Stage Four: Norwood to Campbelltown - Cycling Maths

The road is clogged with non-elite cyclists in non-elite shapes and sizes.

Three-Two-One-Go!

The popular BUPA challenge is off and running, from Norwood.

That's 5718 riders out of the way.

Some hours later, Stage Four of the Tour Down Under gets going.

Phil Liggett: This will be a very good day for the riders.

Paul Sherwen: Yes, a great day, after last night's freak storm cleared the air.

Phil Liggett: There goes Richie Porte, wearing the ochre jersey. He'll be trying to protect his position.

Paul Sherwen: Indeed. And there goes Caleb Ewan, the pocket rocket. He's already won two stages and looking for a third in Campelltown this afternoon.

Phil Liggett: Speaking of pocket rockets, Paul, everyone's talking about the Parrot Team. It's all over Twitter. But there seems to be a great deal of confusion.

Paul Sherwen: Yes Phil. Are they parrots? Some people have sworn at least two of them are spiders.

Phil Liggett: Perhaps we'll find out today.

Paul Sherwen: Here comes Team Philosophe, riding together.

Phil Liggett: That's nice to see.

.......

Team Philosophe are riding together.

Marcel Duchamp is determined to explain the benefits of the Shockwheel to his fellow team members.

Marcel Duchamp: The bow spokes are positioned in a spiral arrangement, which allows compression in all directions.

Vello: You don't say. I can't quite picture it.

David: Nor can I.

Marcel Duchamp: Imagine a wheel, with four curved spokes coming out from a central hub to the inside of the rim.

Vello: I see. It could look quite attractive.

Gaius: So it doesn't use conventional fork suspension?

Marcel Duchamp ( taken aback at Gaius's technical knowledge): No.

......

Team Parrot is doing better today, now that Baby Pierre has gone independent.

Daniel O'Connell: Look at Baby Pierre!

The Pesquet: What's he doing?

Dedalus: He's doing wheelies.

Daniel O'Connell: No discipline.

The Pesquet: Look. A bridge. I'm tempted....

Daniel O'Connell: Don't YOU start!

The Pesquet: Point taken.

Dedalus: I'm the team leader.

Daniel O'Connell: So what?

Dedalus: I'm the one who should say DON'T YOU START.

Daniel O'Connell: No, that's the opposite of what a team leader should say.

The Pesquet: Ha Ha. That's funny!

Dedalus: Why?

Daniel O'Connell: Just do what you do best, young Dedalus. I think I see Caleb Ewan.

Dedalus: Yeee!

Dedalus speeds off to try and catch up with Caleb Ewan.

......

Cink, Meyer and Bauer have formed a breakaway early.....

....and Cink has got King of the Mountain, on Checker Hill.

They stay out there in front for ages but....

...one by one, they're picked off and absorbed by the peloton.

There is too much head wind and too many people wanting a bunch sprint finish.

In the end it is Caleb Ewan again, pipping Peter Sagan who comes second, and  Danny van Poppel, who comes third.

Fantastic.

But Richie Porte still wears the ochre jersey, due to some sort of cycling maths.