Cycling: The fourth stage of the Vuelta a San Juan will go down in the history of this tour. After the start had already been postponed, a true stage of chaos developed. One of the victims was Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors). The Colombian had to retire after a bad fall. At the finish, his team promptly organized another captain – and he won. Maximiliano Richeze can look forward to a home win in Argentina.
Gaviria after a bad fall without fractures
Team Quick-Step Floors had both joy and sorrow on today's fourth stage of the Vuelta a San Juan. About 50 kilometers from the finish fell Fernando Gaviria, the captain and winner of the first stage. The Colombian had to abandon the race and was taken to a hospital. No broken bones were found during further examinations. However, Gaviria suffered numerous abrasions and a slightly deeper cut on his left knee. After the race, Quick-Step Floors complained that the stage was even run. Understandable, because the start has already been postponed by an hour due to heavy rainfall overnight. Some of the roads to be driven on were flooded, so that deep puddles had to be crossed. Around 25 kilometers from the finish, the organizers had no choice but to neutralize the race.
"El Atomico" @MaxRicheze sprinted to his first victory of the year in stage 4 of #VueltaSJ2018: https://t.co/BQkIAlBek5#WayToRide #TheWolfPack
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/r2FBIsBLGP— Quick-Step Cycling (@quickstepteam) 25 January 2018
Richeze jumps in - and wins at home
The overall leader in particular benefited from the neutralization Filippo Gana (UAE Team Emirates). The Italian was already distanced, but was able to catch up with the first group again. Fifth overall was less fortunate Edward Sepulveda (Movistar). The Argentine lost over six minutes today. His compatriot was even worse off Ricardo Escuela (Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima). The sixth in the overall standings had to give up the race after a fall. Despite the huge chaos, there was still a sprint for the stage win at the end. Team Quick-Step Floors reorganized their strategy and appointed starters Maximilian Richeze to the captain. This sprinted after an excellent preparatory work by Neo-Profi Alvaro Hodeg to a home win for the Argentines. He let James Nizzolo (Trek Segafredo) and Matteo Pelucchi (Bora-hansgrohe) behind. In the overall standings, the top 3 are unchanged. Filippo Ganna continues to lead by five seconds Rafal Mayka (Bora-hansgrohe) and eleven seconds ahead of the old master Oscar Seville (Medellin Indians).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkWgGR8ueQo
Cover image source: @ flickr: © vueltaasanjuanok