Ethan Vernon secures first win for NSN in shortened queen stage of Santos Tour Down Under

Ethan Vernon won the fourth stage of the Santos Tour Down Under. He was the fastest in the sprint finish.

The fourth stage was originally scheduled to finish atop Willunga Hill, but due to high fire risk, the finish was moved lower down the climb. The stage now ended on High Street in the town of Willunga, the same location where the first stage of the Santos Tour Down Under for women finished. The final six hundred meters still had a slight incline, with gradients of three to four percent, favoring the strong sprinters. There was little to gain for the GC contenders.

Narváez abandons
The day's breakaway consisted of three riders: Matthew Greenwood (Australia), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), and Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ United). While they built up almost three and a half minutes lead, the second-placed rider in the general classification, Jhonatan Narváez, literally crashed out. The UAE Emirates XG rider went down and was unable to continue. Leader Jay Vine lost both a teammate and his only rival in the GC.

The last breakaway riders were caught with about 24 kilometers to go. A bunch sprint was then inevitable. As the sprint approached, Decathlon CMA-CGM and INEOS Grenadiers led out their sprinters Tobias Lund Andresen and Sam Welsford respectively, but neither could match the speed. Ethan Vernon proved by far the fastest. The Brit secured the first victory for NSN Cycling Team.