Peter Sagan secures victory on stage four of the Tour Down Under

Peter Sagan was rewarded for a late attack with victory on stage four of the Tour Down Under – and the overall race lead.

In stifling heat, the reigning world champion attacked off the final climb of the day, close to the end of the 128.2km stage from Norwood to Uraidla.

Only a handful of riders were able to stick with the Slovakian, setting up a reduced bunch sprint from which there was only one winner.

The split in the pack caused a major shake-up in the general classification, with Sagan taking over the leader’s ochre jersey from Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan.

Ewan lost more than 11 minutes to tumble to 65th, but his Mitchelton-Scott team took consolation as Daryl Impey, second on the day, now sits second overall, two seconds down on Sagan.

Sagan’s Bora-Hansgrohe team-mate Jay McCarthy is third, nine seconds down, with Luis Leon Sanchez a further second back in fourth.

Saturday’s queen stage sees the race head to the famed Willunga Hill which so often decides the race overall. BMC’s Richie Porte, who has won on the climb four times in a row and used victory there last year to clinch the overall, will begin the day in 20th place, 14 seconds behind Sagan.