"We wanted to make it harder but without Luke Plapp we didn't have the men" - Disappointment for Simon Yates and Team Jayco AlUla on stage 5 of the Tour Down Under

The big favourite pre-race to take overall victory, Simon Yates failed to come to the fore on the first real GC challenge of the 2024 Tour Down Under, finishing in 6th on the day.

Riding for the Australian, Team Jayco AlUla, there's slightly more pressure on the team to mount a good showing at their home stage race. As the former Vuelta a Espana winner admits in his post-stage interview however, having lost the Australian National Champion, Luke Plapp following a crash, the man power of the team was down slightly.

"We wanted to make it a bit harder on the first time around," begins the Brit's recap to the official social pages of Team Jayco AlUla. "But with Luke Plapp gone we actually don't have the men to do it and no one else wanted to really take it up so it was all on us."

"There was still quite a lot of fresh guys coming into the final climb and then yeah, I just did my best from there. I tried to shake them but it wasn't to be."

Yates' compatriot Oscar Onley took the stage in the end with Stephen Williams moving into the overall race lead. With one stage to go, Yates has another chance tomorrow to make an impact at the head of the race.