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Route of the Sol #4: Astana & Bahrain – Victorious take the yellow from Covi

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Poel's Ruta del Sol Bahrain Astana

Cycling: The fourth stage of the Ruta del Sol got down to business today. With a tactical masterstroke, the Astana and Bahrain – Victorious teams took the leader's jersey off the overall leader Alessandro Covi today. However, the duel between these two teams clearly went to Bahrain – Victorious. Because Wout Poels can not only be happy about the yellow jersey, but also about the stage win.

Poel's Ruta del Sol Bahrain Astana

Astana & Bahrain – Victorious surprise UAE

By now, every spectator should know that road cycling is a team sport. Today we got this once again impressively presented. The profile of the fourth section of the Ruta del Sol did not look all that decisive in terms of terrain. But since the Astana and Bahrain teams – Victorious – attacked with 145 kilometers to go – and thus on the first climb, the Alto de El Purche – the 167,4 kilometer stage from Cúllar Vega to Baza was really tough. The overall leader Alessandro Covi (UAE) was caught completely on the wrong foot. His team couldn't react immediately and then had to follow a 15-strong group - and that for the whole day.

Poels defeats Lutsenko

As the Astana and Bahrain - Victorious teams were directly represented with three and four riders respectively in the breakaway group, these two teams mainly set the pace. And that paid off, because the deficit of the heavily reduced main field around leader Alessandro Covi quickly increased to more than three minutes. It quickly became clear that the Italian and his team would be among the losers today. 15 kilometers from the finish then set Wout poels (Bahrain – Victorious) and alexey lutsenko (Astana) the decisive attack. The Dutchman and the Kazakh broke away from the group and drove towards the finish line as a duo. In the two-man sprint, Alexey Lutsenko was actually the favorite, but Wout Poels won the stage in the sprint from the front. He is also happy about the yellow jersey. The duel Astana vs. Bahrain - Victorious ultimately went to the latter. But overall victory is far from a sure thing as Astana could strike back again tomorrow.

Tags:Alessandro Covialexey lutsenkoAstanaBahrain–VictoriousNewsRoute of the SunUAEWout poels

More than Michael Behringer

Cycling with all its tactics, stage analyses, placements and forecasts are Michael Behringer's great passion. In 1996 he tracked his first Tour de France. Since then he has observed almost every race. His passion for cycling has been with him for over two decades. There is no end in sight.