Richie Porte still remains the king of Willunga Hill, continuing his remarkable winning streak over the Tour Down Under’s notorious hill stage for a fifth year running.
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But the star BMC rider just narrowly missed the leader’s jersey to make it a perfect penultimate race day after a late comeback from Daryl Impey (Mitchelton Scott).
The favourite distanced his rivals with two searing attacks and secured the stage five win, but Impey well-paced final climb past a number of challengers earned the South African second behind Porte.
The Hadspen 32-year-old finished eight seconds in front of Impey on Saturday to sit a crucial second behind entering Sunday’s final stage.
The Willunga Hill win was far from a fait accompli – Porte’s BMC team looking in disarray after a breakaway group split the peloton just prior to the climb.
The reigning champion scrambled at the back to recover before the road kicked up and the riders faced a stiff headwind.
Teammate Rohan Dennis strung the lead group out and stopped any genuine attacks. It allowed Porte to attack for the first time with 1.8km to the line.
Porte’s second acceleration was too much for challengers, as he rose out of the saddle during the climb.
Hobart’s Nathan Earle finished 19 seconds behind Porte to finish 19th in the stage and 29 seconds behind tour leader Impey to hold onto 20th overall.
Campbell Town’s Will Clarke finished 67th and Hobart’s Scott Bowden in 79th respectively on Saturday.
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
