Giro d'Italia: Giro d'Italia stage #4: Jan Polanc triumphs as a soloist - favorites stalk each other

Cycling: Jan Polanc (UAE) has won the first mountain finish of the 100th Giro d'Italia. The 25-year-old Slovenian was part of a four-man lead group and proved to be the strongest rider on the climb. As a soloist, he survived Mount Etna as the only escape from the favorites. The classification drivers watched each other and therefore there were no great attacks. Only Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) was able to pull away slightly with an attack just before the finish. The new leader of the Giro d'Italia is Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) from Luxembourg.

18 kilometers up to the volcano

This Tuesday the 100th Giro d'Italia should take place after the first rest day get going properly. The 181-kilometer fourth section of the Tour of Italy takes the riders from Cefalu up Mount Etna. This final climb is no less than 1.892 meters above sea level. With an average gradient of 6,6 percent and a length of 18 kilometers, it was classified in the 1st category. Despite the prospect, a few riders scrambled early: Pavel Brutt (Gazprom-RusVelo), Eugenio Alafaci (Trek-Segafredo), Jan Polanc (UAE) and Jacques Janse van Rensburg (Dimension Data) wanted to reach the top of the volcano first. First, Team Quick-Step Floors controlled the pace in the peloton. Fernando Gaviria wears the leader's shirt after his win at the 3th stage, but today the sprinter will have to give up the Maglia Rosa again.

Jan Polanc is the strongest escape - Rohan Dennis has to retire

Daniel Teklehaimanot slipped out of the field behind the breakaway group in a mountain classification – but not because of the stage win. Rather, he wanted to secure a few more points for the mountain classification. The man from Eritrea also managed to do this, which allowed him to extend his lead in this special ranking and drop back into the peloton. Things went much worse for Rohan Dennis (BMC). The Australian had to retire from the Giro d'Italia today after falling on the last stage. Meanwhile, other teams took over the scepter in the main field. Notably Bahrain Merida, Orica-Scott, Movistar, BMC and FDJ participated in the leadership work. After Eugenio Alafaci and Pavel Brutt were caught, Jan Polanc and Jacques Janse van Rensburg were still a duo in front of the approaching pack. When it went into Mount Etna, Polanc also left his last companion and tried himself as a soloist.

Pierre Rolland's attack fizzles out - the favorites wait and see

Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) opened fire in the peloton. According to his own statements, the Frenchman only competes for stage wins here and was therefore initially left out by the favorites for overall victory. Meanwhile, Team Sky took over the pace, with Mikel Landa (Sky) struggling with a breakdown and being sidelined briefly. Nevertheless, Polanc's lead fell to around two minutes around seven kilometers from the finish. Rolland was about half a minute ahead of the favorites. There, old master Franco Pellizotti (Bahrain Merida) attacked together with Winner Anacona (Movistar). The top favorites Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) initially seemed to want to send their helpers ahead. However, the group of favorites collected them all again. The top climbers held back their attacks. The pace slowed down a bit and Polanc was able to keep dreaming of his stage win at the 100th Giro d'Italia.

Jan Polanc saves himself at the finish - Bob Jungels takes over the Maglia Rosa

Although the favorites were still holding off, Polanc continued to lose time. With two kilometers to go, he had just over a minute left. Then Jesper Hansen (Astana) left. But a counterattack by Vincenzo Nibali neutralized the situation. The Dane tried again. But the large group did not let him go. Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) also attacked in vain. Then Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) went out of the saddle and was able to open a gap. With one kilometer to go, he was 45 seconds behind Polanc, who was struggling the last few meters up Mount Etna. He turned around several times. His step became more and more angular. But the 25-year-old Slovenian was able to save himself. Zakarin finished second and, in addition to the bonus seconds, secured a time gain of ten seconds over the group of favourites. There Geraint Thomas (Sky) won the sprint. Also in the group was Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors), taking over the pink jersey from teammate Gaviria.

The result of the 4st stage of the 100th Giro d'Italia 2017

The general classification of the 100th Giro d'Italia 2017 after the 4th stage