Javier Romo, born 13 days before the inaugural Tour Down Under, has scored his first professional cycling win in the 25th edition and leads the race.
The 26-year-old Movistar rider broke away with less than 5km left in Thursday’s stage three and held off a select front group at Uraidla in the Adelaide Hills.
He holds an eight-second lead overall ahead of the Queen stage on Saturday, featuring the iconic summit finish at Willunga Hill.
Defending champion Stevie Williams is out of contention after he crashed during the stage and lost time at the end.
Harold Lopez abandoned the race after a separate crash and the Ecuador rider was taken to hospital.
Light winds are forecast for Friday at Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide, meaning the stage four finish there is unlikely to have a big impact on the race.
Saturday looms as the key test, given Sunday’s final stage is a street race in Adelaide.
But Romo just wanted to enjoy the moment after taking out Thursday’s 147.5km stage from suburban Norwood.
The Spaniard was born on January 6, 1999 and the first Santos Tour edition started on the 19th.
“I worked from September for this race and my team have a lot of confidence in me,” Romo said
“In the final, I had very good legs, I tried, it was perfect.
“I don’t know (about overall) – I want to enjoy this day and tomorrow is another day. We try.”
The Australian Jayco AlUla team tried to animate the stage, but ultimately they were unable to score the stage win.
Team leader Luke Plapp and fellow Australian Chris Harper remain in contention, finishing in the select group of 16 riders that crossed the line five seconds behind Romo.
Those two are in a group of 13 riders who are within 15 seconds of Romo’s overall lead.
Jay Vine (UAE), the 2023 Santos Tour winner, is the top-placed Australian at eighth, also 15 seconds behind Romo.
Ecuador star Jhonatan Narvaez sprinted to second on Thursday’s stage and is second overall at eight seconds.
“While we didn’t gain any time, we’re still in a good position,” said Jayco AlUla team director Mat Hayman.
“We wanted to make as much difference as possible. We wanted to have numbers and use those numbers in the final.
“It was a tick for all those, except the result.”
Williams (Israel Premier Tech) lost some skin when he crashed about 60km from the finish and ultimately he lost touch with the leaders on the crucial 2.6km Knotts Hill climb.
He is 35 seconds off the pace and out of contention.
Lopez (Astana) was motionless on the ground after his accident, 15km from the finish, but was understood to be conscious as he was taken away by ambulance.
It was just after the Knotts Hill summit that Romo made his winning solo move.
Romo’s win is a morale boost for the Movistar team after his teammate, Italian sprinter Manlio Moro, broke his collarbone and was forced out of the Tour in Saturday night’s classic street race.
Young Australian rider Fergus Browning (ARA National team) was again in the day’s breakaway as he shored up his lead in the king of the mountain category.
They were caught with about 25km left.
