Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) surged into contention to defend his Tour Down Under title with a thrilling win ahead of race leader Patrick Bevin (CCC) in Adelaide on Friday.
The Mitchelton-Scott rider claimed the fourth stage to move to second overall just seven seconds behind Bevin with two stages left.
Impey gave his hopes of becoming the first rider to go back-to-back in the race’s 21-year history a massive boost with his stage victory.
Astana’s Leon Luis Sanchez went early but was caught by Impey and Bevin in the last 20 metres to finish third on the 129.2-kilometre stage through the Adelaide Hills from Unley to Campbelltown.
“I’m so stoked to have done something like this, it’s so special,” Impey said.
“I knew if I lined up Paddy Bevin, I’d have a good shot at winning, so I’m super-happy to win today.”
Tour Down Under 2019 – stage 4 results (Unley – Campbelltown):
| 1 | Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) | 3:03:27 |
| 2 | Patrick Bevin (CCC) | ,, |
| 3 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) | ,, |
| 4 | Ruben Guerreiro (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 5 | Rubén Fernandez (Movistar) | ,, |
| 6 | George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) | ,, |
| 7 | Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 8 | Michael Woods (EF Education First ) | ,, |
| 9 | Chris Hamilton (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 10 | Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky) | ,, |
Tour Down Under 2019 – general classification after stage 4:
| 1 | Patrick Bevin (CCC) | 13:23:30 |
| 2 | Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) | +07” |
| 3 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) | +11” |
| 4 | Chris Hamilton (Team Sunweb) | +21” |
| 5 | Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) | ,, |
| 6 | Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 7 | George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) | ,, |
| 8 | Ruben Guerreiro (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 9 | Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 10 | Michael Woods (EF Education First ) | ,, |
