Australian Jay McCarthy has taken over the yellow jersey after the penultimate stage of the New Zealand Cycle Classic in Manawatu.

The time bonus that McCarthy (Jayco-AIS) received for his second placing in a mass sprint finish to the 110km fourth stage on Saturday was enough to lift him above compatriot Darren Lapthorne (Drapac) in the general classification.

“I’ve got a bit of a sprint on me, but sometimes in those big bunch kicks, you can get a bit lost,” McCarthy said.

“Today, everything went to plan though. I followed the right wheels and ended second, which gave me the time bonus I needed, so it was awesome.”

The 19-year-old, the stage winner on Thursday, will take a 3sec lead over Lapthorne into Sunday’s final stage, a 112km circuit around the outskirts of Palmerston North.

BikeNZ’s Olympic men’s track squad set the pace on Saturday and world omnium silver medallist Shane Archbold made a move that came up just short.

A day after team-mate Sam Bewley grabbed a stage win, Archbold was part of a break that was caught in the final kilometre.

In the sprint finish, Thomas Palmer (Drapac) took line honours, with McCarthy pushing Taupo’s Patrick Bevin (Hudson Gavin Martin) into third place.