2019 Tour Down Under Stage 5 Results & Recap
Stage 5 of the 2019 Tour Down Under is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Philipsen wins drama-filled stage 5 after Ewan slapped with relegation
To say this was a dramatic stage might be an understatement. Caleb Ewan won the stage, from Glenelg to Strathalbyn, only to have the officials relegate the young Australian for “irregular riding” in the closing meters. The win was handed to 20-year-old Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) who challenged Ewan for the win. That meant that Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) moved up to second place and Jumbo-Visma's Danny Van Poppel ended up in third.
Ewan was visibly pleased with his win, after failing to do so the entire week, save for the Tour Down Under Classic, but after the officials reviewed the overhead camera footage, the didn’t like the look of Ewan’s attempted headbutting of Philipsen and decided to give the “pocket rocket” the boot. \nMeanwhile, at the back of the bunch, more drama was happening as race leader Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) struggled to regain contact after a late crash, 10 kilometres from the line, marred his chances at retaining his ochre jersey on the final stage. The New Zealander managed to finish the race in the bunch but was immediately rushed to the hospital for X-rays after holding his ribs after he finished his effort.
Despite his difficulties, Bevin retained his seven-second advantage to defending champion Daryl Impey before the final stage that concludes on Willunga Hill.
As in previous days, the breakaway escaped straight from the gun. This time it was Jason Lea and Ayden Toovey of UniSa-Australia and AGR2 La Mondiale’s Clement Chevrier who flew off the front. Lea nabbed the KOM points before Mitchelton-Scott dragged the peloton back up to the break to prepare Impey for the time bonuses.
After Impey and Bevin traded blows over the two intermediate sprints, the attempts neutralized themselves as they each won maximum time bonuses.
Matthieu Ladagnous (Groupama-FDJ) and Toovey countered after the sprint was done and had a good go of it off the front, but the sprint finish was inevitable and they were reeled in with about 30 kilometres to go. \n
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