Tour Down Under: Ewan adds another stage win in Campbelltown

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Caleb Ewan (Orica Scott) claimed his third stage win at the Tour Down Under, continuing his uncompromising domination in this year’s sprint finishes. The Australian sprinter once again had the better of World Champion Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe), who left himself with too much to do in the closing 500 metres. Danny van Poppel (Team Sky) was once again consistent to take third, but Ewan, who came around the Sky rider inside the final 100 metres, was simply unstoppable.

Richie Porte (BMC Racing) enjoyed a relatively calm day in the peloton to retain his overall lead in the race with just two stages remaining. He leads Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) by 20 seconds and Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) by 22.

However, stage 4 was all about Orica’s pocket-rocket sprinter, who once again delivered on the biggest stage. His team marshalled the final kilometres with Daryl Impey delivering the Australian to the front ahead of the final left-hand corner. The team’s new lead out man, Roger Klugge, did the rest but Ewan still had work to do after Team Sky set up Van Poppel. The Dutchman came towards the finish line with Ewan on his wheel but he could not nothing as Ewan came around the left-hand side.

How it unfolded

The stage from Norwood to Campbelltown always favoured the bunch sprinters but with this being the last realistic chance for a break to survive, there were a number of candidates willing to chance their luck in a break.

Tsgabu Grmay (Bahrain-Merida), Maurits Lammertink (Katusha-Alpecin) and Dries Devenyns (Quick-Step Floors) created a small gap and formed the first break of the stage after just a handful of kilometres. However, the trio were reeled in only for another set of fresh faces to break clear with Tyler Farrar (Dimension Data), Will Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac), Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo) and Michael Kolar (Bora-hansgrohe) forming another break.

They were soon caught too as the Ansteys Hill put a number of riders into difficulty.

Next up were Ondrej Cink (Bahrain-Merida), Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors) and Cam Meyer (UniSA-Australia) and this time the bunch were happy with selection and the threesome quickly built a lead with the gap moving out to 1:30 as they approached the KOM on Checker Hill Road at 25.1km

The gap was enough to put Cink, who started the day 57 seconds down on race leader Porte, into the race lead out on the road but BMC were never truly threatened, even when the gap extended to over two minutes.

With just under 55km to go Bauer decided to test his companions and Cinq immediately fell back with only the former race winner, Meyer, able to hold the New Zealander’s wheel. Back in the bunch Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal), Will Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac) and Michael Valgren (Astana) jumped clear as they tried to shake up the bunch but when Clarke punctured they lost their momentum.

Bauer though was fully focused on the task at hand and soon he was on his own when Meyer lost contact.

By now though the bunch were warmed up and closing in on the Quick-Step Floors rider. Dimension Data, Team Sky, Sunweb and Orica-Scott set about leading the chase and with less than five kilometres to go Bauer was caught.

“It is the stage this week that I thought there was a small chance of the break going to the line. A few years ago, Bobridge held off everybody to win in Campbelltown,” Bauer said at the finish.

“Obviously it wasn’t the same stage but a similar finale and similar run in. we never had enough rope really to vie for the stage but I was going to give it a crack anyone.

“You have to gamble, you have to roll the dice. It always depends how the bunch id feeling behind you and apparently they were feeling pretty good because it is not all downhill that gorge. There is a fair bit of uphill in it too. Inside the final 20, 15 kilometres I rolled the dice but by 4km they had me. Good day out, but no cigar.”

The stage was still up for grabs and the final left hand turn before the flamme rouge to go saw Team Sky muscle their way to the front. It briefly looked like Ewan would be shut out but Orica were calm under pressure and delivered their payload to the front just at the right moment.

“It was a really tricky one,” he said at the finish.

“It is hard for a lead out train to stay together down a finish like that down the Gorge. I was with Daryl Impey for most of it and he did a mega job. He had to move me up and also you saw in the last kilometre he pretty much took me to 300 metres to go so that was an amazing turn.

“I wasn’t panicking at the time as I knew there was a fair bit of time to go and I could open my sprint.”

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