Tour Down Under leader Patrick Bevin’s hopes hang in balance after crash on Stage 5

The Tour Down Under is headed for the most dramatic finish in its history after the most dramatic day the race has ever seen on Stage 5 from Glenelg to Strathalbyn.

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• Stage 5: Dramatic day at Strathalbyn

The Tour Down Under is headed for the most dramatic finish in its history after the most dramatic day the race has ever seen on Stage 5 in Strathalbyn on Saturday.

Race leader Patrick Bevin’s ochre jersey hopes are hanging in the balance after he was taken to hospital with multiple contusions and bruised ribs and hip from a crash 9km from the finish. He will undergo a concussion test on Sunday morning to determine whether he will make the start line at McLaren Vale.

Incredibly Bevin got back on his bike while his CCC teammates waited for him and after a herculean effort was able to rejoin the bunch to not lose any time.

“This is what race leaders are made of,” ex pro rider and commentator David McKenzie told thousands of fans who were watching in awe.

One of the gutsiest rides in TDU history today. Race leader Paddy Bevin crashes 9km from home then gets up and rides his way back to the bunch at the finish. Looks very sore. Hope he’s ok for tomoro @TheTiserSport @theTiser pic.twitter.com/V9pZV6iVsp

— Reece Homfray (@reecehomfray) January 19, 2019

But sadly the damage may have already been done with the New Zealander clutching his right side, bleeding from his leg and with the back of his jersey torn in half as he walked slowly into an ambulance to go to hospital.

The team was on Saturday night hopeful he would be able to start the final stage — the gruelling hilltop finish to Willunga on Sunday — after X-Rays and CT scans confirmed no fractures but it remains to be seen if his injuries take their toll.

“Bevin will be observed overnight and will undergo a concussion test on Sunday morning to determine whether he is able to start stage six and attempt to defend his race lead to become the first New Zealander to win the Santos Tour Down Under,” a Team CCC spokesman said.

Team owner Jim Ochowicz said he feared the race might be over when he watched the incident.

“We knew there was a crash and you see the race leader on the ground with three of our jerseys standing around,” Ochowicz said.

“We had to get a bike change because his bike was broken.

“Yeah a little bit (I thought the race might be over), it was so close to the finish that yeah, it’s hard to get that back. But the whole team stopped and they’ve been riding like that all week so they got him back in the game, now we’ve just got to wait and see.”

The Ochre Jersey wearer Patrick Bevin grimaces while blood streams from his leg after his crash on Stage 5 of the Tour Down Under. Picture Sarah Reed

Patrick Bevin sits in an ambulance after reaching the line. Picture Sarah Reed

That was the precursor to more drama at the finish when Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan won the stage but was later disqualified by commissaires for an “irregular sprint”.

Ewan appeared to headbutt Belgian Jasper Philipsen as he attempted to take his spot on the wheel in front of him and Ewan was relegated to last and Philipsen declared the winner.

The race for the ochre jersey took another turn earlier in the stage when Bevin and defending champion Daryl Impey went 1-2 in both intermediate sprints which allowed them to put five more seconds into Richie Porte going into old Willunga Hill today.

🏁 STAGE FINISH. Here's another look at the incident that saw @CalebEwan relegated. See the placings across the line in a dramatic end to the day's racing. Full results on the relegation at https://t.co/m544HYpVqZ ... #TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/JUDiqe3Fqs

— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴‍♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 19, 2019

As strong winds played havoc in the bunch, Bevin went down 9km from home. Canadian rider Mike Woods revealed that Impey called for the peloton to slow after Bevin’s crash and Impey later tweeted:

“Another great team performance today. Happy to grab 5 seconds more but I hope @PaddyBevin is going to be ok and can race tomorrow. He has had an amazing race so far.

“One mustn’t try prosper off someone else’s misfortune. I feel sorry for Bevin.”

Mitchelton-Scott director Matt White said the day was a success for his team but he hoped Bevin would be OK to start on Sunday.

“It’s a different group of people going for the intermediate sprints than the final and it takes commitment but I think it demoralised a few guys and we ended up getting five seconds on the best climbers which was a big bonus,” White said.

“I said to the guys (on the radio) ‘Paddy Bevin and others have been involved in a crash and we just focus on Daryl’.

Caleb Ewan, produces a blistering sprint to the Stage 5 finish at Strathalbyn to edge out Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen, only to be stripped of the win. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Roger Kluge watches footage of the finish where Team Lotto Soudal teammate Caleb Ewan was stripped of the win. Picture: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

“With the time gaps again we’re in a better position than we were 24 hours ago, the only thing that’s changed is Pat Bevin looks injured, he came down hard, he was holding his shoulder and has a big chunk out of his knee.

“Nothing has changed, it will come down to who climbs the fastest especially the last kilometre of Willunga.

“No one likes to win because someone’s injured that’s for sure, it is what it is and he’s going to be not as good tomorrow that’s for sure, but our focus is our focus and that’s trying to get Daryl up that hill as fast we can.”

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Porte believes Impey’s 19 seconds will be almost impossible to catch and if Bevin starts he would be under duress.

“Willunga is not such a hard climb and it’s not going to be massive time gaps,” he said.

“But I think Impey has probably taken enough time, I just don’t see Paddy Bevin being able to even keep going, he didn’t look real good there at the finish it’s a shame, but we’ll see tomorrow how much damage we can do.

“If the race goes up Willunga flat out the first time it’s going to be a good race I think.”

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