Stephen Williams secured overall victory on the final day of the Tour Down Under. The Briton from Israel-Premier Tech went into the final stage towards Mount Lofty as the leader and maintained the lead after a close fight with Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers), Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Bart Lemmen (VIsma-Lease the Bike).
Portuguese António Morgado on the escape of the day
The day’s stage was 128km, with more than 2,800 meters of difference in level, after three climbs to Mount Lofty (6km at 3.3%, but the last 1.3km at 7.3%) on the final 60km route. .
The stage featured an escape with seven cyclists. Gil Gelders ( Soudal Quick-Step ), António Morgado ( United Arab Emirates ), Franck Bonnamour ( Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale ), Simon Geschke ( Cofidis ), Stefan De Bod ( EF Education- EasyPost ), Maurice Ballerstedt ( Alpecin-Deceuninck ) and Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek), tried to surprise the peloton. They held out until the final ascent of Mount Lofty.
Five kilometers before the finish, the peloton caught up with the last fugitives, however, Morgado and Gelders made one last escape attempt, which earned the Portuguese the award for most combative athlete of the day, but the neo-professionals were unsuccessful.
Check out the escape in action
Last 2 km
In the last 2 km, the first attack came from Del Toro, followed by only four cyclists. Narváez jumped onto the Mexican’s wheel, while Williams and Lemmen fought to catch up. Laurence Pithie (Grupama FDJ) was also along and sped up, surprising the group. However, after Del Toro accelerated again, he was caught.
The finish took place in a sprint with 3 cyclists. With Stephen Williams being the first to attack in the final sprint and coming in ahead of INEOS Grenadiers’ Ecuadorian Jonathan Narvaez and UAE Team Emirates’ young Mexican talent, who also joined him on the final Tour Down Under podium.
Portuguese and Brazilian in the test
The Portuguese Ruben Guerreiro and António Morgado finished the stage in 17th and 56th positions, respectively. Brazilian Vinícius Rangel finished the race in 53rd place.
Watch the arrival
Check out the results of the 6th stage of the Tour Down Under
Santos Tour Down Under 2024 final classification:
