe the riders can enjoy their coastal surrounds before the flag drops and the attacks start.

This isn't likely a GC day, so the breakaway could have a better shot with the right mix and bit of luck. 

Yesterday's stage was a real humdinger, especially once the race turned onto the Gorge Road and descended onto the Corkscrew, where the race's top climbers briefly flew their respective flags in a four-rider escape that race leader Paddy Bevin and co. dutifully pulled back 2km from the line.

Michael Woods, George Bennett, Wout Poels and Richie Porte briefly climbed away from the rest, but their effort only revealed their strength without necessarily strengthening their hand for the overall race.

Daryl Impey was the biggest beneficiary as he came from the back of the 20-rider front group to sling past Bevin and Luis Leon Sanchez for the stage win. Bevin finished second to Impey to keep his jersey, although the defending champion narrowed the gap to the lead. You can read our full report, check out the photo gallery and the race results HERE.

We also have video highlights of the stage HERE.

@Lotto_Soudal Sat, 19th Jan 2019 00:35:23

@CCCProTeam Sat, 19th Jan 2019 01:05:36

Yesterday's first sprint came after just 4.7km. The peloton will get bit of break today with the first prize of the day coming at the Sellicks Hill KOM 43.9km into the day. The riders will however, start with an immediate uphill out of Glenelg.

And we're racing - 149.5km

QuickStep reported that Mikkel Frølich Honore did not start this morning because he woke up with a high fever. That leaves 131 riders in the race.

Ayden Toovey and Jason Lea of UniSA-Australia have attacked, with AG2R La Mondiale's Clement Chevrier in pursuit.

Chevrier has caught Toovey and Lea to make a lead group of three. They have 25 seconds.

Lea leads the KOM classification and will be going for the points up for grabs at Sellicks Hill at 43.9km. It's a category 2 climb with moderate grade.

Mountains classification

1 Jason Lea (Aus) UniSA-Australia 20 pts
2 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 16
3 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team 12
4 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 12
5 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 12
6 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling 8
7 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 6
8 Michael Potter (Aus) UniSA-Australia 6
9 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team 4
10 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb 4
11 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First Pro Cycling 4
12 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team 4
13 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky 2
14 Michael Storer (Aus) Team Sunweb 2
15 Nic Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data 2

...and just that, the gap is 2:20

In our breakaway, Chevrier has the most experience. The 26-year-old joined the WorldTour with IAM Cycling in 2015 after a year with Axel Merckx's development team and a trainee stint at Trek Factory Racing. He moved to AG2R La Mondiale in 2017.

Toovey, 23, rides for the BridgeLane Continental team when he's not representing Australia on UniSA. Lea, 22, the current KOM leader, also rides for BridgeLane.

138km remaining from 149km

New gap - 3:20

Michael Woods put in a good dig yesterday on the Corkscrew, separating himself, Poels, Bennett and Porte before Bevin reeled them back. Woods told Cyclingnews the race is now Bevin's to lose. You can read the entire article HERE

Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet has a new team and a new bike with CCC, which is sponsored by Giant. The manufacturer was happy to be supplying the 2016 Olympic road race winner and created a custom gold ride for the Belgian. You can watch the bike's video unveiling HERE

21km remaining from 149km

Our trio out front aren't enjoying the day so far, apparently. Their gap is down to just 30 seconds

128km remaining from 149km

Whoops! Should be 35 seconds

Catch up with the latest from the UCI Track World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand, HERE

121km remaining from 149km

Our trio of leaders - Ayden Toovey (UniSA-Australia), Jason Lea (UniSA-Australia) and Clement Chevrier (AG2R La Mondiale) - continue to dangle in front of the peloton at 40 seconds.

We were at the start this morning listening on as Daryl Impey spoke with race organisers about yesterday's stage win and what to look forward to on this stage:

"Lucas Hamilton and Luke Durbridge were the two standout performances yesterday, but it was a whole team performance. The guys that took over from Lucas, [Alex] Edmonson, Matty Hayman, they all put in a big effort and it's a credit to the whole team. I just finished it off, I didn't have to do too much work, then I can be able put in a sprint like that at the end. The guys looked after me really well and it paid off.

"It's a windy day but we've got a great team for that. We've got a lot of experienced guys and a lot of Classics guys, I'm in good hands today.

