Bevin and Impey have targets on their backs heading into the home straight

Both Patrick Bevin and Daryl Impey made their intentions clear on Stage 4 and now stand as outright favorites to win the Tour Down Under with two stages remaining. READ THE COLUMN

New Zealander Patrick Bevin is clearly the man to beat in this week’s Tour Down Under.

He made his intentions clear from day one and with Daryl Impey now riding up to second and only seven seconds behind him, they’re both going to be very hard to stop.

They’re both big, big threats with one sprint stage and one hilly stage to come.

Bevin has gained some confidence from Stage 1 and 2. He’s rolling with it, so good on him and now potentially this could be his first WorldTour stage race win.

At this stage he has 21 seconds on Richie and with the form he’s in that’s going to be very hard to get rid of even on Willunga on Sunday.

It will be interesting to see how today’s stage from Glenelg to Strathalbyn plays out. If the finish is like it was in Tanunda then yes I would expect both Bevin and Impey to be right at the front going for more time to give themselves an even better buffer ahead of Willunga.

But it should still be a bunch sprint and the pure sprinters will want to win it as well. When all the sprinters have had a bit of an easier day like they did yesterday, yes it was hard but they didn’t have to go all-in like we did, they should be a little bit fresher and ready to go on Saturday.

A few years ago in 2016 I was able to sprint to second on this stage behind Simon Gerrans, but I was heavier back then and there was a smaller bunch at the finish.

Yesterday a few people took some risks and I just wasn’t willing to do that in a sprint to potentially get a top five placing, I thought it was better off to back out in the finish.

I would have taken the win of course but I’m also happy to finish on the bunch time because I didn’t have the legs to get away on the climb with those front guys and help them drive it to the finish.

It was scary coming down the Gorge again. It was more sketchy from Fox Creek until just past Cudlee Creek, then it calmed down leading towards the climb, and was pretty well nuts from just past Paracombe Road when everyone was doing their lead-outs and it was all-in.

With two big days of racing to come we all know who we are chasing so it should be an exciting finish.

Originally published as Bevin and Impey have targets on their backs heading into the home straight