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Javier Romo (Movistar) stunned the pre-race favourites with a late assault within the remaining kilometres to win stage 3 of the Tour Down Under in Uraidla. He held off his rivals to cross the road with a five-second lead and sufficient time to have fun his victory.
Romo stayed within the diminished peloton, letting the opposite groups cowl strikes the second time up Knotts Hill, after which countered with an enormous acceleration after they crested inside six kilometres to go. A second of hesitation by the 20-rider group was sufficient for the Spanish rider to get a niche as he flew right down to the end line.
Behind, first Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) and Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) every tried to catch Romo solo however their respective strikes have been shut down because the small group sped to the end line. With 5 riders nonetheless within the group, all eyes have been on the Lidl-Trek workforce to chase Romo down however the group couldn’t get organized and switched their concentrate on the upcoming dash for second and third, and people all-important bonus seconds.
Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) led out the dash however was swamped within the area dash. Jhonathan Narvaez (UAE Crew Emirates XRG) secured second by a motorcycle throw forward of Finn Fisher-Black (Pink Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) who was third. Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek) took fourth.
This victory, the primary UCI win in his profession, is “so necessary” for Romo who educated with this race in thoughts this winter.
“From this winter, I labored lots fascinated with Tour Down Below and I can think about today. I am so joyful, I wish to say thanks to my workforce as a result of as we speak, their work is excellent for me. They’ve loads of confidence in me, and this victory is so necessary – additionally for my household, my girlfriend and all of the individuals who helped me this yr,” the 26-year previous mentioned.
“Till after the final kilometre, I knew that the victory was mine.”
Fisher-Black was solo within the entrance group and hoped different groups with larger numbers would lead the chase to deliver Romo again.
“I went to the again of the group, simply after these rollers, and I noticed 5 Trek guys and people two guys up the highway. I wasn’t certain what the techniques have been there. I hoped they’d pulled them again on this downhill into the end, however in the long run, I feel it was Jayco chasing him again. So yeah, possibly controversial techniques there. However it’s what it’s,” Fisher-Black mentioned.
“In the long run, we needed to dash for a second. And I feel I used to be third on the road – I am pleased with that.”
Defending champion Stevie Williams (Israel-PremierTech) crashed within the feed zone with 61 kilometres to go and misplaced contact within the remaining climb, ending 25 seconds behind the stage winner. The workforce confirmed that he had sustained some contusions however no majo accidents.
Romo takes over the ochre chief’s jersey with eight seconds on Narvaez. Patrick Konrad (Lidl-Trek) is third, and Fisher-Black fourth, each tied at 10 seconds.
In seventh place total, Philipsen is 15 seconds down and takes the lead in the most effective younger rider classification.
Fergus Browning (ARA Australia) as soon as once more nabbed KOM factors whereas within the break to extend his ever rising lead within the mountains classification. In a single day race chief and double stage winner Sam Welsford (Pink Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) leads the factors classification.
The way it unfolded
The 147.5km stage to Uraidla was most definitely a day for the climbers – and much more definitely not for race chief Sam Welsford (Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). The primary breakaway was fashioned when dash lead-out man Dries De Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty) launched from the primary kilometre. He was quickly joined by quick man Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), mountains classification chief Fergus Browning (ARA Australian Nationwide Crew) and Geoffey Bouchard (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).
Nevertheless, the primary climb additionally began not lengthy after the flag drop, and a counter-attack led by Ide Schelling (XDS Astana) created a surge in tempo, and the quartet have been quickly caught.
Earlier than the summit, Swift’s cousin and teammate Connor Swift launched a transfer and Browning, eager to take extra factors towards his polka dot jersey, latched on and the peloton have been then happy that the breakaway wouldn’t threaten the GC males.
Browning swept up the utmost factors on Norton Summit because the pair had 1:30 on the bunch. Then, with the highway nonetheless tilting upwards after the KOM, Swift sat up and left Browning off the entrance alone questioning if he ought to push on or sit up. He saved using tempo and pulled out a niche of greater than two minutes.
After 27km of racing, Bouchard attacked from the peloton and tried to bridge throughout to Browning, and made it properly earlier than the intermediate dash at kilometre 39.1.
With a kilometre to go earlier than the dash, Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) attacked from the peloton to efficiently steal the ultimate bonus seconds simply in case any of the rivals of his workforce chief Williams tried to grab one.
Browning and Bouchard collaborated to tug out a lead of three:33 with 75km to go. And not using a little effort from Jayco-AlUla’s Luke Durbridge, the peloton carved a minute off that hole over the subsequent 5 kilometres.
The hole was down beneath two minutes when defending champion Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) was caught up in a crash within the feed zone with 61km to go. However a fast scramble from the workforce introduced the Briton again into the fold just a few kilometres later.
Williams did not have time to get well, as a result of UAE Crew Emirates and Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe began drilling the tempo on the entrance with 53km to go to get their leaders in a protected place for the technical descent main into the primary climb of Knotts Hill.
Browning additional prolonged his lead within the mountains classification because the pair’s benefit was nonetheless touching a minute because the younger Australian claimed the utmost factors. However his compatriots on the Jayco-AlUla workforce have been on the chase behind, slowly clawing again the hole.
Bouchard claimed the three bonus seconds forward of Browning on the intermediate dash with 35.2km to go, and half a minute behind a full on dash from Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe led Finn Fisher-Black to the ultimate bonus second.
Assaults flew after the dash, with Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek) attacking twice however was every time marked by Groupama-FDJ’s Lewis Askey. The peloton did not let anybody go, however the tempo was sufficient for the pair to be in sight with 27.4 to go. Browning sat up, however Bouchard continued on for one more 2km.
There was a lull within the motion till the lengthy, gradual uncategorised climb main into the final ascent of Knotts Hill, the place one other surge for positioning sparked a crash mid-peloton with 14.5km to go. Martín Lopez (XDS Astana) was the worst off, his workforce confirming that he needed to abandon the race and was taken to hospital for medical checks.
Corbin Sturdy (Israel-Premier Tech) received the battle for the lead of the bunch on the quick descent heading into Knotts Hill, however Ineos Grenadiers assumed management of the diminished peloton earlier than the climb.
Michał Kwiatkowski made his transfer with 7.4km to go and 1.8 to the summit, and he was intently marked by Groupama-FDJ’s Remy Rochas, however Jayco-AlUla shut that down. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) was the subsequent to go 600 metres later.
The assaults severely diminished the dimensions of the main group however a counterattack from Jay Vine impressed Rochas to place in one other harmful dig that shot defending champ Williams out the again.
Javier Romo (Movistar) was the subsequent rider to go after Rochas was reeled in after the summit. One other surge got here from Ineos then an assault from Jayco-AlUla’s Chris Harper. When Harper was caught, Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNl) went clear, however nonetheless Romo powered on.
Jayco-AlUla led the cost to reel Onley again with much less that 1000 metres to go and ready for the diminished area dash.
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