The way Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates) complained as he reached the finish line, you’d think he’d been terribly hard done by. Last year’s runner-up at the Tour Down Under threw his right arm in the air and gesticulated vigorously as he crossed the finish line in Victor Harbor, taking third on stage 4 of the 2025 TDU.
From Narváez’s perspective, Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) had deviated from his line in the reduced-bunch sprint, pinning Narváez up against the right-barrier where he was unable to get out and contest the sprint. Coquard went on to win the stage with Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) taking a very close second.
When Narváez’s sports director Fabio Baldato arrived at the finish, his first move was to confer with his team staff. Then he was off to see the race jury, to discuss that sprint finish and potentially lodge a protest. A few minutes later he returned and, after speaking with his riders, came over to front the media.
In Baldato’s view Coquard’s sprint was probably fine. It appeared that the Frenchman had deviated from his line, but in reality the approach to the finish included a bend to the right, meaning a straight sprint wouldn’t appear as such when just focusing on the barriers.
“The finish was turning a bit on the riders,” Baldato said. “It’s normal for the rider in front to try to keep it a shorter line. I went to speak with the jury, the president. They watch it two, three times. I trust them at the end. It’s not a case to fight.
“It was close but it’s a pity because you guys saw Jhonny was coming really fast; really double speed on the others. If he found the free way to go, that was a victory.”
Baldato said that he felt Narváez had taken a risk by choosing to sprint along the right-hand barrier and that he had been boxed in as a result. He put the Ecuadorian’s gesticulation down to a case of missing out on a stage win – and crucial 10-second time bonus – he believed he could have won.
“You take the risk sometime to come with double speed, like he did, but you don’t find the way to go out – you remain blocked,” he said. “But I can understand him. You are a little bit frustrated because he feel he was able to win the race. That is more frustrating for him.
“But OK, we try again tomorrow. It’s good that we are there. We took four-second bonus, we come closer to the leader. I’m happy with how was the day but of course, win a stage was better.”
And so with UAE Team Emirates deciding not to lodge an appeal, Coquard’s stage victory remains. It’s the 32-year-old’s second stage win at the Tour Down Under after also winning a reduced-bunch sprint in 2023 – his first WorldTour victory. His only other win at the highest level is a stage victory at last year’s Tour de Suisse.
“It was a very tactical sprint because I know a lot of guys have a lot of pain in the legs,” the Frenchman said of today’s stage. “The final was very explosive with a lot of attack and a difficult climb, for me. I’m not a good climber. It’s difficult.
“I managed very good, my sprint, and I arrived, I think, at 300 meter, with a lot of speed. And I say ‘Now push maximum power.'”
Coquard’s maximum power was enough to fend off an impressive late surge from Bauhaus. But only just.
While he didn’t notice Narváez complaining in the moment, Coquard did see it on the replay.
“Yeah, I saw that in the TV,” he said. “I don’t know. He was a little angry at the final, but I don’t know. I don’t look [around]; I look just at the finish line, and I sprint at maximum to win again in Australia.”
When pushed on whether his sprint was “clean”, Coquard said “I don’t know” before adding “I think it’s OK.” The race jury ultimately agreed.
Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) wasn’t quite so lucky. The Kiwi was fourth across the line but was later relegated by commissaires to 72nd place – last in the winning group – for his “Deviation from the chosen line that obstructs and endangers another rider”. Like his teammate Danny van Poppel on stage 2, Pithie was fined 500 Swiss francs, docked seven points in the points classification and three points in the KOM classifcation. Unlike Van Poppel, however, Pithie wasn’t given a yellow card for his infraction in the sprint.
It had been a day where it was difficult to predict what would happen. The finish in Victor Harbor was flat, but the steep late climb of Nettle Hill – peaking 21 km from the finish – raised the prospect of several potential outcomes. One: a small group or even solo rider going clear to the line. Two: a reduced bunch coming to Victor Harbor. Or three: almost the entire peloton getting there, including the sprinters.
In the last of those situations, Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – winner of the first two stages – would have been the man to beat. But the climb proved a little too much for him.
As the day’s breakaway disintegrated on that final climb, the pace was well and truly on in the peloton. While no one was really able to get away, Welsford found himself drifting backwards.
“It was a tough one today,” Welsford said after collecting the points jersey. “Pretty steep climb, and they made it quite hard for us. We knew that they would go pretty hard – you could see Israel’s plan to do that, and UAE also were looking for the bonus seconds.
“We tried our best to come back. I tried my best on the climb to limit the losses. We were actually really close on the top. But when you have a group of four guys rolling, and we had a group of about 45 … Of course, no one was really going to help us there, because then they were going to bring back the sprint train.
“So unfortunate, but all eyes for us are on Willunga to help the GC guys tomorrow.”
And so to the Willunga Hill stage. Twice up the iconic 3 km climb, with the Tour Down Under’s general classification likely to be wrapped up when the riders complete the second ascent.
Based on how the race has unfolded this year, and indeed how Willunga’s been raced in recent times, it seems unlikely that we’ll see a Richie Porte-like solo effort winning the day. Instead, it seems far more likely that a small group will duke it out. All-rounders like Narváez, Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), defending champion Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), and WorldTour debutant Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek) going head to head with more proficient climbers like Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) – who crashed early in today’s stage – Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) and last year’s Willunga winner, Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL).
For any of those riders to win – be they climber or all-rounder – they’ll need to dethrone the man who currently wears the ochre leader’s jersey. Javier Romo (Movistar), yesterday’s stage winner, rode well again today and ensured he finished in the lead group. He leads the Tour Down Under by just four seconds over Narváez with Patrick Konrad (Lidl-Trek) and Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in third and fourth, both at 10 seconds. Sixteen riders remain within just 15 seconds of Romo’s overall lead, making for a tantalising battle on Willunga tomorrow.
Again, it’s unlikely to be big time gaps atop Willunga that decide the Tour Down Under meaning the time bonuses for first through third on the stage – 10, six, and four seconds – will be crucial. That’s something Fabio Baldato is all too aware of, with Narváez perfectly placed to improve on his second overall from a year ago.
“He need to be top three again tomorrow,” Baldato said. “I hope at the top, first, and then we can think also about the GC.”
What better way to bounce back from the frustrations of today than winning on Willunga to sew up the race overall?
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