The fourth stage of the Vuelta e Espana race is behind us. Unexpectedly, the leading position in the general classification is still held by the Polish cyclist Michał Kwiatkowski. In the lead there is also Rafał Majka. His advantage, however, decreased significantly.
Fight to the end
Michał Kwiatkowski finished the fourth stage of the Vuelta e Espana in 13th place. It was the first serious test for him on the mountain stretch. So far, after the first three stages, the Polish cyclist was the leader in the general classification and he maintained this position. His advantage, however, dropped from a minute to just seven seconds. He is chased by players such as: Emanuel Buchman from Germany, Simon Yates from Great Britain and Alejandro Velvere from Spain. Our second representative - Rafał Majka - is currently in the 11th place in the general classification.
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Ben King is the winner
The American Benjamin King was the winner of the fourth stage of Vuelta e Espana. It is a great success for this player, as the 29-year-old has only recorded three victories in his career so far. It does not seem, however, that the competitor will be able to seriously fight for the highest place on the podium in the entire race. He is currently on the 18th place and is one minute behind the leader Michał Kwiatkowski.
The leaders quickly drove away
The fact that he was at the forefront of the race for a very long time can be considered a success of Michał Kwiatkowski. Even though nine riders had already escaped in the first phase of the race. Among them was the leader of the mountain classification - Luis Angel Mate - and the second in this ranking, Pierre Rolland. In the first phase of the race, more than 9 minutes of advantage over the rest of the peloton were achieved by such riders as: Aritz Bagues, Lars Boom, Oscar Cabedo, Ben Gastauer, Benjamin King, Nikita Stalnow and Jelle Wallays.
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Not everyone kept up the pace
Mate won the climb at the 66th kilometer, while Rolland was third. In this episode, Gastauer also joined the lead. Benjamin King won the flying finish in Granada. However, after this stage, the breakaway split into three groups - King, Stalnow and Wallays left the rest. During the final climb, Wallays failed to keep up with the pace set by King and Stalnow. At this stage, Michał Kwiatkowski was right behind the pursuit group led by LottoNJ players.
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King passed the finish line first. Of the leaders in the general classification, Yates turned out to be the best, finishing the stage in 8th place, followed by Buchmann. Michał Kwiatkowski finished the stage in 13th place and retained his leading position. Rafał Majka finished in 25th place.