Narvaez wins on Willunga to snatch cycling Tour lead
Ecuador cyclist Jhonatan Narvaez has won the Tour Down Under’s Queen stage after an epic battle on Willunga Hill.
Spanish race leader Javier Romo (Movistar) attacked at the base of the iconic 3.2km climb in a brave bid to hold off his rivals.
But he was caught by a small group inside the last kilometre and Narvaez (UAE) sprinted clear for the win.
He leads Romo by nine seconds heading into Sunday’s final stage and should win the Santos Tour for the first time after finishing runner-up last year.
British rider Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) finished second after winning the Willunga stage last year and New Zealander Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) was fourth.
Australian Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), who sparked the chase to catch Romo, finished three seconds behind in fifth.
After the first of the two Willunga Hill climbs, the Australian Jayco AlUla team made a bold move, sending local rider Chris Harper and Swiss teammate Mauro Schmid up the road.
They gained a 30-second lead as Schmid drove the pace for Harper, trying to set the Australian up for the last climb to the Willunga summit finish.
While they were unable to gain a decisive break, their attack shattered the peloton and Plapp was briefly caught out.
The two Jayco AlUla riders did not survive to the base of the climb as riders scrambled for position and the peloton re-formed, setting up the explosive finish.
Romo went into Saturday with a four-second lead over Narvaez (UAE) and 15 other riders were within 15 seconds.
Olympic cycling gold medallist Sam Welsford crashed again early in stage five, continuing his Santos Tour of ups and downs.
The Australian was in a group of four riders that came to grief early in the 145.7km leg south of Adelaide from McLaren Vale to the top of Willunga Hill.
He needed medical treatment on the road from the race doctor for cuts and road rash on his back.
Jayco AlUla Australian pair Luke Durbridge and Chris Harper were also caught in the crash, along with Dutch rider Loe van Belle.
All four riders continued in the race.
While Welsford won the first two stages, the Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe star has had his struggles, also crashing on stage two.
On Saturday, a group of four – Welsford’s fellow team pursuit gold medallist Oliver Bleddyn (ARA national team), compatriot Michael Hepburn (Jayco AlUla), Dutchman Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal QuickStep) and British rider Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) broke away early.
But they were never going to stay away and were caught on the first Willunga climb, with less than 25km to the finish.
A one-off race featuring the field from the women’s tour last week will also be held on the mainly flat Adelaide circuit before the men’s final stage on Sunday.
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