Upon taking the ochre jersey yesterday, Cadel Evans said he hoped for an easy day in the saddle in stage four ahead of the much bigger challenge of Old Willunga Hill on Saturday. A man of his experience should have known better – it is not without good cause that the most clichéd of sporting sayings states that there are no easy days, and it is particularly true of cycling. Looking at the profile, most would have anticipated a flat stage with an early day-long break going clear before the sprinters’ teams reeled them in for a battle royale of the fast men in Victor Harbour. The efforts of Orica-GreenEDGE and the weather ensured that would never happen, though.
For Evans in particular, it proved to be anything but an easy day. Battered by the crosswinds, the former world and Tour de France champion nearly touched wheels with Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas on the open expanse of road following Myponga Dam. He avoided what could have proved a costly crash then, but as he attempted to move up through the bunch he was nearly taken out again as Thomas and even the giant frame of Andre Greipel were forced off-road just in front of him. And if he thought his near-misses were over, he was made to think again when a chain problem ruled him out of contention in the intermediate sprint and, as he was moving across the road for a bike change, he nearly collided at speed with a Lampre-Merida rider and only some expert handling of his bike avoided another potential sit-down. Come Victor Harbour, Evans must just have been relieved to still be upright even if his lead has been cut to seven seconds now.