"It will be a nervous stage. Whenever there's wind it's nervous. Today, everyone will be thinking about tomorrow but first we've got to get there. Today the table could turn on its head, we'll take it day by day and focus on what we need to do and where we want to be going into tomorrow's stage."

114km remaining from 149km

It must be windy out there heading south down the coastline toward Sellicks Hill. The gap to our leaders is just 18 seconds. Lea's gambit to get more KOM points may have backfired.

The leaders are at the bottom of the Sellicks Hill climb, but the peloton is right behind them. Can Lea hang on for the points!?!

The leaders still have 28 seconds, but Toovey has lost their pace on the climb.

43km remaining from 149km

Lea has taken top points at the Sellicks Hill KOM ahead of Chevrier.

Twenty-three-year-old Australian Chris Hamilton (Team Sunweb) had this to say at the start after finishing ninth yesterday:

"It was a good day, not everything went quite as well as I'd hoped. I had to deal with a bike change on the last minute down Gorge Road. There was a little bit of stress for a moment there, but it wasn't too bad. We didn't lose too many positions in the cars and the guys did a really good job getting me back to the bunch in time for the climb.

"[My form] took me a bit by surprise actually. I definitely wasn't expecting to be fifth over the top of the climb, and I was a bit in no man's land for a little bit, but no stress. I knew Paddy Bevin was behind me, and he'd be on a mission to get back to the front guys. I took the descent a bit easy and came in for a bunch kick, and it's given me some confidence for Willunga. I'm excited for it."

47km remaining from 149km

Daryl Impey just one the intermediate sprint at Myponga, giving him a three-sedond time bonus, but Bevin was second across the line and will get two-second bump. That means Impey is now six second back in the overall. Bevin's teammate Francisco Ventoso was third.

Mitchelton-Scott is on the front of the peloton now, like they're bosses. It was a very quick start, meaning Lea really had to work for that KOM with the sprint coming less than 4km later. 

92km remaining from 149km

Ventoso played the good teammate on that sprint and appeared to slow at the line so Bevin could get second place. These bonuses obviously matter, and Mitchelton-SCott appears to want to control the race all the way to the next sprint in Inman Valley with 75.6km to go.

The riders are no doubt enjoying today's cooler weather after four days of blistering heat

Mitchelton-Scott led Impey out for that sprint like the end of the stage, and they're on the front now with 14km to go to the next one. That's a confident group.

88km remaining from 149km

It's Mitchelton-Scott followed by CCC Team and the rest of the peloton as they fly through a downhill corner

85km remaining from 149km

We're 10km from the next sprint, and Mitchelton-Scott has a clamp on the peloton

Mat Hayman is one of those riders on the front powering things along for Impey. He's in the last race of his long career, and he had this to say at the start this morning.

"Lucas Hamilton's a talented young bike rider, we saw that yesterday. We're rooming together and it's probably the first time I've played the Playstation in about 10 years, but I actually beat him at basketball last night so we're having a great time.

"I am looking forward to Sunday, it seems to be coming around really quickly now. At the start of the week, I wasn't thinking about it, but look, the reason I wanted to come here and I've taken someone else's spot on the team and we need to do well.

"Daryl [Impey's] win yesterday puts us back in the game. This is the only way I want to go out, we're going to have to fight all the way to Sunday if this team is going to win this race. It's been a great edition and we've been racing hard every day. That's how I want to go out, racing every single day."

82km remaining from 149km

Mitcheltnon-Scott is keeping the peloton at bay. Anyone wanting to attack is going to have togo past a long, long line of riders.

Inside 3km to the sprint and the the other teams are starting to move up.

Katusha, Astana and CCC are positioning for the front with Mitchelton

Bevin got the win at the line 

Bevin got the jump on Impey and bet him to the line. Mitchelton's Alex Edmondosn was third.

Matthieu Ladagnous (Groupama-FDJ) is now on the attack.

Toovey has decided he didn't have enough the first time and is trying to bridge to the break

Trek-Segafredo's Koen de Kort is here to support Richie Porte's efforts. Here's what he had to say this morning:

"It's one of the reasons the team brought me here I guess [to keep Richie Porte out of trouble]. My job yesterday was to make sure Richie got to the Corkscrew at the front, and we managed to do that and today we have got to make sure we keep him in it to the finish.

