The Jayco AlUla team have promised to race aggressively right to the end of the Tour Down Under in the hope of somehow defeating Jay Vine and his UAE Team Emirates squad on Sunday’s final stage.
Led by Simon Yates, Jayco AlUla are riding on home turf at the Tour Down Under and want to win the only Australian WorldTour stage race after a two-year absence due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
They want the haul of UCI ranking points that comes with victory and the morale that early-season success always provides.
Only one thing stands in their way: Jay Vine.
The Australian rider also wants a home win as he continues his incredible career progression in the professional ranks.
After the crosswind attacks and Bryan Coquard’s win in Willunga Township on Saturday, Vine leads Yates by 15 seconds, with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) third, also at 15 seconds, but behind Yates due to the 100th of a second time difference from the prologue time trial.
"I’d prefer to be 15 seconds in front instead of 15 seconds behind but it is possible for us to win the Tour Down Under. We won’t be giving up until the very end," Jayco AlUla directeur sportif Mat Hayman told Cyclingnews, setting out the team’s mentality.
"We didn’t come here to get second or third on GC. We have to go all-in and try to win it. Of course if we finish second or third, we’ll accept it. But we’ll race hard right to the end."
Jayco AlUla were hoping Michael Matthews would lead their chances of overall victory in the Tour Down Under. He anticipated his spring peak of form and gave up his usual winter training in Europe to spend January in Australia and target the Tour Down Under.
Sadly for Matthews, he was bumped by riders during the decisive moment of stage 2 to Victor Harbor. He lost his chain and then more than two minutes to his overall rivals, ending any chance of victory.
Fortunately, Yates also travelled down under and also worked on peaking for the race. When Matthews lost time, Yates stepped up. He got away with Vine and Bilbao on stage 3 over Corkscrew Road and they distanced Rohan Dennis. Yates is now Jayco AlUla’s leader and only hope of overall victory in Australia.
"It’s disappointing what happened to Michael’s chances. We were chipping away at the bonus seconds and he was well placed to go for the win," Hayman explained.
"We’re up against things, with the gap to Vine at 15 seconds, but Simon is strong too and a real fighter. We’ve won and lost the Tour Down Under in the past and we know that even one second can make a difference."
The final stage
Hayman is hoping Yates and Jayco Alula can snatch the Tour Down Under from Vine on Sunday’s final stage.
The traditional finish atop Willunga Hill has been replaced with a constantly rolling stage in the Adelaide Hills. The 112.5km stage is short but includes 3131m of climbing and climbs Mount Lofty five times. Mount Lofty is only 1.3km long at 7.3% but is covered five times, with the finish line atop the last ascent.
There are also two intermediate sprints that award bonus seconds of 3-2-1, with 10, 6 and 4 seconds awarded at the finish. Yates only needs to distance Vine by a few seconds to snatch overall victory.
Vine is confident he has the watts and team to secure overall victory but Hayman is hoping to find a crack in his armour and an opportunity for victory in the Adelaide Hills.
"I think anything is possible with the new stage on Mount Lofty. There is no existing script for the stage, it’s up to us to write," the former Paris-Roubaix winner explained.
"If it was the usual finish on Willunga Hill, it would be hard, but with Sunday’s stage, we do have options.
"We’re up against Jay Vine, he’s the guy we have to beat. He’s in great shape and UAE Team Emirates are strong too but he’s in a new situation as race leader and so that gives us a chance. We'll definitely give it a go."
