Peter Sagan earns fourth stage, becomes Tour Down Under leader

Adelaide  :  Slovakia's cyclist Peter Sagan on Friday clinched the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under, earning the race's overall top spot.

Sagan (Bora) was the first to cross the finish line of the 128.2-kilometer stage between Noowood and Uraidla, clocking in his finish time at three hours, 21 minutes and seven seconds, reports Efe.

Australian Zak Dempster and Alex Porte launched an early attack at the beginning of the stage, with the former leading through the first 109 kilometers.

All the action came 8.2 kilometers before the finish line, while heading to the Summit Road as many cyclists attempted to launch unsuccessful attacks.

In the sprint finish, Sagan, the three-time defending world road champion, got the better of South African Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), who ended in the second and third spots respectively.

This was Sagan's 102nd win as a professional cyclist and the first in Australia in 2018.

With two more stages to go, Sagan tops the overall classification with a two-second advantage over Daryl Impey.