Cycling: Sam Welsford made the perfect start to the season. The Australian sprinter also won today's fourth stage of the Tour Down Under and now has three wins after three sprint finishes.
Welsford wins in a chaotic sprint
Third stage win for Sam Welsford (Bora – hansgrohe)! After the first and third stages, the Australian now also wins the fourth section of the Tour Down Under. After 136,2 kilometers from Murray Bridge to Port Elliot he left the bunch sprint Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty) and Lars Bowen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) confidently behind them. With this he rewards himself, because Welsford can not only celebrate the stage win today, but also his 28th birthday. And things weren't going well for him today in the sprint preparation. In the last kilometer he lost the driver's rear wheel Danny van Poppel (Bora – hansgrohe). However, the Ineos Grenadiers team gave him the slipstream he needed to win the stage. Would be the Eritrean Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty) crossed the finish line first, he would have Isaac del Toro (UAE) took the leadership jersey.
Curious action by Pieter Serry
Since Gemmell Hill was the only difficulty in today's fourth stage of the Tour Down Under in the middle of the race, a mass sprint was unavoidable. The drivers themselves didn't seem to believe that they could escape successfully either. Nothing happened for a long time, until finally Pieter Serry (Soudal – Quick-Step) went on the offensive and thus an attack from Vinicius Rangel (Movistar) and Jackson Medway (Australia national team) provoked. When the duo caught up with him, he rode in the wind for a while to increase his lead. He then wished them both good luck and dropped back into the peloton. There was Luke Plop (Jayco – AlUla) unfortunately no longer to be seen today. The Australian unfortunately had to end the Tour Down Under after his fall yesterday.
Jayo – AlUla doesn't give Narvaez the bonus seconds
Because Luke Plop (Jayco – AlUla) is no longer an option for his Australian team after his abandonment, everything is now up Simon yates (Jayco – AlUla). So that he has the best starting position in the fight for the ocher leader's jersey, his teammates disputed the bonus seconds from the competition today. Above all Jhonathan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) was the one who suffered. Because the Ecuadorian wanted to sprint for a second twice behind the breakaway duo. But Kelland O'Brien (Jayco-AlUla) and Campbell Stewart (Jayco – AlUla) each had something against this plan. The overall ranking will be decided on the next two stages. Willunga Hill and Mount Lofty should ensure time gaps and clear conditions.
Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) Gana la Etapa 4 del Tour Down Under 2024 #TourDownUnder #TourDownUnder2024 #ciclismo pic.twitter.com/ppwwccNiDo
— NotiCiclismo #TourDownUnder (@Noticiclismo1) January 19, 2024