After some uncertainty, the quartet worked together, and while they were eventually dragged back with 750 metres to go, that brief regrouping allowed Bauer to push on again. However, he was reeled in with 300 metres remaining, as Alexander Kristoff powered home to claim a superb victory.
Bauer, exhausted from his all-or-nothing effort, crossed the line 11 seconds later alongside three-time world champion Peter Sagan, just one of the many riders who had nothing left after a hectic race which saw star riders break away early and relentless racing for the entire course.
Bauer was left to rue the final moments, but was proud of his effort.
"It is always exciting to be there in the final, I probably should have made a move a little bit earlier. We actually had a decent gap, the four of us in the final, but it was a blazing headwind.
"It was a really straight direct run in, as it always is in Gent-Wevelgem, nobody made a move until the bunch was almost on us, and we lost our momentum. I had to try and wind it up from a standstill to go at 750 metres. I gave it everything but it wasn't to be today."
Bauer wasn't the only Kiwi to put in a superb performance overnight. Dion Smith finished fourth on the final stage of Volta a Catalunya in Spain, finishing amongst an elite group on a fantastic finale.
The final stage of the race featured eight laps of a circuit with a 2.2 kilometre climb at an average gradient of 5.3 per cent, and it led to some incredible racing.
Smith's teammate Adam Yates came into the stage just 14 seconds off the lead of Miguel Angel Lopez, so the Mitchelton-Scott squad set a high pace, before Yates attacked. It left only the strongest riders remaining, with just 13 riders finishing within a minute of stage winner Davide Formolo.
Those 13 riders consisted of the biggest general classification riders in the sport, having won 36 Grand Tour stages between them. And, amongst them all was Smith, who used his punchy climbing attributes to perfection, charging home after Yates was caught to claim fourth on the stage.
Smith is statistically one of the best riders to have never won a race, but if his team let him off domestique duties, he could be a contender in classic-type races and stages, being one of the top riders in the professional peloton on hilly courses.
Fellow Kiwi Patrick Bevin finished 30th on the final stage after a long stint in the breakaway, completing a race which saw him claim four top 10 finishes.
Smith, Bevin and fellow Kiwi George Bennett are all set to be in action next week at the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain, with Bevin likely to be a contender on the opening time trial and punchy finishes, while Bennett should be in the mix in the mountains for a top overall finish.
