THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
McEwen takes stage, Jonker holds lead Down Under
Australian Patrick Jonker maintained his overall lead after Friday's 141km fourth stage of the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under as Lotto’s sprinter Robbie McEwen won his second bunch finish.
Jonker finished in the main field in 28th, holding on to a 1:38 advantage in general classification over McEwen, who moved into second place overall.
McEwen, who was disappointed to finish third in yesterday’s sprint into Victor Harbor, said today’s win makes up for that loss.
“It’s still always going to be the one that got away but it’s good to be able to win today,” he said, adding that he hadn’t planned to be sprinting for a win.
“We had two guys in the breakaway and at one point we had both Nick Gates and Gert Steegmans in a group of four in front,” McEwen said. “I was doing everything I could in the bunch to get them to slow down and give them more of a gap.
“I really didn’t want to have a sprint because to be honest I felt terrible for the whole day, (but) when it came to the sprint I felt great, and I’m pretty pleased with that result.”
A 13-rider breakaway went clear before the day’s first intermediate sprint at 26km, building a lead that peaked out at more than three minutes at one point.
The peloton, however, was not going to allow another escape group to succeed in snatching a win, and the group was pulled back to within a a few seconds of the main field with 20km to go.
Ahead, McEwen's teammates Gates and Steegmans were in the break and joined a four-man group that tried to elude the main field. That attack was shut down, and then, at 12km to go, Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2r Prevoyance) tried his luck, charging off out of the lead group with 12km remaining.
The field caught the remaining escapees with 10km to go, as Kirsipuu managed to stave off capture by the hard-charging main field until the final kilometer. Once caught, the Estonian sprint ace lost all momentum and finished more than a minute down on the field. Up front, McEwen outkicked fellow Australian Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) and Swiss rider Aurelien Clerc (Quick.Step-Davitamon) to take his eighth TDU stage win in four starts.
Saturday’s fifth stage, a 147km race that starts and finishes at Willunga, features three laps of a relatively flat circuit and the brutal Old Willunga Hill climb, where last year’s race leader, Fabio Sacchi, lost his hold on the yellow jersey.
The hill “will be the deciding factor of the race,” said Jonker. “But I grew up there, and hopefully the climb will be kind. My UniSA team mates have the legs and they’re very motivated to bring this home on Sunday, so I plan to be in the same position tomorrow night.”
