Richie Porte (Team Sky) took a dramatic victory on stage 5 of the Tour Down Under, winning alone on top of Willunga Hill as the battle for the race lead saw Orica-GreenEdge's Simon Gerrans wrest the ochre jersey off the shoulders of Cadel Evans (BMC) by a single second.
Evans was the first to follow Porte's attack with just over 2km to go to the hilltop finish, but was unable to stay with the pace of his younger compatriot, and slowly slipped back into the claws of the pursuing Gerrans and Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) as they passed under the flamme rouge.
As Porte crossed the line, the real drama was unfolding behind, as Evans was dropped within the final 200m as Gerrans and Ulissi opened up the sprint for second.
Although it was Ulissi who took second place on the day, Gerrans was able to put four seconds into the reeling Evans, which, when combined with bonus seconds, was enough to put him back into the race lead going into the final day.
Speaking after the stage Gerrans was unsurprisingly pleased to recapture the ochre jersey: 'All the way up the climb, I always knew what I had to do. I needed to save energy for the very last part. It's a dream result to get the jersey back but it's still going to be tight and nervous tomorrow.'
Meanwhile Porte was quick to praise the role of his Sky teammates in his victory. 'The team had a plan and the boys were incredible. Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas were there to the last minute. They dropped me off right on the front at the start of the climb and victory is credit to all those guys.'
Perhaps we should credit the role of the day's break in creating such a dramatic finish, with Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing), Juan José Lobato (Movistar) and Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha) building a lead of over eight minutes, and ensuring that Gerrans was unable to pick up bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints.
In the main group it was briefly the race for the mountains classification that came to the fore, with Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol) ensuring that the jersey will remain on his shoulders all the way to Adelaide.
With Garmin-Sharp, Sky, BMC and Orica-GreenEdge all working on the front of the peloton, the break was never going to last, and by the time we reached the lower slopes of the climb the race was all back together.
And it was BMC who assumed responsibility, setting a high pace in an attempt to deter any attacks, but after a brief move by Wesley Sulzberger (Drapac), it was Porte who attacked from the wheel of Evans, before dropping the 2011 Tour de France winner on the way to the stage win.
Behind, conservative riding from Porte and Ulissi saw them claw their way onto the back wheel of Evans, before emerging from the dense crowds to take second and third, and surely ending Evans' hopes of a win in his home tour.
Tomorrow sees the race head for the streets of Adelaide for an 85.5km criterium finale, which should see the likes of Greipel and Kittel come to the fore as Gerrans goes on the defensive as he looks to secure a third overall victory in the Tour Down Under.
Stage 5 Result: McLaren Vale-Willunga Hill, 151.5km
1. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 03:42:20
2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 00:00:10
3. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
4. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin 00:00:14
5. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge
6. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC
7. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 00:00:17
8. Egor Silin (Rus) Katusha
9. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol
10. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 00:00:21
General Classification after Stage 5
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 18:02:19
2. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC 00:00:01
3. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 00:00:05
4. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 00:00:10
5. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 00:00:27
6. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin 00:00:30
7. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 00:00:34
8. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol 00:00:37
9. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
10. Egor Silin (Rus) Katusha
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