Howson retains Herald Sun Tour lead

Australian cyclist Damien Howson has survived crash chaos at the end of stage three to retain his Herald Sun Tour lead with one day left.

All eyes will now be on Howson and three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome in Sunday's hilly last stage at Kinglake, north of Melbourne.

American Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare) won a reduced bunch sprint to take out Saturday's 167.7km stage from Benalla to Mitchelton Winery at Nagambie.

Only 16 riders contested the high-speed finish after two crashes inside the last 5km.

It was a day for the sprinters, with Froome's Dutch teammate Danny van Poppel (Sky) and Australian Brenton Jones (JLT-Condor) among the favourites for the win.

But Jones and van Poppel, who won the Tour prologue, were among the riders to crash.

Van Poppel lost a lot skin in his tumble.

Howson (Orica-Scott) and Froome were caught behind one of the crashes.

But they were with the front group inside the last 3km and that meant they did not lose any time.

Race commissaires gave the first 52 riders across the line the same time as McCabe.

It has been a hairy couple of days for Howson since he took the Tour lead with a rousing win at Falls Creek.

Howson and Orica-Scott had to mount a furious chase after he suffered a puncture on Thursday, and eventually he lost no time.

He leads fellow Australian Jai Hindley (KordaMentha) on general classification by 38 seconds and Froome's French teammate Kenny Elissonde by 53 seconds.

But Froome is Howson's big threat.

The British star is sixth overall, a minute 12 seconds behind Howson.

Sunday's 121km last stage features four circuits of a loop that features a 4.5km climb.

Howson is favourite to keep the lead and complete his unlikely Tour win, but Sky have made it clear since Falls Creek they plan to keep the pressure on the Australian to the end.

Last year, Froome unleashed a withering attack on the steep Arthurs Seat climb at the end of the last stage to claim the Tour title.