It is rare for a team to win the leader's jersey in a race and still feel on the back foot, but new Tour Down Under (open in new tab) leader Daryl Impey (open in new tab) and his Mitchelton Scott (open in new tab) team, Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) has won the Willunga Hill six times in the past and is well aware that a seventh win on this climb on Sunday would almost guarantee him the overall win.

What gives the Australian team light, hope, and determination is that Impey has come close to Porte twice before to take the overall win. In other words, Impey and Mitchelton Scott will have to do something special to stop Richie Porte's rampage on Willunga Hill and pave the way to victory.

The Tour Down Under is as much fun for the mathematicians as it has ever been. [With time bonuses of 3, 2, and 1 second in the intermediate sprints and 10, 6, and 4 seconds at the finish for each stage, most races are decided by seconds; in 2017, Porte won the overall by 48 seconds from Esteban Chaves, and in 2018, Porte and Impey finished in the same time and and Impey won the title on a countback of stage positions. Last season, it was Impey again, 13 seconds behind Porte.

"All week I've been trying to get to the top here so I can be in a good position for tomorrow," said Impey, who pulled on the ochre leader's jersey on Saturday and took a two-second lead over Porte into the final stage.

"It is possible to beat Richie, but two seconds means it will be a really tight and close race. But I was given the best possible chance."

"The guys have worked incredibly hard all week and done a great job. Win, lose, or draw tomorrow, we'll know we've given it everything at the end of the race."

Asked if chasing bonus seconds day after day had taken its toll, Impey admitted that it had.

"But I can't think of anything like that. We still have Simon Yates."

Yates said.

Yates is Mitchelton Scott's strongest climber. He had the misfortune of crashing near the finish of Wednesday's second stage in Stirling, but recovered well enough to join the fray on the uphill finish of the third stage in Paracombe. The British rider finished Saturday's stage in the same lead group as teammate Impey and remains in fourth place overall, 13 seconds behind Impey and 11 seconds behind second-place Porte.

Yates has given Mitchelton-Scott the possibility of second or alternate, but has a better chance of making it.

"If Simon can keep up with Richie at Willunga Hill, he still has a good chance of winning.

"Simon is the only one who can keep up with Ritchie in the bike race. I think we are in a good position. Even if we lose tomorrow, we gave it our all and I think we gave it our best chance.

While Impey was buoyed by his accomplishment of leading the race on the final stage, his director sportif, Matt White, was aware of the challenges facing the team.

"It's going to be hard. It's really hard," White said. [Richie has great climbing form and will attack. I'm going to help him as much as I can tomorrow to hang on to the leader's jersey. "

Asked by Cyclingnews if Yates could be their trump card, White was less optimistic than Impey about Yates' chances of winning a third title in a row with the 10-second bonus for a stage win. He was less optimistic.

"If Richie finishes second behind Simon, he will still get 6 seconds (bonus). Darryl has to finish with Richie Porte."

White and Impey are talking about bonus seconds for the two intermediate sprints in the final stage, at 63.4km and 103.4km of the 151.5km stage, both of which are likely to be taken by the breakaway group early, i.e., the final climb to the finish line. He admitted that it all comes down to the sprint. The real-time time difference and the time bonuses for the first three riders mean everything.

"Everyone knows that Ritchie will attack at Willunga with 1.3km to 1km to go. [I think the last 1.5km will decide the race and whoever can climb the fastest will win the Tour Down Under. Wilunga will decide the race."