2020 Tour Down Under: Stage 4 Results

Caleb Ewan sprinted again impressively at the end of stage 4 of the Santos Tour Down Under, coming past Sam Bennett and winning by a bike length ahead of the Irish champion and Belgian Jasper Philipsen. For Ewan it’s his second stage win in his first stage race of the season, his 9th since he started in this Australian WorldTour race.

Crucial point in the last kilometer was a severe dogleg right turn with 300 meters to go.

“It was a very tight corner into the finish, but to be honest I like it when it is a technical finish”, said Caleb Ewan.  “I just told my last man, Roger Kluge, to put me on the wheel of Sam Bennett and that’s exactly what he did. I was off the road a bit with one kilometer to go but luckily Roger was still there and he dropped me on the wheel. That’s exactly where I wanted to be on that last corner.”

There were some crosswinds toward the end of the race but Lotto Soudal was well prepared.

“We knew there would be a lot of wind once we turned on to the flat part in the second half of the course, but my team was always on the front. I was never in trouble. They did such a good job today”, added Caleb Ewan.

Tomorrow’s stage 5 starts in Glenelg and finishes in Victor Harbor, where again the sprinters are expected to be on the podium.

“Tomorrow is one of those stages that could go either way,” Ewan concluded. “Last time we did this finish, I got dropped on the climbs. So, I hope my legs are better tomorrow.”

Bennett Close to Another Win

Deceuninck – Quick-Step pushed a huge tempo as they negotiated the narrow section that came with less than two kilometers to go. Going into the final corner, Michael Mørkøv was the first to come through, and the Danish Champion launched Sam Bennett. The Irishman opened his sprint 175 meters from the line and looked poised to take another win at the Tour Down Under, but he was passed by Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) in the final meters and ended the stage in second place.

“We took control at the front and were really committed, but unfortunately the final was different from what was in the roadbook and I ran out of gas once I got over that crest. But we can look on the bright side of things, which is that we were again present when it mattered and our train worked even better that on the first day. This gives us a lot of confidence”, an upbeat Sam Bennett said in Murray Bridge.

Podium Placing for Phililpsen

Jasper Philipsen continued his consistent run on stage 4 of the Santos Tour Down Under, claiming 3rd place and moving himself back into the leaders jersey in the sprints classification.

“Coming into the final corner we knew it was going to be technical and I was a bit too far back in the final metres,” Philipsen commented. “It’s another podium placing but it’s been hard to get a win this week so far. The team worked really well for me and tomorrow could be another good chance for us to go for a good result.”

2020 Tour Down Under: Stage 4 Brief Results

1. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) 3h29:08
2. Sam Bennett (Deceunink Quickstep) @ 0’’
3. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) @ 0’’

General Classification after stage 4

1. Richie Porte (Trek Segafredo) 13h39:32
2. Daryl Impey (Mitchelton Scott) @ 3’’
3. Robert Power (Sunweb) @ 8’’