Nathan Haas' outstanding performance in the Queen stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour has confirmed he is the latest young star of Australian road cycling.

The 22-year-old ACT-based rider finished second at the top of Arthurs Seat behind stage four winner, Russian Egor Silin from the Katusha team.

But more importantly, the former mountain biker finished just ahead of higher-profile compatriot Jack Bobridge (Garmin).

By withstanding Bobridge's attempts to drop him on the final climb of the epic stage, Haas took the overall race lead with only one stage left.

The star climber for the Tasmanian-based Genesys team now leads Bobridge by 10 seconds heading into Sunday's criterium at the Lygon St restaurant strip in Melbourne.

Only a disaster will stop Haas winning the tour for the first time.

Haas, who also leads the young rider and sprint categories, was in tears at the finish as he hugged family members and team-mates.

"It's pretty awesome - to be honest, I'm just trying to stay pragmatic about it because there's another stage tomorrow, so it's not finished," said Haas.

"I feel as if I showed something today, so whatever happens tomorrow, I feel as if I've come away with a good win inside."

Adding lustre to Haas' triumph, he has overcome ProTour teams such as Bobridge's Garmin squad and Saxo Bank.

Haas only became a full-time cyclist this year and he has starred in domestic racing, winning the Tours of Gippsland, Geelong and Tasmania in the Scody Cup series.

He was in a group of six riders, also featuring Bobridge, who took control of the tour in the first stage.

Heading into stage four, Haas was second overall at 15 seconds behind compatriot Rhys Pollock (Drapac).

Saturday's decisive 131.6km stage from Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula featured three circuits of the tough 3km Arthurs Seat climb, with the last two coming at the end.

Thousands of fans lined the climb, which is set to become an annual feature of the tour.

Apart from the tough climbs, the riders also had to deal with strong winds around the course and occasional rain.

Pollock was dropped on the second climb and it came down to Haas and Bobridge on the last climb to decide the race lead.

Bobridge, who started the stage sixth overall at 23 seconds, had said on Friday that Haas was his biggest threat.

Bobridge's loftier international status meant Haas was the underdog on Saturday, but the Genesys rider was rock solid.

"I gave it everything I had and I couldn't get rid of him, he was way too strong - he's a classy bike rider," Bobridge said.

Haas' performance this week will fuel speculation that he will soon sign a contract with a bigger international team.

Australian Matt Lloyd, racing again after a seven-month break, was the favourite to win the stage.

He lost contact on the final climb and finished 18th at 39 seconds, but was pleased with his performance.

Meanwhile, Victorian Lisa Jacobs won stage four of the Honda Hybrid women's tour, which featured one climb of Arthurs Seat.

Jacobs leads Queenslander Loren Rowney by four seconds with the Lygon St criterium to come.

Tweet

Canberra university student Nathan Haas virtually parcelled up the Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland today and is poised for the most important victory in his fast-developing professional cycling career.

 

With only one stage remaining in the 520km five-day event, Haas leads Bunbury teenager Bradley Linfield (Plan B) by 24secs, with a further 22secs to Queenslander Michael Cupitt (Budget Forklifts).

 

Haas, a former mountain biker who is studying for an Arts degree at Sydney University, is riding for the powerful Tasmanian-based Genesys Wealth Advisers team which has dominated the tour since it began in Wonthaggi last Wednesday.

 

Team-mates Patrick Shaw and Steele Von Hoff are leading the SP AusNet sprint championship and CreditCollect criterium titles respectively.

 

Haas has also clinched the Hotondo Homes king of the mountain championship. 

 

Haas rode conservatively today, finishing 16^th in the 33km criterium at Bairnsdale before a 14^th placing in the frenetic 69.3km eighth stage from Lakes Entrance to Metung.

 

He luckily escaped time loss on the Lakes Entrance-Metung journey when Canberra’s Benjamin Hill (Suzuki Trek) took a tumble on a hill climb and Haas momentarily ended up in a ditch. He also had a brush with a passing official race car.

 

“It was an awesome course into Metung but I had some scary moments out there,” Haas said after the stage.

 

“It could have been a disaster but my Genesys team-mates are doing a fantastic job for me and hopefully I’ve got this tour sewn up”.