Cycling: Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step Floors) gave his team their next victory at the Vuelta a España. The Italian prevailed against the competition in the mass sprint of the fourth stage. Chris Froome (Sky) defended his leader's jersey. Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe), who can slowly say goodbye to a good position in the overall classification, was given time again.
Rest day on the transfer stage
After yesterday's mountain stage and the victory of Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Chris Froome (Sky) started today in the red jersey. It went over 198 kilometers from Escaldes-Engordany to Tarragona. It should be a typical transfer stage, on which the drivers even lost around 2 meters in altitude. Despite a lot of tailwind, Johan Le Bon (FDJ), Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis), Juan Felipe Osorio (Manzana Postobon), as well as Diego Rubio and Nicholas Schultz (Caja Rural) tried to break away after just six kilometers. In the beginning, Team Sky provided the necessary pace, but the sprinter teams quickly took over. Quick-Step Floors, Aqua Blue Sport, UAE and Lotto Soudal kept the gap within limits.
Trentin sprints faster than the rest
After Rossetto and Rubio broke away from their companions, both drivers dueled in the fight for the title of the most combative driver. They had given up winning the stage long ago. Finally, with eight kilometers to go, the last two escapees were caught and the bunch sprint could be prepared. Again, however, there was not really a sprint train. This was also due to a technical final. Several roundabouts and curves made control difficult. Quick-Step Floors took the reins again. Rightly so as Matteo Trentin proved to be significantly faster than the rest today. The Italian left Juan José Lobato (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Tom Van Asbroeck (Cannondale-Drapac) behind. Due to a fall just before the 3km mark, Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) lost 3:25 minutes. The Italian has to give up his top 10 placement as a result. Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) and George Bennett (LottoNl-Jumbo) even lost 3:45 minutes to the day's winner.
Vuelta a España stage #4 daily classification
| PLATZ | Driver | Country | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Matteo Trentin | Italy | Quick Step Floors | 4:43:57 |
| 2. | Juan Jose Lobato | Spain | LottoNL Jumbo | st |
| 3. | Tom Van Asbroeck | Belgium | Cannondale Drapac | st |
| 4. | Edward Theuns | Belgium | Trek-Segafredo | st |
| 5. | Jens Debusschere | Belgium | Lotto Soudal | st |
| 6. | Sacha Modolo | Italy | UAE | st |
| 7. | Lorrenzo Manzin | France | FDJ | st |
| 8. | Soren Kragh Andersen | Denmark | Sunweb | st |
| 9. | Youcef Reguigui | Algeria | Dimension Data | st |
| 10. | Jetse Bol | Netherlands | Postobon apple | st |
Vuelta a España stage #4 general classification
| PLATZ | Driver | Country | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chris Froome | Great Britain | Sky | 8:53:44 |
| 2. | David of the Cross | Spain | Quick Step Floors | + 0: 02 |
| 3. | Nicholas Roche | Ireland | BMC | st |
| 4. | Tejay Van Garderen | USA | BMC | st |
| 5. | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy | Bahrain-Merida | + 0: 10 |
| 6. | Stephen Chaves | Colombia | Orica Scott | + 0: 11 |
| 7. | Fabio Arau | Italy | Astana | + 0: 38 |
| 8. | Adam Yates | Great Britain | Orica Scott | + 0: 39 |
| 9. | Romain Bardet | France | Ag2r | + 0: 48 |
| 10. | Simon yates | Great Britain | Orica Scott | st |