Santos Tour Down Under

Soudal Quick-Step animated the Australian race from the breakaway for the second day in a row. After Junior Lecerf on Friday, this time it was Pascal Eenkhoorn the one who got to spend the day at the front, after attacking and pushing hard as soon as the flag was dropped, a gutsy move that helped him carve out a 4:40 maximum advantage together with his three companions.

The Dutchman, who joined our team ahead of this season, was one of the strongest riders in the breakaway, putting in some mammoth turns at the front of the small group that got to stay away until the first ascent of the 3.3km-long Willunga Hill, Tour Down Under’s most iconic climb. It was only a joint effort of the GC teams, combined with the vicious gradients of Willunga Hill, that put an end to their adventure at the front with 15 kilometers to go.

The final three kilometers of the 145.7km stage brought many attacks, including one of the race leader, but it eventually came down to a small group sprint in the last 100 meters, from where Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates) claimed the victory, moving to the top of the standings. Once again, Junior Lecerf was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider to cross the line, braving the demanding gradients and sweltering temperatures on his way to cracking the top 20 on the general classification before the final stage.

Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images