"I think my job is to get Richie there so he doesn't have to worry about it. He just has to follow my wheel. It's his turn to work on the climb, but if I don't deliver him there's definitely a little bit of stress there.

"Richie looked pretty good from what I saw of the climb, and now we'll see what we can do tomorrow."

If you were wondering about those beaches in Glenelg, our Josh Evans brought back some photos from this morning's start.

67km remaining from 149km

Toovey and Ladagnous have 1:37 over the pack.

George Bennett was one of those riders how put on a show yesterday on the Corkscrew. He eventually finished sixth and is currently seventh overall.

"It was a good try yesterday. There's not a lot for us climbers to work with at this race, we probably needed to take advantage of yesterday if we wanted to win this race. It's a big disappointment really at the end when the four of us got caught, and I guess lost the race.

"We thought we had gone. It was a big disappointment for all of us because I think 21 seconds is going to be too difficult to get back. The race might've been lost yesterday, but it was still a really good day out up Corkscrew and with the crowds and everything like that. I'm happy with my effort. At least we had a good ride [up Corkscrew] but the race was lost down the other side."

62km remaining from 149km

The gap to Toovey and Ladagnous continues to go up. They've now got 2:50

The race is nearing the coast again and the feed zone at Victor Harbor. 

Impey pulled to within seven seconds of Bevin yesterday, and he tried mightily to gain time in the intermediates today, but Bevin fought him off and equaled his effort. What did Mitchelton-Scott director Matt White have to say before today's stage? We've got it:

"Yesterday was a pretty strong breakaway, and we came here to win this bike race and sometimes you've got to commit a bit early. If we hadn't have committed when we did, that break would've stayed away and won the race. If they took those time bonuses, there would've been no chance for us to win this Tour.

"There was a couple of other teams, Astana especially, were investing their team to give their GC guys the best chance yesterday as well. There was a mad scramble, the time checks yesterday were questionable at times and we just had to make sure we caught them. It was a good ride by the boys and our whole team rode well yesterday. Lucas Hamilton was very, very impressive. It's only his second year as a professional, and one of the big reasons we won yesterday was his commitment and ability to shut that break down in the last couple of minutes on the descent.

"We're in a better position than we were 24 hours ago. There is work to be done. I think there's a real race between two types of riders. There's the all-rounders, the opportunists like Daryl, like Paddy Bevin, like Luis Leon [Sanchez], classy bike riders who have a bit of everything. Then you've got, people aren't talking about it so much, but you've got some of the best climbers in the world at 21 seconds and they're only 14 seconds behind us. When you factor in time bonuses and the fact that the race will be won in last three minutes tomorrow, there's still a lot up for grabs.

"Daryl won last year on countback, the same time as Richie Porte. We've had four victories here over the years and the biggest winning margin has been by eight seconds. We know how to do it tight, and I think this year will be no different no matter who wins."

55km remaining from 149km

Our two leaders have built their gap to 3:25 as they exit the feed zone

48km remaining from 149km

With a change in direction at the coast, the peloton is being hit by crosswinds - nothing strong enough to split things up at the moment

45km remaining from 149km

Lotto Soudal's Adam Hansen is on the front of the bunch claiming things down and calling his teammates forward. The gap to the leaders is no two minutes.

Te Dutch team Jumbo-Visma riders have gone to the front in the cross tailwind to push the pace up. The gap is down to 1:45

They're moving right along now, with the bright yellow and black Jumbo jerseys forming the tip of the spear. Robert Gesink is doing the pace-setting on the front

There are a lot of fans lining the roads in Middelton as the race rolls though. A lovely day to watch a bike race along the coast.

41km remaining from 149km

And as the gap between the lead duo and the peloton drops to a minute, officials have ordered the team cars out.

39km remaining from 149km

The road between Middleton and Goolwa is exposed, straight and flat, and the bunch can see the leaders. The tailwind isn't going to help the leaders now as their gap dips to half a minute

AG2R La Mondiale's Benoit Cosnefroy was easy enough to pick out in his distinctive blue, white and brown AG2R La Mondiale team kit yesterday in the breakaway, but what made the 23-year-old Frenchman stand out even more was the considerable, bright white bandaging completely covering his right arm and leg.

