KUALA LUMPUR: Terengganu Cycling Team's (TSG) Jesse Ewart finished on top of the podium in stage four of the Tour of Thailand to bring back the cheer for the Malaysian side.
The Australian-Irish climber was in his element in the category one and two climbs through the 155.9km route from Phitsanulok to Phetchabun today.
The 30-year-old Ewart clocked three hours, 38 minutes and 26 seconds to finish ahead of Thailand Continental Cycling Team's Thanakhan Chaiyasombat and third-place Adne Van Engelen of Roojai Insurance.
Ewart said the scorching temperatures (soaring to 40 degrees Celsius) was his biggest challenge on day four of the tour.
"It's unreal, we won. It doesn't get any better! Yesterday it was hot... I don't know what happened, I think I might have had a mild heat stroke. It's a little bit colder today than yesterday, I was lucky for that," said Ewart.
"We will fight for it, we have a silent assassin, our Ukrainian mate (Anatoliy Budyak) and sprinter Irwandi (Lakasek). We have a few more options, I'll be tired of the effort after today so I'll take it as easy as I can for tomorrow."
Dutchman Van Engelen led the general classification with nine seconds over Thailand Continental Cycling Team's Thanakhan and his teammate Peerapol Chawchiangkwang is third (+17s).
Stage 5 of the Tour of Thailand on Friday will cover a distance of 156km from Phitsanulok to Phichit. The six-stage UCI 2.1 tour ends on Saturday.