2018 Giro d'Italia Stage 4 Results & Recap
Stage 4 of the 2018 Giro d'Italia is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Wellens reigns supreme on stage 4\nBy Clara Beard
Time Wellens took the first Giro d’Italia victory of his career today after using his Classics riding style to capitalize on a hilly uphill finish in Caltagirone. The 202-kilometre stage culminated with a narrow, twisting run in to a 500 metre rise to the finish, maxing out at 13 percent in parts. Michael Woods (EF Education First-Drapac) finished second with Enrico Battaglin (LottoNL-Jumbo) holding on for third place.
“We knew the roads were twisty here in Sicily and there was a little bit of panic in the bunch until the first intermediate sprint,” Wellens said. “Our plan today was that everyone would ride for me. We saw many comments on the internet saying that I was the favorite. The outcome couldn’t be better. Everyone in the team was helping me. The last pull by Adam Hansen was very strong. Tosh Van der Sande put me in a perfect position 500 metres before the end. I passed Enrico Battaglin with 200 metres to go but only after the line did I know I had won the stage. Two years ago, I rode away from the breakaway to enjoy my first Giro d’Italia victory. Today’s win gives me more emotions. It feels better to beat the whole peloton. I’m more relaxed now after this success, which makes things easier for the rest of the Giro, but my team-mates are also capable of winning stages. By now, I know that I’m a rider for Walloon classics and Il Lombardia, one-week stage races and stages in Grand Tours, but GC in Grand Tours isn’t for me.”
Race leader Rohan Dennis (BMC) had a good 12th place result in Caltagirone and successfully defends his maglia rosa for another day. Dennis is still one second ahead of former Giro champion Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb). Adam Yates is sitting in third overall at 17 seconds and stage winner Wellens has jumped up to fourth place after his performance today.
“To get the Maglia Rosa in Israel was one thing,” Dennis said at the press conference. “To keep it after the first Italian stage is special. It’s great for BMC. Crowds were huge today, especially at the start and finish. I didn’t appreciate the amazing atmosphere of Caltagirone fully because I was in so much pain but it’s great to race here. Hopefully I’ll retain the Maglia Rosa for a couple more days. Tomorrow, it can be a similar stage but Etna will be my big test against the GC riders to see where I’m at as a Grand Tour contender.”
The undulating terrain from Catania to Caltagirone created a unique tactical situation today. Five riders eventually escaped 20 kilometres in: Enrico Barbin (Bardiani-CSF), Marco Frapporti (Androni-Giocattoli), Jacopo Mosca (Wilier-Triestina), Maxim Belkov (Katusha-Alpecin) and Quentin Jauregui (AG2R La Mondiale), but they never had than four minutes advantage on the peloton, led by BMC most of the way.
UAE Team Emirates spiced up affairs 10 km from the feed zone, sending all its riders to the front and surging the pace to catch the entire peloton sleeping. Plenty of riders went into panic mode while the team brought the gap down to 30 seconds, then eased up – letting BMC take over again.
The five riders were caught with 13 kilometres left. A few riders tried unsuccessfully to counter attack, and the race was on to get to the front before the technical finale.
Battaglin was the first to sprint, but faded a few metres from the line, leaving a surging Wellens to take the win.
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