Richie Porte powered his way to win the fifth stage of the Tour Down Under at Willunga Hill yesterday as fellow Australian Simon Gerrans consolidated his hold on first place overall.
With one day left in the season-opening UCI World Tour race, Orica GreenEdge rider Gerrans led Porte (BMC Racing) by nine seconds with Colombia’s Sergio Henao (Sky) a further two seconds back in third.
The fifth stage of the Tour Down Under, with two ascents of Willunga Hill, invariably produces the most exciting racing of the week and generally decides the overall winner.
Photo: AFP
It was no different yesterday as Porte made his move with 1km of the second climb remaining, breaking away from the peloton and holding off a desperate Henao and Canadian Michael Woods (Cannondale) to win in front of thousands of fans.
“The crowd was incredible — it does feel like riding the Tour de France up this hill,” Porte said.
Gerrans arrived 17 seconds behind the winner, but his overnight advantage of 36 seconds over Porte was enough to ensure he takes the ochre leader’s jersey into today’s final stage, a 90km circuit through the streets of Adelaide.
“This is the toughest stage of the race and it’s generally where the GC [general classification] is decided,” Gerrans, who will be aiming for a record fourth Tour Down Under win, said of yesterday’s stage.
“One stage to go and anything can happen, but I tell you what: I’d prefer to go into that last stage in front than behind,” he said.
Porte said his chances of outsprinting Gerrans were remote at best.
“I couldn’t sprint out of sight on a dark night, but I’m happy with how it’s gone — I didn’t target this race,” Porte said. “It’s just nice to get my first win in a BMC jersey.”
Yesterday’s race started in the wine growing town of McLaren Vale and took in three circuits of Aldinga Beach before the ascents of Willunga Hill.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS