Jay Vine and the UAE Team Emirates team survived a tense day of crosswinds on the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under to move one day closer to winning the overall Australian World Tour.

Now the talented young Australian must take control of the final attack on Sunday's hilly stage to Mount Lofty to claim the overall win and bring another step up in his already prolific and intense career.

Vine attacked on the winding Corkscrew Road climb on stage 3 to take the ochre leader's jersey. He was joined by Simon Yates (Jayco Alura) and Pero Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorius), who pulled away from Rohan Dennis (Jumbo Visma) to sweep the podium.

Ahead of Sunday's final stage, Wein has a 15-second lead over his two rivals and is growing in confidence.

"I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but tomorrow is the day we have a stronger team against an undulating, ruler-type course," Weine said calmly. [But] I don't think we won until I see the finish line tomorrow. But I don't think we won until I see the finish line tomorrow.

"The cool thing about the team is that we have one goal, not to go after everything, just to focus on GC. Everyone knows I will be working for them next week at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race."

The 27-year-old Wein understands his ability and performance data and believes that the Mount Lofty stage and the climb to the finish will not be difficult enough to put him in difficulty, given his great form

"I got through the third stage and , probably the stage I was most worried about. We got through stage 3 and it was probably the stage I was most worried about. It was ups and downs, but not super hard."

"Jaco-Aroura will be looking to secure second place overall, and there are some minor standings battles, so those micro-competitions should work to his advantage.

"The Mount Lofty climb will require a 6w/kg effort, but not long enough to get away with it. Of course, we know that anything can happen."

Wein's UAE Team Emirates team eagerly led the peloton during the 133.2 km stage around the McLaren Vale wine estate, protecting Wein from the wind, the peloton's big splits, and Willunga's fast finish.

The Australian rode like a veteran, avoiding a sprint finish that surprised stage chasers Brian Coquard (Cofidis).

Byrne admitted that Saturday's race was stressful. The atmosphere in the UAE Team Emirates before the start was tense, but when the race exploded they handled it well.

"There was a point where I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be an easy day. I waved to some families on the side of the road, smiling and happy. Then after about 45 km, I just kept going until the end," Wein said.

"It was a pretty hectic day with the wind changing direction throughout the day. Sometimes I didn't know where I was on the course. Luckily I had a great team and I had six guys in the front group helping me. It gave me a lot of confidence."