Trek-Segafredo's Richie Porte was all smiles after winning the third stage of the Tour Down Under in Paracom on Thursday and taking the ochre leader's jersey.

Still, the 2017 champion was neck-and-neck with defending champion Daryl Impey and Simon Yates at the halfway point of the race, with the duo of Mitchelton Scott sandwiched between third-place finisher Rob Power (Sunweb) and the top four overall by just 11 seconds They are lined up.

"I would have liked to have shaved a little more off Daryl's time," Porte admitted, "but you have to take the win where you can.

Porte got away just as the rest of the peloton rounded the right-hand bend and entered Trenthill Road, which has a 20 percent gradient. I lost a little time in the last 300 meters, but I was happy to make that gap. Thanks to everyone for keeping me in a great position in the hectic run up to the final," Porte said, praising his Trek-Segafredo teammates who rode great for him.

"Some of the younger guys are ready to take bigger risks than us older guys.

Asked if he won the race in a show of strength - the last two winners at Paracom, Porte in 2017 and Rohan Dennis in 2015, both won the overall - Porte said that 2018 and 2019 Tour Down Under champion Impy denied that the 6-second overall advantage over the winner was enough at this point in the race.

"'Who knows,' historically speaking, when this stage is in the race, it's a 'queen stage,' but the race is not over yet, as there are two more stages to go until Willunga Hill (stage 6)."

"There are time bonuses on the road as well, and Mitchelton Scott will be going for it.

Impey will now try to reduce his time thanks to the intermediate sprint bonus, but Mitchelton still has Yates on his card as well.

While one might say "Porte's advantage," the race is far from over. In fact, it will be a battle for every second. Porte will use every tactic in his arsenal to steal a few seconds, or even take them away from his rivals.

"There are fast guys on the team like Kiel Reijnen and Mads Pedersen, but I think we'll just take it one day at a time, and if that's the way the race goes, so be it," Porte said of the bonus seconds battle among the fast runners, "We'll have a good race in Wilunga. We just have to have a good race at Willunga."

"Simon is a fantastic rider and I don't like to see that.

"I saw him after the crash and he looked out of shape. But he's top class and it's good for the race that he's still out there.