Heartbreak for Bevin at Tour Down Under
Kiwi beats odds just to make start line after crash but final climbs prove too much
Patrick Bevin’s quest for glory at the Tour Down Under was cruelly cut down on the final stage of the race. Nursing bandages and bruises from a high-speed crash on Saturday, Bevin couldn’t hold on to his leader’s jersey, noticeably suffering from his injuries as he was dropped with 25km to go on the penultimate climb.
On the final climb, Richie Porte shot away to claim his sixth straight stage victory atop Willunga Hill, but in a repeat of last year, Daryl Impey limited his losses to defend his overall title, finishing third on the stage to win the Tour by 13 seconds over Porte.
George Bennett crossed the line 16th to finish 12th overall, while fellow Kiwi Bevin eventually reached the finish 5m 41s down to place 41st.
It was a heartbreaking final day for Bevin, who had held the leader’s jersey for four consecutive days. It was always going be hard to hold his lead against the pure climbers, but he would have at least made it a closerun thing, until his injuries had the final say.
“It’s a pretty disappointing way to end the week,” said Bevin.
“At the end of the day, I’ll look back and say it was a great week, but obviously it’s going to hurt for a little while to lose that lead on the last day.”
It was an incredible effort to even be on the start line, having suffered a bruised hip, bruised rib and multiple contusions in Saturday’s crash.
However, Bevin was determined to fight until he had nothing left, and was safely in the peloton until the race’s penultimate climb — the first of two 3.6km ascents of Willunga Hill.
At an average gradient of 7.1 per cent, Team Sky pushed the pace, and Bevin couldn’t fight any more, sliding out the back of the peloton and seeing his hopes of overall victory vanish.
That left Bennett as New Zealand’s hope for a top overall result but he couldn’t deliver either.
Having stated his distaste of Willunga Hill earlier in the week, he started the climb surprisingly well back in the pack, and while he worked his way back to the front with 1.5km to go, he — also in a repeat of last year — attempted to follow the move of Porte but cracked, eventually losing 20s.
Bevin, meanwhile, will rue the illfortune which saw him miss a golden opportunity to win a World Tour race. It could be a while before such an opportunity comes around again, but with his speciality time trials a big fixture in his upcoming races this season, there should be further stage victories and leaders’ jerseys heading Bevin’s way in 2019.
South African Impey became the first man to post back-to-back wins in the Tour Down Under, the opening race of cycling’s World Tour, when he edged Porte, who finished second for the fourth time.
For the first time in its 21-year history, the six-stage tour ended atop Willunga Hill at the end of its longest and steepest stage.
Porte won the stage for the sixth straight year, accepting the keys to the town of Willunga in acknowledgement of his status as King of Willunga.
“I’m pretty stoked of course with the bike ride,” Impey said. “I accepted the pressure but of course I had faith in my team, which goes a long way.”
For most of the stage, the riders raced in flat conditions near the coast and a group of seven riders made an early break and stayed away for almost 125km of the stage.
Impey was left in charge of the race after Bevin slowed but knew he had to track Porte to ensure his victory.
He did so with the assistance of teammates Cameron Meyer, Lucas Hamilton and Australian Matt Hayman, who was riding his last professional race at the age of 40.
“I dedicate the win to Matt Hayman,” Impey said. “He’s been a fantastic teammate for the last five or
I’ll look back and say it was a great week, but it’s going to hurt for a little while to lose that lead on the last day.
Patrick Bevin
six years now. A lot of my victories have come with Matty, so to let him go out this way. . .
“We were going to celebrate his career anyway [last night] but with the race overall, it’s going to be a double celebration.”
Porte did everything he could to take the overall win but Impey was too strong.
“It’s a hard race for someone like me to win,” Porte said. “There’s one hilltop finish and that’s it.
“But I came here with my new team. The boys were absolutely fantastic all week, they put me in a good position [yesterday] . . . hats off to Daryl Impey for the win but to win six times on Willunga is a great feeling.”