Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) continued his unstoppable run of form with his third victory of the 2017 Tour Down Under on stage four.
Once again the Australian beat world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) into second place as he did on stage three, with Danny van Poppel (Team Sky) claiming third place.
>>> Watch: Tour Down Under highlights stage four
Much like Thursday's third stage, van Poppel was the sprinter to benefit from the most well organised leadout by his Sky teammates. But while in that stage he simply seemed to miss his cue to go, Friday saw him beaten in a straight up drag race with Ewan who came from behind and was just too fast.
Sagan impressively managed to avoid getting boxed in on the right hand side of the road as he tried to stick to Ewan's wheel, but left himself with too much to do as he had to come round several riders as Ewan attacked.
Watch: highlights of stage four of the 2017 Tour Down Under
The overall classification of the race remains relatively unchanged with race leader Richie Porte (BMC) safely navigating his way to the finish.
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Second placed Gorka Izaguirre managed to stay in contention on GC, despite suffering from the wounds of a huge crash he suffered on stage three.
The 149.5km course from Norwood to Campbelltown was played out in familiar style, with a three-man break of Cameron Meyer (UniSA-Australia), Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors) and Ondrej Cink (Bahrain-Merida) getting away in the early stages.
They never saw the gap stretch past 1-30 to the peloton though, and the efforts to stay out there took its toll as Cink dropped back with 55km remaining.
The breakaway on stage four of the 2017 Tour Down Under (Watson)
(Image credit: Watson)
Meyer and Bauer then worked together to stay out for a further 30km before it was too much for Meyer, before New Zealander Bauer put in a fine solo effort to hold off the sprinters teams to just 4km remaining, when they made the catch.
But once again it was Ewan's day to celebrate victory, however he'll be playing teammate to the climbers tomorrow, as the race heads towards its queen stage to Willunga Hill where the GC will likely be finalised.
Results
Tour Down Under 2017, stage four: Norwood to Campbelltown (149.5km)
1. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott, in 3-45-19
2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
4. Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Abu Dhabi
5. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
6. Baptiste Planckeart (Bel) Katusha
7. Jay Mccarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
8. Callum Scotson (Aus) UniSA-Australia
9. Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar
10. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo, all same time
Overall classification after stage four
1. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing, in 14-20-18
2. Gorka Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar, at 20 secs
3. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott, at 22s
4. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 24s
5. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data, at 27s
6. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing, at 29s
7. Luis León Sánchez (Esp) Astana
8. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Abu Dhabi
9. Rafael Valls (Esp) Lotto Soudal
10. Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, all same time
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Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
