Italy's Valentina Scandolara has hailed her fellow Orica-AIS cyclists as more like bodyguards than team-mates.
Scandolara will win the Santos Women's Tour after preserving her six-second overall lead through the tough 71km stage on Monday from Tanunda to the Adelaide suburb of Campbelltown.
She finished the stage third behind winner and compatriot Georgia Bronzini.
Scandolara's team-mate Melissa Hoskins was second and they should take the top two overall placings once the Tour ends on Tuesday with a criterium at Victoria Park.
Orica-AIS had four riders in the key 11-rider break that formed on the tough climb of Checkers Hill, 41km into the stage.
They finished more than a minute clear of the next group.
"This blue (as overall leader) jersey is the team's blue jersey not mine," Scandolara said.
"I'm really confident. I told you today was the most difficult stage and I felt like a politician with the bodyguards.
"I felt really safe. Tomorrow, I think we can do that (defend the overall lead) and get a good result for the team."
Orica-AIS have dominated the Tour, winning the first two stages.
Victorian Nicole Whitburn was in the lead ahead of Checkers Hill, but she was caught and the peloton splintered on the climb.
Former Australian champion Ruth Corset, who finished fifth, and Scandolara went off the front and the lead group formed on the descent.
Scandolara had a brief scare when she ran out of gearing on the steep climb.
But Hoskins, Amanda Spratt and Lizzie Williams ensured she did not lose touch.
Bronzini, the two-time world champion, is better known as a sprinter and the Wiggle-Honda star admitted to surprise that she made the selection after Checkers Hill.
"I was a little bit scared because I saw the four (Orica-AIS) riders with me - it was a lot," she said.
"In the end, I was happy. It means the form is coming."
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