Final KM: Santos Tour Down Under Stage 4

The new finish into Uraidla provided a parcours made for attacking and the end result was a GC well and truly shaken up.

Stage 4: Norwood to Uraidla, 128.2km

Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) got the measure of both the route and the searing heat to take his first WorldTour win of year. The World champion held on with ease as the peloton thinned on the Norton climb, then attacked the descent and bossed the sprint. Mitchelton-Scott’s Daryl Impey ran him all the way to the line with Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) rounding out the podium. The 10sec bonus gives Sagan the overall lead by 2secs from Impey with his Bora-hansgrohe teammate Jay McCarthy at +9secs.

Video…

Some thoughts on extreme weather…

The peloton endured another blistering day in the saddle with temperatures hitting the mid 40°Cs despite an earlier start.

#tdu2018 : so how hot was hot today? We cracked an egg on the pavement to find out: pic.twitter.com/FNNg25rucs

— Team KATUSHA ALPECIN (@katushacycling) January 19, 2018

There’s no doubt some riders were affected

Saw a few guys really struggling with the heat today in the bunch. Tried to help my teammates cool down by making trips to the car for bottles and ice until my nose started bleeding suddenly. Cycling is healthy right?!

— Koen de Kort (@koendekort) January 19, 2018

Haas: Hats off to the guys who can suffer more than me but I didn’t actually know I was in a bike race in the end. I just had my director yelling at me to stay in the cars. I didn’t know where I was. #TDU

— Daniel Benson (@dnlbenson) January 19, 2018

Against this background is one man trying to do the best for the riders in his role as the CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés) – the professional rider’s union – representative for the race. That man at the #TDU is Lotto Soudal’s much respected Adam Hansen (I can’t think of a better person to fight your corner). However, it appears the temperature wasn’t the only thing rising today. The full story in Cycling News.

It’s why we love Mr Sagan – pure class…

After today's stage, I finally had a real job to do… I'd like to thank every single person at the @tourdownunder organization. Their hard work makes it one of the best races in the world. Thanks also to the fans and spectators in @southaustralia! This victory goes to you! pic.twitter.com/j7XWDMDl96

— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) January 19, 2018

Oh, and we need a new hairstyle classification Miss Kitty Fondue, this one is almost coiffed

Embed from Getty Images

Full report at Cycling News.

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