George Bennett sees podium chances fade despite Corkscrew attack

George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) put the hammer down on the Corkscrew climb on stage 4 of the Tour Down Under but was left empty-handed when he and his breakaway companions were caught before the finish line.

Bennett crossed the line in sixth place, with Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) winning the stage ahead of overall leader Patrick Bevin (CCC Team).

The result means that, due to bonus seconds on the line, Bennett lost ground and now sits seventh overall at 21 seconds. A podium or top five overall is not yet out of the question for the Jumbo-Visma rider, but at the finish he talked down his chances, despite admitting he would be giving it his all on stage 6 and the finish on Willunga Hill.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I don't think so," he told Cyclingnews when asked his podium chances.

"I hate Willunga Hill. There's nothing good about that hill. I gave it a nudge and I'll go for it for sure but it's just niggly. That was the strongest group you could hope for and we all committed. Everyone was in but the average weight for that group was probably about 60kg. it was good to test the legs and I was really surprised."

Bennett's team helped to animate the race on the Corkscrew climb. The Kiwi matched a move that contained Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Wout Poels (Team Sky) and Michael Woods (EF Education First). The foursome built a slender lead at the top of the climb, and committed on the descent but Bevin and Mitchelton-Scott fought back on the descent. The two groups merged with just under one kilometre to go and, with that, Bennett's hopes of a stage win faded.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com