2019 Santos Men's Tour Down Under: Stage 4 Results

Defending champion Daryl Impey has taken an emotional victory on stage four of the 2019 Santos Men’s Tour Down Under, recovering over the famous Corkscrew climb to sprint to victory ahead of race leader Patrick Bevin (CCC Team).

Despite his overall victory last year, it’s the first stage win at the Tour Down Under for Impey, who has previously podiumed on six occasions.

The South African, who dedicated his victory to a family friend who passed away just before his travel to Australia, now sits second overall, seven seconds behind Bevin.

Big Break

Six riders rode out to over five minute’s advantage during the stage, which caused a strong reaction from the bunch as five teams committed to the chase.

Mitchelton-SCOTT put Luke Durbridge and Michael Hepburn to the front, and they were joined by Astana Pro Team, Trek-Segafredo, CCC Team and EF Education First.

By the bottom of the final climb, the remnants of the break were in sight and no longer a threat for the stage.

Corkscrew Climbers

The first true sign of climbing form, the Corkscrew, didn’t disappoint. Michael Woods (EF Education First), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Wout Poels (Team Sky) and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) rode supreme and crested the top with a 15-second advantage over a reduced group of chasers.

The Chase and Sprint

With a teammate for support, Impey settled into the chase group on the descent as Lucas Hamilton moved to the front in pursuit of the leaders.

The effort was good enough to bring the leading quartet back with two kilometres to go, setting up a dramatic final corner and reduced bunch sprint to finish.

Impey chose the wheel of stage two winner and current race leader Bevin, before jumping ahead to claim his first ever Tour Down Under stage victory.

Daryl Impey – Stage 4 Winner:

“A good friend of mine passed away from a heart attack recently. I left (South Africa) in a bit of a sad mood and it was a pretty rough time for our whole family because he played a big part in my family. When I came here I wanted to do something special and to be able to deliver today was pretty emotional and definitely a confidence booster.

“We are around the mark now. Seven seconds is still quite hard to get on Paddy (Bevin), he is riding really well and we are quite similar in characteristics. We’re going to have to go for it, tomorrow will be quite an interesting stage and definitely Willunga will still be the decider, although Paddy has got a really nice buffer to the other GC guys.

“I think we have to be aggressive wherever we can. There’s no doubt that trying to win this race is based on seconds, we learnt that last year, so we’re going to have to try to take our opportunities and make things happen and hopefully it pays off.

“Lucas (Hamilton), the win was actually due to him, he did a great job. He is still a young professional, but we had a plan in the beginning that he was going to ride his own climb and wait for me in the middle which he did, and then he did his work on the downhill and brought them back. He played a massive role so I could just sit back and think about the sprint. He had an amazing ride for such a young guy.

“I rode my own race. I knew I had Lucas there, I could see Paddy just in front so I knew if I stayed around that range we had a good enough group, that we were going to cooperate on the downhill, to try to bring those four back. I just focused on my own climb and I was very happy to still be able to do what I did at the end.

“The win gives me a nice boost. I was unsure going into the Corkscrew knowing I’ve had good and bad times. In the middle of the Corkscrew when I was doubting myself I was thinking ‘jeez you have to keep pushing.’ I’m glad I did and I’m a lot more confident now going into Willunga.”

Patrick Bevin:

“That was a very tough day. I knew coming down the gorge, it was still a long way to the finish. The race didn’t finish on top of the climb. It was really hard to stop us coming across in the downhill. I took the onus up as much as I had to on the descent. As that group got bigger it was at the point where if I could take any time bonus, it was good. Any is better than none and I wasn’t going to risk losing time to anyone. It was a bit unfortunate to come to the top with Daryl [Impey] but coming second on the stage and keeping the lead is kind of the best-case scenario for me. We as a team had a lot of help before because we told them we’re not going to be the only team to work again all day. There are still two types of guys who can win the overall: the sprinters who can climb, Daryl is the first of them, and obviously, there’s Richie [Porte]. From now on, for us, it’s about managing both parties.”

“To give up four seconds to Daryl is a great result at the end of the day because I don’t feel like he is climbing better than I am and we put time into the pure climbers. It would be great to take more time tomorrow. That would be a real step towards the final day in Willunga because I’m still only 21 seconds over Richie before Willunga. It’s not a huge buffer. Fortunately, this race is about being an all-rounder. Basically, you have to sprint better than the climbers and climb better than the sprinters.”

“For me, personally, this has been an opportunity to grow. Even the stage I won, had I had a Richie Porte or Rohan Dennis on the team then I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity. I definitely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to sneak some time away on the first day. The team is racing totally different and it’s suiting me down to the ground. I really feel like I’m enjoying the way we are racing and the style of racing.”