Caleb Ewan wins Crash Marred Stage 3
Ewan out sprinted Sagan and Niccolo Bonifazio to win his second stage at the 2017 Santos Tour Down Under
Caleb Ewan had work to do on the final run into Victor Harbor, in the closing hundred metres he came from the back to outsprint Sagan, who lead out the initial sprint.
Ewan struggled on the steep slopes of stage 2, confessing he's not a climber. However on stage 3 he fought back and commented: “Today was pretty tough after yesterday. I went pretty deep — it really took me three-quarters of the race to get back into it”.
“It was definitely satisfying” Ewan said of his victory. “It got really really hectic in the end and I thought in the last ‘kay’ I was too far back but luckily I made my way up before the sprint and had a good run to the finish.”
Ewan's Orica-Scott team spent the day keeping a 4 many breakaway in check and pulling them back before the final sprint. Lotto Soudals Thomas De Gendt beingthe main antagonist in the early break.
The final kilometres were very technical containing some narrow, winding roads, with roundabouts and tight bends.
A crash was inevitable and Gorka Izagirre went down pretty hard after a touch of wheels. He ripped most of his jersey of his back but looked ok getting back on his back to roll over the finish line. Izagirre luckily didn't loose any time, being within the final 3 kilometres.
Race leader Richie Porte from BMC commented to the press “It was fine today. Obviously the team played a big role in that. It was quite nervous and stressful all day. It’s another step closer to the finish.”
Friday's Stage 4 is nearly 150 km from Norwood to Campbelltown and is likely to feature another early breakway.
Tour Down Under 2017 – Stage 3 Results Top 10
1 Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) 3:24:45
2 Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) ,,
3 Niccolò Bonifazio (Bahrain Merida) ,,
4 Danny van Poppel (Team Sky) ,,
5 Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) ,,
6 Nikias Arndt (Sunweb) ,,
7 Sean De Bie (Lotto Soudal) ,,
8 Lorrenzo Manzin (FDJ) ,,
9 Ruben Guerreiro (Trek-Segafredo) ,,
10 Baptiste Planckaert (Katusha-Alpecin) ,,