The elite men took the short track course shortly after the women. At the start, a tight group formed and stayed stayed together for several laps.
The heat was challenging to the riders who had to deal with temperatures in the 90s and high humidity. The short track course included climbs and off-camber turns.
Wells took the lead away from Ettinger, who then sat in for a while. His strategy was going to be to hang onto Wells' wheel until the end and try to outsprint him.
The way the course is laid out, the last climb is more likely the deciding point for the race. There was not enough distance for a successful sprint. And since Wells took the last climb ahead of Ettinger, he secured the win for himself.
Ettinger took second for the second time in as many days, while Plaxton took a second third place finish for the weekend.
Wells' teammate, Howard Grotts (Specialized Racing) hung onto a solid fourth place finish while Schouten grabbed the fifth spot in the finish.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Wells (Specialized Racing) | 0:29:28 |
| 2 | Stephen Ettinger (BMC Moutain Bike Racing) | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Max Plaxton (Sho-Air / Cannondale) | 0:00:11 |
| 4 | Howard Grotts (Specialized Racing) | 0:00:14 |
| 5 | Tristan Schouten (Rolf Prima wheels) | 0:00:15 |
| 6 | Russell Finsterwald (cing) | 0:00:31 |
| 7 | Troy Wells (Team Clif Bar) | 0:00:54 |
| 8 | Brian Matter (RACC / Trek Gear Grinder) | 0:00:57 |
| 9 | Keegan Swenson (Cannondale Factory Racing) | 0:01:02 |
| 10 | Kerry Werner (BMC MTB Development Team) | 0:01:07 |
| 11 | Payson McElveen (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Facto) | 0:01:14 |
| 12 | Ryan Woodall (Top Gear Bicycles) | 0:01:20 |
| 13 | Corey Stelljes (RACC- Gear Grinder) | 0:01:21 |
| 14 | Darrin Braun (Adventure 212/Specialized) | 0:01:26 |
| 15 | Eric Thompson (Mt. Borah) | 0:01:48 |
| 16 | Ryan Geiger (Team Winded) | 0:01:58 |
| 17 | Lewis Gaffney (Sycamore Cycles) | 0:02:03 |
| 18 | Tyler Gauthier (Border Grill powered by Quick Stop) | 0:02:04 |
| 19 | Isaac Neff (5Nines/Cannondale) | 0:02:11 |
| 20 | Ryan Standish (Ultimate Ride/Lapierre Austral) | 0:02:26 |
| 21 | Macky Franklin (Santa Fe Brewing-Pivot Cycle) | 0:02:30 |
| 22 | Mike Phillips (Adventure212/Specialized) | 0:02:34 |
| 23 | Tyler Coplea (Orbea Tuff Shedd) | 0:05:32 |
| 24 | David Flaten (US Military Cycling Fueled By) | 0:06:32 |
| 25 | Justin Piontek (Titletown Flyers) | 0:07:32 |
| 26 | Joseph Maloney (KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin) | 0:08:32 |
| 27 | Skyler Trujillo (Jamis Factory Team) | 0:09:32 |
| 28 | Jakub Valigura (Sram Rubena Trek) | 0:10:32 |
| 29 | Nathan Guerra (Vision Pro Cycling) | 0:11:32 |
| 30 | Chad Cheeney (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Facto) | 0:12:32 |
| 31 | Drew Edsall (Kenda / Felt) | 0:13:32 |
| 32 | Sam Chovan (Pabst / Mafia Racing) | 0:14:32 |
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'They just nailed it' – NSN overcomes a day of good and bad to make the most of extra Tour Down Under sprint opportunity with Ethan Vernon
Corbin Strong abandons after stage 1 crash, planned 'wing man' Jake Stewart breaks collarbone, but Gilmore steps in to guide Vernon to team's first victory of season -
As it happened: Briton fastest on uphill sprint to win stage 4 at Tour Down Under
Extreme fire danger forces route change to 131km from Brighton to Willunga township -
'It was going to be 50/50 whether or not we had a stage today' – Changing the plans as altered Tour Down Under stage 4 survives the heat
Race director Stuart O'Grady said there was 'no hesitation' in making decision to remove Willunga Hill as 'it's sad from a racing point of view … but it's the most common sense and sensible decision for rider safety and public safety' -
Tour Down Under: Ethan Vernon wins wind-buffeted shortened stage 4 as second overall Jhonatan Narváez crashes out
Tobias Lund Andersen second and Laurence Pithie third while Jay Vine retained lead on penultimate stage
