Canberra cyclist Nathan Haas produced a gutsy second on the tough Willunga Hill, but he prefers to think of it as "the best of the humans" instead.
The Dimension Data rider finished 20 seconds behind Tour Down Under leader Richie Porte on stage five on Saturday, with Orica-Scott's Esteban Chaves finishing third.
![Canberra cyclist Nathan Haas was the "best of the humans" on stage five of the Tour Down Under.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171230083742im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/w/3/p/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtw30t.png/1499179333756.jpg)
It moved Haas up to third overall - 51 seconds behind Porte, but just three seconds behind the second-placed Chaves with the final stage to come on Sunday.
While the sixth stage is likely to finish in a bunch sprint on the streets of Adelaide, there are a couple of sprints with time bonuses on offer to give Haas the chance to go for second.
![BMC leader Richie Porte wins the fifth stage of the Tour Down Under to increase his overall lead.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171230083742im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/w/2/z/s/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtw30t.png/1484984341581.jpg)
Porte's win was the fourth straight year he's won the climb up Willunga Hill, south of Adelaide, and has all-but wrapped up a first ochre jersey for the Tasmanian.
He attacked up the climb to set up the win before Haas emerged from nowhere to claim second from Chaves having been dropped earlier on the climb.
Haas has been targeting the TDU for a number of years and spent his off-season training in Adelaide getting ready for the race.
He felt having a full season under his belt with his team also helped.
"It's a race I've wanted to do well in for a long time, like a long, long time. I've always known I could go really well on it, but it's different when all of a sudden you're racing against Richie Porte," Haas said.
"He's just amazing to win four times in a row now, but I was in second so I think can say I was the best of the humans."
Haas is an allrounder - he can sprint, but can also get up short climbs - which gives him an edge over Chaves, who's a pure climber and not suited to the flat-out sprints.
That opens the door for Haas to make up his time deficit and climb a rung on the podium on the final day.
"We'll see what happens tomorrow, I'm a much faster sprinter than Chaves in second so we can see what happens," he said.
"I'm on the podium so I'm thinking about it and obviously second's better than third ... I'm happy where we are, but the race still isn't over so there's the chance to move up."
The TDU is Porte's first race since he crashed out of the Olympic Games road race in Brazil in August.
He's been runner-up at the TDU the last two years and the BMC team leader said winning this year's race was his first goal.
Then his focus will switch to the Tour de France and he said this was a good step towards that goal.
"I tell you what, that hurt more than the other three I've won up here," Porte said.
"It was incredible teamwork today. This is not an easy climb - to win it is great for morale. For me, the biggest goal this year is July, the Tour de France, and things are going well." with AAP