Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol 2021 – Stage 4 [LAST 10 KM]

May 21, 2021

Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol 2021 – Stage 4 – Baza – Cúllar Vega : 182,9 km

Since its first edition in 1925, the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol has usually fallen at the start of the year and served up an opportunity for pro riders from all over the world to kickstart their road racing seasons with a bang. At 96 years old, the Vuelta a Andalucia is one of the oldest stage races in Spain. It’s also one of the most prestigious and despite only being ranked as a 2.Pro event by the UCI, winning it carries a lot of road racing cred. All you have to do is look at the list of recent winners to understand that this is one of Spain’s biggest multi-day bicycle races! The race often runs for five days, touring much of the mountainous province of Andalucia. The mountain stages in the final few days routinely dictate the race, making it the preserve of world-class climbers and stage racing specialists.

Andre Greipel won stage four of the Vuelta a Andalucia with a bunch sprint reminiscent of the German’s peak years.

After his Israel Start-Up Nation teammate led the peloton around the final corner, Greipel stormed past Alex Kirsch (Trek-Segafredo) and Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) to win the sprint by a couple of bike lengths.

Behind him, Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) pipped Kristoff to the line for second and third, respectively.

For Greipel, it was a result that marks a continuation of a late-career renaissance, following his victory at Trofeo Alcudia-Port d’Alcudia last week, a result that ended a run of over two years without a win.

Greipel was quick to praise his teammates at the finish, who had the best lead-out in the finale.

“Everyone was dedicated today to make it a bunch sprint. I think we really deserved the win. [His teammate] Alex Cataford did an amazing job with the other two guys to pull the breakaway back. We have shown again with Israel-StartUp Nation that we have a really good, strong lead-out train with really experienced riders, especially Daryl Impey and Rick Zabel.

What made this victory so impressive for Greipel was the standard of the opposition he had to overcome. Whereas Kristoff was the only big name he had to overcome to take victory at Trofeo Alcudia-Port d’Alcudia, this time he not only stormed past the Norwegian but also defeated former world champion Pedersen as well as Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Hodeg, positioning himself better in the twisty finale and comfortably holding off their late surges.

Asked whether he can repeat this victory on tomorrow’s stage, Greipel was doubtful, citing a late climb as a potential pitfall for him and the bunch sprinters.

“Tomorrow it’s going to be a really tough finish, with a climb where the top is just 5km away from the finish. So it’s going to be difficult, but we will see what happens tomorrow.”

Those climbs may well be enough to prevent a bunch sprint, but shouldn’t trouble Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) as the overall leader, who maintained his leading margin of twenty seconds over Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma) today by finishing safely in the bunch.

How it unfolded

The start of the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia was delayed by the riders protesting the safety conditions of the race. So far this week they have been sent on gravel descents, long transitions and pothole-ridden roads, and the riders expressed their dissatisfaction with a unified voice to the organisers and the UCI.

Mark Cavendish was among the day’s non-starters. The Deceuninck-QuickStep rider did not finish yesterday’s stage and was second-to-last the day before, and it was confirmed by a team spokesman that he was suffering from stomach problems.

He’ll have been disappointed not to have been fit enough for this stage, given how its flat, simple parcours offered the first chance for a bunch sprint.

Once racing did get underway after the protest, a seven-man break went clear: Aaron Van Poucke, Robbe Ghys (both Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Benjamin Perry (Astana-Premier Tech), Isaac Canton, Ander Okamika (both Burgos-BH), Jordi Lopez (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Luis Angel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

As the leader of the King of the Mountains classification, Maté made sure to take maximum points over the Alto de Baul, the day’s only classified climb that was tackled towards the beginning of the stage.

Determined to guarantee a bunch sprint, the likes of Deceuninck-QuickStep, Israel-StartUp Nation and Trek-Segafredo worked at the front of the peloton to keep the break within not much more than two minutes.

Eager to boost their chances of survival, Perry and Lopez attacked their fellow escapees on a short descent 42km from the finish but were soon brought back.

Canton tried something similar at 29km from the finish with a solo attack, but he too was swallowed up a few moments later.

The gap between the peloton and the break dropped to under one minute for the first time at 21 km from the finish, and once it had dropped further to half a minute six kilometres later, Canton and Van Poucke broke clear from the rest of the break.

The others sat up and allowed themselves to be caught, apart from Van Poucke’s teammate Ghys, who resiliently battled to join the leading duo. He joined them 11km from the finish, at which point their advantage was about 25 seconds.