Cosnefroy crashed heavily during stage 2 between Norwood and Angaston, inside the final kilometre as the bunch wound up for the sprint finish in the Barossa Valley town, and after taking a day to assess the damage on Thursday, the second-year pro decided not to let the crash curtail his Australian ambitions, bravely breaking away in the company of Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ, Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), UniSA-Australia's Nick White, Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain-Merida) and Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar) soon after the 129.2km stage had begun.

You can read the rest fo Ellis Bacon's report HERE

35km remaining from 149km

Ladagnous and Toovey shake hands, and that's the end of today's second breakaway.

35km remaining from 149km

Ladagnous and Toovey shake hands, and that's the end of today's second breakaway.

35km remaining from 149km

Ladagnous and Toovey shake hands, and that's the end of today's second breakaway.

35km remaining from 149km

Ladagnous and Toovey shake hands, and that's the end of today's second breakaway.

Jumbo-Visma are driving the pace again in the cross wind. They'e really hoping to split things up. Even sprinter Danny van Poppel is up front pushing the pace. Team Sky is contributing, and the peloton is starting to split. Commence Panic!!

30km remaining from 149km

It looks like the split is closing, but that was fun, eh?

Glenelg has its beaches, but these beauties are waiting at the finish in Strathalbyn ...

21km remaining from 149km

The wind direction changed again and Team Sky's gone to the front to ratchet up the pace. 

There's a split in the peloton over a slight rise on the road. It's about halfway down the group on this wide-open, exposed road.

17km remaining from 149km

Most of the stragglers have closed the gap, but that should be another wake-up call to anyone who doesn't want to get caught out

Ever since the inception of his FDJ team, manager Marc Madiot has had an eye for spotting and signing Australian riders. Since he set up FDJ on the eve of the 1997 season, he has signed five riders from Down Under, with Bradley McGee, Baden Cooke and Matt Wilson the most memorable. Miles Scotson is the latest off the conveyor belt to join what is now Groupama-FDJ, and after two years at BMC Racing, the 25-year-old is looking to learn and develop under Madiot's tutelage.

Read Daniel Benson's complete report HERE

12km remaining from 149km

Riders who were off the back are starting to catch back on as the bunch settles in for the calm before the storm

10km remaining from 149km

Crash!!

Patrick Bevin is down and limping badly 

They're giving Bevin a bike, but he looks tore in a lot of pain

Bevin is up and riding. 

The crash came in the front third of the pack. The peloton is pushing on as Bevn struggles . 

The bunches sitting up!

They're waiting for Bevin, who is being paced back by his team. 

Bevin has two teammates in front of him. His right knee and elbow are bloodied

6km remaining from 149km

This close to the finish, the teams are fighting to stay at the front, and the pace is incrementally creeping up. Bevin has not yet made contact

Bevin is in the race caravan. If he's in the cars he'll have a much easier time making it back to the bunch.

Deceuninck-QuickStep riders are on the front now driving up the pace, while Bevin has just made it back to the bunch!

1km remaining from 149km

One of Bevin's CCC Team riders is moving him up the bunch

Sunweb on the front

Now it's QuickStep

Ewan wins!!

Philipsen is second. Sagan is third

Bevin keeps his ochre jersey

Stage 5 top 10

1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 03:37:00
2 Jasper Phlipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansrgohe
4 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
5 Jens debusschere (Ger) team Katusha Alpecin
6 Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
7 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
8 Cees Bol (Ned) team Sunweb
9 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
10 Wout Poels (Ned) Tem Sky

General Classification after stage 5

1 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team 13:23:30
2 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 00:00:07
3 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 00:00:16
4 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data 00:00:26
5 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
6 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
7 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma
8 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
9 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky
10 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling

Getty Images

Hold everything. They're saying Ewan has been disqualified.

Revised stage 5 results:

1 Jasper Phlipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates 03:37:00
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansrgohe
3 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
4 Jens debusschere (Ger) team Katusha Alpecin
5 Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
6 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
7 Cees Bol (Ned) team Sunweb
8 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
9 Wout Poels (Ned) Tem Sky
10 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team

General Classification after stage 5:

1 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team 13:23:30
2 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 00:00:07
3 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 00:00:16
4 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data 00:00:26
5 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
6 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
7 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma
8 Chris Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
9 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky
10 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First Pro Cycling

Ewan was relegated to 83rd place for an irregular final sprint and fined 500 Swiss francs.