Matteo Trentin of Quick Step has won the fourth stage of the 2017 Vuelta a España.
Stage Four took the riders on a 198.5km stage from Escaldes into Catalonia with a finish at Anella Mediterránea, near Tarragona with Chris Froome of Team Sky in the leader’s jersey.
Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis), Diego Rubio and Nicholas Schulz (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Juan Felipe Osorio (Manzana Postobon) were first to break and were joined by Johan Le Bon of FDJ and were allowed to get 3.40 ahead after thirty kilometres of racing.
The gap went out to 5.15 and then to 7.15 on a baking hot day but was soon back down to 5.50.
Rosetto took the points on the single KOM climb which kept Davide Villella of Cannondale Drapac in the leader’s jersey as he and Rubio led with 64.5kms to go.
Rubio took the intermediate sprint ahead of Rosetto with the duo 2.25 ahead.
Wilko Kelderman crashed as the gap dropped to 1.12 with 17kms remaining as did British rider Mark Christian of Aqua Blue Sports.
The break was rounded up but the crashes did not stop with Pozzovivo one who went down outside the three-kilometre to go safety mark.
Quick Step got on the front with 1200m to go, trying to control the movement behind and they got a rider up in Matteo Trentin to take the win in 4.43.57 ahead of Lobato, Van Ashbroeck and Theuns.
The win means that Trentin had now taken a win in all of the Grand Tours.
Kev Monks for Digital Sports Group
Source: DSG