Despite some initial hostile gestures when Ghys first joined them, the trio proceeded to work well together and made the bunch work to complete the catch.

They still had around 20 seconds at 4.5km from the line, when Canton attacked the others, who were by now visibly fatigued. Canton a couple more kilometres before he too was brought back, thus ensuring the expected bunch sprint would decide the stage.

Results :
1 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 4:37:12
2 Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
5 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
6 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
7 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
8 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
9 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange
10 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix
11 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
12 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
13 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
14 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
15 Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
16 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
17 Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange
18 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
19 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team
20 Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Burgos-BH
21 Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team BikeExchange
22 Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
23 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
24 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers
25 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
26 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
27 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
28 Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
29 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
30 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
31 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
32 Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos-BH
33 Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
34 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:00:08
35 James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
36 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
37 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
38 Sander De Pestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
39 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH
40 Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
41 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange
42 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
43 Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
44 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
45 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
46 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
47 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
48 Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team
49 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
50 Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel Start-up Nation
51 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
52 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
53 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
54 Owen Geleijn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
55 Edward Anderson (USA) Alpecin-Fenix
56 Mathias Vacek (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo
57 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
58 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
59 Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:14
60 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix 0:00:17
61 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
62 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:20
63 Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:28
64 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
65 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:29
66 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz De Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
67 Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:31
68 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo
69 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:36
70 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:43
71 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:47
72 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:49
73 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation 0:00:55
74 Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:59
75 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:05
76 Juri Hollmann (Ger) Movistar Team 0:01:09
77 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
78 Ander Okamika Bengoetxea (Spa) Burgos-BH
79 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
80 Julian Mertens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
81 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
82 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
83 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
84 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
85 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Burgos-BH
86 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
87 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers
88 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
89 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:22
90 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
91 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:54
92 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team
93 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
94 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
95 Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
96 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
97 Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:59
98 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:02:02
99 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:02:19
100 Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech 0:03:03
101 Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
102 Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:04:10
103 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
104 Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:04:22
DNF Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
DNF Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix

General Classification after Stage 4 :
1 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team 18:39:43
2 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:20
3 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:00:55
4 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:40
5 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:47
6 Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:51
7 James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:58
8 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:02:13
9 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:20
10 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:02:48
11 Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:02:49
12 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:02:53
13 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:03
14 Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
15 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:17
16 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech 0:03:21
17 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:50
18 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:51
19 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange 0:04:12
20 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:54
21 Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:05:01
22 Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel Start-up Nation 0:05:05
23 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:05:21
24 Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:05:22
25 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:05:27
26 Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team BikeExchange 0:05:32
27 Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:05:51
28 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:07:58
29 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers 0:09:27
30 Ander Okamika Bengoetxea (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:09:29
31 Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:09:30
32 Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:10:04
33 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:18
34 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:10:21
35 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:11:37
36 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:12:08
37 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:13:07
38 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:13:12
39 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Jumbo-Visma 0:13:35
40 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma 0:13:47
41 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:14:28
42 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:14:45
43 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:15:24
44 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:15:44
45 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:16:09
46 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:16:53
47 Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:17:12
48 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation 0:18:56
49 Julian Mertens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:18:59
50 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz De Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:19:14
51 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:20:17
52 Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:20:28
53 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation 0:20:29
54 Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:21:02
55 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:22:47
56 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:23:51
57 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix 0:24:19
58 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange 0:24:52
59 Juri Hollmann (Ger) Movistar Team 0:24:59
60 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:25:18
61 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:26:29
62 Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team 0:26:34
63 Edward Anderson (USA) Alpecin-Fenix 0:27:10
64 Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:29:15
65 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:29:47
66 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:30:00
67 Mathias Vacek (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:30:03
68 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:30:11
69 Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:30:21
70 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:31:21
71 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:31:33
72 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:33:59
73 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:34:06
74 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:34:41
75 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:35:25
76 Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech 0:35:52
77 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange 0:36:35
78 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:37:53
79 Sander De Pestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:41:58
80 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix 0:42:07
81 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:42:10
82 Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:42:14
83 Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:43:46
84 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:44:07
85 Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:44:16
86 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:44:41
87 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix 0:44:48
88 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:45:14
89 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:46:19
90 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:47:31
91 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:47:33
92 Owen Geleijn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:48:31
93 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:48:59
94 Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
95 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:49:26
96 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:49:40
97 Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:50:01
98 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team 0:51:07
99 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:52:12
100 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 0:54:07
101 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:56:17
102 Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:58:34
103 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:59:44
104 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 1:01:12