CYCLING

Daily Diary: Bevin talks Tour Down Under - Stage 4

By Aaron S Lee

NZ Bike caught up with Cannondale's Patrick Bevin to get his thoughts on stage 4 and the team's chances on general classification.

ADELAIDE—Cannondale Pro Cycling neo-pro Patrick Bevin is quietly knocking on the door of the top 10 in his WorldTour debut at the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under.



The 24-year-old Bevin is currently 13th on general classification with just two stages remaining. New Zealand's reigning time trial champion is 14 seconds behind Australian Richie Porte (BMC Racing), who is in 10th just 5 seconds ahead of fellow Aussie and Bevin's teammate Simon Clarke.

Bevin, who finished sixth on stage 2 and 11th on Friday's stage 4, is also sitting in third place in the best young rider standings.

However, individual glory is not Bevin's priority, but teammate Michael Woods (CAN), who is in eighth place overall (+32sec), is.

"If I didn't have two teammates in front of me then a top 10 would be a great result," explained Bevin, "But at the moment I have a teammate that has a legitimate shot at GC and that's the main objective.
"I have no personal ambitions in this race, it's all about Mike and the team."

On the day it was three-time race winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) made it two straight wins with a 138km stage 4 victory at Victor Harbor on Friday, Jan. 22, in South Australia.



The two-time Australian road race champion claimed a 10-second time bonus for the win along with another second claimed on the first intermediate to increase his overall lead to 14 seconds over former race leader and fellow Aussie Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff), who was fourth across the line behind Gerrans, Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo).

With only two stages remaining, including the Queen stage on Saturday atop Willunga Hill, it will be hard pressed for Gerrans' rivals to lift the ochre leaders jersey from his back.

"I've increased my lead but I'll still have to be very attentive before Willunga Hill tomorrow," said Gerrans referring to the Queen Stage that has traditionally decided the tour winner. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

McCarthy retained both his sprint and youth classification jerseys on the day, and claims he will continue the fight.

"It's definitely difficult for me on GC (overall) now but I'll give my best tomorrow," said McCarthy.

"Obviously it's a hard day tomorrow (but) I have to back up and go for it again. We're still there so we might as well keep trying."

NZ Bike caught up with Bevin to get his thoughts on the day and the penultimate stage ahead.
Bevin's diary entry: Stage 4 – Norwood – Victor Harbor, 138km
The day started out pretty hard and split up on the first climb up Norton Summit and then came back together before splitting up again over the last climb. I was in the front toward the finish and just got washed away.
To compound that we had Mike Woods lose eight seconds, which kind of sullies the day really.
For me, I'm climbing really well and not having too many issues on the climbs but maybe lacking a little bit in the sprints. I guess it' a bit of a tradeoff to get up and over some of the hills. But I'm still ticking away.
Stage 5 is going to shake things up for sure and the GC could look very different tomorrow night. Our first job is to put Mike as high as we can and that's our top priority.

It's not over yet. It may not be the toughest climb but it's still a hilltop finish, and all those top 10 guys are going to have to be good tomorrow if they want a shot to twin. 

I've ridden Willunga Hill a few times over a few different visits to Adelaide. The wind tomorrow could be a big factor. If it's a tailwind climb you may see bigger gaps and if it's a headwind it will make the race a bit more technical and a bit harder to take time. It's not a very steep climb so it can be affected by the wind.
For our team's sake we want to see a tough run in, and a tailwind climb is an ideal scenario but we'll wait to see what the weather brings. It's a hilltop finish and we will do our best to put Mike in position and do the job.

Until next time, stay tuned...
-Patrick Bevin

Tomorrow's entry: Stage 5 – McLaren Vale – Willunga Hill, 151.5 km
Stage 4 results (top 5)
1.    Simon Gerrans, AUS, Orica-GreenEdge                           3h13:59
2.    Ben Swift, GBR, Team Sky                                                      s.t.
3.    Giacomo Nizzolo, ITA, Trek-Segafredo                                    s.t.
4.    Jay McCarthy, AUS, Tinkoff                                                      s.t.
5.    Leigh Howard, IAM Cycling                                                      s.t.
 
General classification (top 5)
1.    Simon Gerrans, AUS, Orica-GreenEdge                           13h41:58
2.    Jay McCarthy, AUS, Tinkoff-                                                      +14
3.    Rohan Dennis, AUS, BMC Racing                                             +26
4.    Sergio Henao, COL, Team Sky                                                 +28
5.    Steve Morabito, SUI, FDJ                                                           s.t.

Aaron S. Lee is a cycling and triathlon columnist for Eurosport and a guest contributor to NZ Bike Magazine.  Photo credit: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo

Photo caption: Orica GreenEdge rider Simon Gerrans wins stage 4 into Victor Harbour - Photo: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo
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