Van Poppel third in penultimate stage Tour Down Under
Danny van Poppel has finished third in the fifth stage of the Tour Down Under. The sprinter of Team Jumbo-Visma was slightly hampered and he crossed the line fourth. Because of the disqualification of Caleb Ewan, he moved up a spot.
At around thirty kilometres from the finish line, the team split the peloton in echelons. But in the end, it all came together.
“It was a hard, nervous day”, Van Poppel said. “We took the initiative to form the echelons. We got away, but unfortunately we couldn’t hold up. Tom (Leezer) did a good lead-out for the sprint. It was a hard stage but in races like this I’m usually still able to sprint well.” Unfortunately Van Poppel had to slow down during his sprint and had to go around the outside. “It will fall into place next time”, he thought.
George Bennett is still seventh in the general classification. Tomorrow is the last stage of the Tour Down Under.