Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) won a reduced bunch sprint on a heat-shortened Stage 4 on Lower Willunga Hill, as race leader Jay Vine retained the ochre jersey but lost key UAE Team Emirates-XRG support to crashes.
The British rider jumped with about 250m to go and no one was able to match his kick. "We watched the last couple of editions of the women's and in 2023, and both guys won from a jump," said Vernon after the stage. "And I was sat there pretty comfy, 250 to go, so I went".
Stage 4 Results
Brighton - Willunga Hill • Jan 24 • 176km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Ethan Kane VERNON | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | 2:56:30 |
| 🥈 | Tobias LUND ANDRESEN | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 🥉 | Laurence PITHIE | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 4 | Brady GILMORE | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 5 | Aaron Murray GATE | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 6 | Edoardo ZAMBANINI | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 7 | Samuel WATSON | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 8 | Anthon CHARMIG | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 9 | Andrea RACCAGNI NOVIERO | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 10 | Pierre GAUTHERAT | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 11 | Maikel ZIJLAARD | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 12 | Patrick EDDY | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 13 | Tom DONNENWIRTH | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 14 | Tim Torn TEUTENBERG | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 15 | Andreas Lorentz KRON | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 16 | Matthew BRENNAN | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 17 | Javier ROMO OLIVER | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 18 | Mauro SCHMID | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 19 | Natnael TESFATSION | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 20 | Marco BRENNER | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 21 | Jensen PLOWRIGHT | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +00 |
| 22 | Lionel TAMINIAUX | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +00 |
| 23 | Ben O'CONNOR | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 24 | Matteo SOBRERO | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 25 | Gonzalo SERRANO RODRIGUEZ | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 26 | Filippo ZANA | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 27 | Harrison SWEENY | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 28 | Georg ZIMMERMANN | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 29 | Jay VINE | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 30 | Alberto DAINESE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 31 | Embret SVESTAD-BÅRDSENG | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 32 | Sam OOMEN | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 33 | Michael Shea LEONARD | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 34 | Florian Samuel KAJAMINI | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 35 | Nicolas PRODHOMME | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 36 | Christopher HARPER | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 37 | Tord GUDMESTAD | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 38 | Anton SCHIFFER | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 39 | Jefferson Alveiro CEPEDA HERNANDEZ | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 40 | Christopher HAMILTON | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 41 | Florian STORK | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 42 | Rudy PORTER | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 43 | Oliver BLEDDYN | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 44 | Santiago BUITRAGO SANCHEZ | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 45 | Jefferson CEPEDA ORTIZ | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 46 | Guillaume MARTIN GUYONNET | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 47 | Pascal EENKHOORN | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +13 |
| 48 | Luke LAMPERTI | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +18 |
| 49 | Finn Lachlan Fox FISHER-BLACK | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +18 |
| 50 | Ivo Emanuel ALVES OLIVEIRA | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +25 |
| 51 | Simone VELASCO | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +25 |
| 52 | Gal GLIVAR | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +25 |
| 53 | Marco SCHRETTL | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +25 |
| 54 | Pavel NOVÁK | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +25 |
| 55 | Erik Nordsaeter RESELL | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +25 |
| 56 | Adam Richard YATES | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +25 |
| 57 | Oscar CHAMBERLAIN | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +25 |
| 58 | Damien Craig HOWSON | UNKUnknown | +36 |
| 59 | Jack HAIG | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +36 |
| 60 | Enzo PALENI | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +36 |
| 61 | James KNOX | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +36 |
| 62 | Nicholas SCHULTZ | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +36 |
| 63 | Oliver PEACE | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +36 |
| 64 | Matthew DINHAM | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +41 |
| 65 | Lucas STEVENSON | UNKUnknown | +41 |
| 66 | Samuel WELSFORD | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +41 |
| 67 | Alastair MACKELLAR | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +44 |
| 68 | Anders SKAARSETH | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +44 |
| 69 | Manlio MORO | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +44 |
| 70 | Luc WIRTGEN | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +57 |
| 71 | Fabio VAN DEN BOSSCHE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +58 |
