Highlands cyclist Caleb Ewan became the third rider in the history of the Santos Tour Down Under to win four stages in one week.
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Ewan dominated the sprint stages and also took out the points classification.
He won the prologue then claimed stages one, three, four and six.
The Orica-Scott cyclist won the People’s Choice criterium to perfection, winning the event in the same fashion as the year before.
Ewan sat toward the back for the duration of the race but pushed forward and increased his pace in the closing kilometres.
The first stage of the six-day Tour Down Under was raced in the Barossa Valley on Tuesday, January 17 but was shortened due to the heat.
The 145 kilometre stage was shortened by 26.5 kilometres as cyclists battled the scorching temperatures.
Ewan raced against Dutch rider Danny Van Poppel and Same Bennett from Ireland in the sprint finish.
The cyclist mimicked his performance from the 2016 Tour Down Under, where he also one the first stage.
Ewan’s stage three win ended in fierce sprint against Tour Down Under veteran Peter Sagan.
Ewan demonstrated his extreme sprinting abilities again in stage four of the tour.
In the final kilometre, Ewan pushed hard to out-sprint Sagan for the second time in the 149.5 kilometre course from Norwood through the Adelaide Hills.
Stage six was a 90 kilometre Adelaide street race that again came down to Ewan and Sagan.
Ewan took a narrow win in another tight sprint to the finish line.
The final-stage win marked Ewan’s seventh win this year. The overall winner of the 2017 Tour Down Under was Ewan’s compatriot, BMR cyclist Richie Porte.
Southern Highlands Cycling Club president Zac Hulm said Ewan was an inspiration to Highlands riders.
“We are very privileged to still have Caleb as a member of the club. He trained at the velodrome at Eridge Park in December and he was a great inspiration to all our young riders and our club,” he said.
“We have about 60 members go to the tour each year so it is a big deal that one our members did so well.”