photo credits @ Etixx – QuickStep/Twitter
Etixx – Quick-Step’s Fernando Gaviria claimed stage 4 of the Tour of Britain, after beating André Griepel (Lotto-Soudal) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) in a sprint finish in Blyth today.
The Finale
Team Sky controlled most of the pace-setting as the peloton rolled into Blyth, with Peter Kennaugh putting in a huge effort at the front, with the hopes of setting up Elia Viviani for another stage victory.
However, Lotto-Soudal threw itself into the mix as well, with the goal of setting up Jens Debusschere for the win, but it was Greipel who sprung into action during the final run-in to the finish.
But no-one could match the speed of the young Colombian rider, who didn’t seem to benefit from his teammate Mark Cavendish’s lead out.
Race Highlights
A breakaway group containing Alan Marangoni (Cannondale-Garmin), Matteo Trentin (Etixx – Quick-Step), Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing), Michael Svendgaard (Cult Energy), Rob Partridge (NTFO Pro Cycling) and Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka), got underway early on in today’s stage. And, from there, the escapees went on to build up a maximum advantage of around four minutes over the peloton.
At one point, Trentin, Wyss and Marangoni decided to ride clear of their breakaway companions with 40km remaining, but as they entered the final 20km with 38 seconds in hand, it became clear they wouldn’t hold the peloton off to the finish and the catch was finally made with 16.3km to go.
From there, the race came down to a sprint finish once more, with Juan José Lobato (Movistar), managing to hold onto his overall lead.
Stage 4 Results COL 1 GAVIRIA RENDON, Fernando (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) 5:13:08 GER 2 GREIPEL, André (LOTTO SOUDAL) NOR 3 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald (MTN – QHUBEKA) GBR 4 DOULL, Owain (TEAM WIGGINS) BEL 5 DEBUSSCHERE, Jens (LOTTO SOUDAL) BEL 6 VANGENECHTEN, Jonas (IAM CYCLING) ITA 7 VIVIANI, Elia (SKY) GER 8 CIOLEK, Gerald (MTN – QHUBEKA) NED 9 GERTS, Floris (BMC RACING) GBR 10 BRIGGS, Graham (JLT CONDOR)
General Classification after Stage 4 ESP 1 LOBATO DEL VALLE, Juan Jose (MOVISTAR) 18:50:12 NOR 2 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald (MTN – QHUBEKA) + 5 NED 3 GERTS, Floris (BMC RACING) + 12 NED 4 POELS, Wouter (SKY) + 13 NED 5 VAN BAARLE, Dylan (CANNONDALE – GARMIN) GBR 6 DOULL, Owain (TEAM WIGGINS) + 14 GBR 7 BRIGGS, Graham (JLT CONDOR) DEN 8 GULDHAMMER, Rasmus (CULT ENERGY PRO CYCLING) ITA 9 TRENTIN, Matteo (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) BEL 10 PAUWELS, Serge (MTN – QHUBEKA) + 20
You must be logged in to post a comment.