| 72 | Haimar ETXEBERRIA ANSALAS | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +1:01 |
| 73 | Robert STANNARD | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +1:01 |
| 74 | Hamish MCKENZIE | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +1:01 |
| 75 | Lucas PLAPP | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +1:01 |
| 76 | Žak ERŽEN | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +1:01 |
| 77 | Andrea BAGIOLI | LTKLIDL-TREK | +1:01 |
| 78 | Francesco BUSATTO | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +1:01 |
| 79 | Callum SCOTSON | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +1:03 |
| 80 | Darren VAN BEKKUM | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +1:03 |
| 81 | Davide TONEATTI | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +1:03 |
| 82 | Ben SWIFT | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +1:03 |
| 83 | Michal KWIATKOWSKI | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +1:03 |
| 84 | Martin BUGGE | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +1:03 |
| 85 | Michael GOGL | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +1:13 |
| 86 | Matthew GREENWOOD | UNKUnknown | +1:16 |
| 87 | Amanuel GHEBREIGZABHIER | LTKLIDL-TREK | +1:16 |
| 88 | Tim MARSMAN | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +1:19 |
| 89 | Baptiste VEISTROFFER | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +1:19 |
| 90 | Simon James CLARKE | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +1:22 |
| 91 | Callum THORNLEY | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +1:25 |
| 92 | Albert TORRES BARCELO | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +1:28 |
| 93 | Patrick KONRAD | LTKLIDL-TREK | +1:28 |
| 94 | Jacopo MOSCA | LTKLIDL-TREK | +1:28 |
| 95 | Luke TUCKWELL | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +1:31 |
| 96 | George BENNETT | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +1:31 |
| 97 | Menno HUISING | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +1:33 |
| 98 | Pietro MATTIO | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +1:33 |
| 99 | Per Strand HAGENES | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +1:33 |
| 100 | Jarrad Eriks DRIZNERS | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +1:33 |
| 101 | Petr KELEMEN | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +1:37 |
| 102 | Filippo FIORELLI | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +1:38 |
| 103 | Lewis BOWER | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +1:42 |
| 104 | Alessandro ROMELE | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +1:52 |
| 105 | Reuben THOMPSON | UNKUnknown | +1:53 |
| 106 | Titouan FONTAINE | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +1:59 |
| 107 | Pepijn REINDERINK | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +2:12 |
| 108 | Tim REX | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +2:14 |
| 109 | Luke DURBRIDGE | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +2:16 |
| 110 | Storm INGEBRIGTSEN | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +2:16 |
| 111 | Casper PEDERSEN | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +2:19 |
| 112 | Casper Cornelis VAN UDEN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +2:19 |
| 113 | Fran MIHOLJEVIĆ | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +2:19 |
| 114 | Oliver STOCKWELL | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +2:22 |
| 115 | Joel SUTER | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +2:37 |
| 116 | Matthew FOX | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +3:19 |
| 117 | Max WALKER | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +3:19 |
| 118 | Niklas MÄRKL | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +3:24 |
| 119 | Henri François RENARD HAQUIN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +3:45 |
| 120 | Kelland O’BRIEN | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +4:21 |
| 121 | Lucas HAMILTON | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +4:21 |
| 122 | Mikkel Norsgaard BJERG | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +4:43 |
| 123 | Juan Sebastian MOLANO BENAVIDES | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +4:51 |
| 124 | Maurice BALLERSTEDT | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +8:32 |
| 125 | Sente SENTJENS | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +8:32 |
| 126 | Stian EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +8:32 |
The original 176km queen stage, featuring three ascents of Willunga Hill, was cut to 131km after an "Extreme" fire danger rating and 45°C forecast prompted organisers to relocate the finish to the township and remove all climbing.
Early crash removes Narváez from GC battle
Defending champion Jhonatan Narváez went down within the opening 10km and abandoned under the concussion protocol. The Ecuadorian had entered the day second overall and was UAE's second GC option for the Stirling finale.
Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) attacked into a three-man break alongside Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ United) and Matthew Greenwood (ARA Australia), building a gap exceeding three minutes that briefly made Plapp virtual race leader.
Crosswinds cause Laengen crash
Nervousness through the McLaren Vale crosswind sections triggered a second crash at 84km, taking out Vegard Stake Laengen, another key UAE domestique. The break was caught 23.7km from the finish as Decathlon CMA CGM drove hard for Tobias Lund Andresen.
Multiple Decathlon riders inadvertently boxed in Lund Andresen with 200m remaining, allowing Vernon to launch.
"The boys did a really good job keeping me cool," Vernon said. "I saw guys suffering and I just kept calm."
Vine faces Stirling with reduced squad
Vine leads Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) by 1:03 and Harrison Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) by 1:12, but enters Sunday's eight-lap Stirling circuit finale with just four teammates.
The repeated 4% drags to the Stirling finish line will be covered eight times, with UAE starting the stage with four support riders for Vine.
Cover image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
