CYCLING

Daily Diary: Bevin talks Tour Down Under - Stage 5

By Aaron S Lee

Cannondale rookie Michael Woods moves into top 5 on general classification after a grueling queen stage atop Willunga Hill, and fellow neo-pro Patrick Bevin tells NZ Bike all about it.

ADELAIDE—North Island native Patrick Bevin made it clear on Friday when he spoke with NZ Bike following stage 4 that the penultimate stage on Saturday was all about putting fellow Cannondale neo-pro Michael Woods (CAN) in the best possible position to win a stage and climb the general classification (GC) at the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under.



Fast forward 24 hours later and Woods was up three spots on GC in fifth and tied with former race leader Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff) in fourth at 20 seconds back on Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge), who looks unassailable with just one criterium stage remaining.

However, it was Australian Richie Porte (BMC Racing) who stole the show, as the former Team Sky rider earned the trifecta with win No.3 atop Willunga Hill in as many years. 

After a gruelling 151.5km, Porte soloed to the queen stage finish at the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under in stoic fashionon Saturday, with former Sky teammate Sergio Henao (COL) and Woods trailing behind at six and nine seconds respectively.



The dominant victory moves the 30-year-old Tasmanian into second overall, just nine seconds behind race leader Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge), who is certain to claim his fourth TDU title barring any mishaps in the 20-lap, 90km sixth and final stage in Adelaide on Sunday.

“To be honest I never expected that one,” said Porte, who finished second on GC last year and fourth in 2014. “Today the BMC guys were absolutely incredible and they backed me here, which is nice and I have only just started in this team. 

“It’s always nice to win in Australia and on top of Willunga for the third time in a row, I am really happy,” he continued. “The crowds are just incredible, the Australian public just get behind this race so much. It really does feel like riding the Tour de France up this climb, incredible feeling.”

Fellow Aussie and former race leader Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff) fell to fourth, while Ottawa’s Woods climbed three spots to fifth with both trailing by 20 seconds. For Bevin, who selflessly squashed any personal aspirations for a top 10 overall result, finds himself also up three spots sitting10th on GC in his first WorldTour race as well.

NZ Bike caught up with the recently crowned national time trial champion to talk Willunga Hill, Woods and team sprinter Wouter Wippert (NED) ahead of Sunday’s sixth and final stage won by the Dutchman last year.

Bevin’s diary entry: Stage 5 – McLaren Vale – Willunga Hill, 151.5km
It was pretty good day. From the start it wasn’t too stressful and there wasn’t a lot of wind along the coast, which we had to ride three loops of first. Had it been windy, it would have been much more stressful. It was all very low key heading in to a couple of passes up and over Willunga Hill, which was a really great atmosphere.

The goal today was to win the stage and we just looked after Mike Woods as much as we could until it was his time to go on the climb. We are stoked he ended up third, which is still a great result and we are really proud of his work this week. He’s been amazing to ride with and ride for. He’s such a great teammate to have and the team has really rallied around him best we can.

The morale of our team is pretty good, and I think you can tip your hat to Simon Clarke for that. He’s our leader on the road, and like I said earlier in the week, he’s a guy I personally look up to and can always seek advice.
It hasn’t been a perfectly smooth first race of the year because we are a fairly new team riding together, but for a first outing I think we’re pretty happy with how it’s going and it’s only going to get better from here with Simon’s leadership and the team gelling so well together.

I heard on the way home that I had moved up on the leader board. I was totally surprised. I was trying to cover Mike running in to the bottom of the climb and as we got up I was with the Simon Gerrans’ group and I went up pretty well and jumped a few spots on GC myself.

Obviously the goal was to get ‘Woodsie’ out for a stage win, and Simon and I were told to push on and don’t let up because not only did we have GC aspirations for Woods, but also teams classification as well. 

Tomorrow is the last day and we have two simple objectives. The first is to keep Woods out of trouble and the other is to get Wouter in position for the sprint. Wouter won stage 6 here last year while riding for Drapac, and this year he is leaner and faster. He was pretty good on the first stage and we will certainly get behind him and get him up there for the win, which would be a really great way to finish the week.
Until next time, stay tuned…
-Patrick Bevin

Tomorrow’s entry: Stage 6 – Adelaide City Circuit, 90km
Stage 5 results (top 5)
1.    Richie Porte, AUS, BMC Racing                                    3h34:16
2.    Sergio Henao, COL, Team Sky                                       0:06”
3.    Michael Woods, CAN, Cannondale Pro                           0:09”
4.    Diego Ulissi, ITA, Lampre-Merida                                    0:17”
5.    Rafael Valls, ESP, Lotto Soudal                                        s.t.
 

General classification (top 5)
1.    Simon Gerrans, AUS, Orica-GreenEdge                        17h16:31
2.    Richie Porte, AUS, BMC Racing                                       0:09”
3.    Sergio Henao, COL, Team Sky                                        0:11”
4.    Jay McCarthy, AUS, Tinkoff                                              0:20”
5.    Michael Woods, CAN, Cannondale Pro                             s.t.
 
Aaron S. Lee is a cycling and triathlon columnist for Eurosport and a guest contributor to NZ Bike Magazine.  Photo credits: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo