Giro D'Italia 2016: Stage 4 Results, General Classification and Highlights
Lampre-Merida's Diego Ulissi won Stage 4 of the 2016 Giro d'Italia on Tuesday. It was the first stage to take place on Italian soil after three days of racing in the Netherlands.
Ulissi attacked on the final climb of the day and took advantage of a lack of organisation in the chasing group, clinging on to his lead and finishing solo.
Tom Dumoulin of Giant-Alpecin, who won this year's opening stage, reclaimed the pink jersey from Etixx-Quick-Step's Marcel Kittel. The sprinter lost a lot of time on the final climb and will have to focus all of his attention on the points standings.
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Here’s a look at the results from Stage 4, courtesy of Sky Sports Cycling:
The general classification is as follows:
The points standings and mountain classification will be added when results become official.
Recap
The peloton used Monday’s rest day to travel from the Netherlands to Italy, landing in hilly Calabria. After three days of racing on mostly flat roads, the riders faced the first real climbs of this year’s Giro on the road to Praia a Mare.
It took 15 kilometers for the first break to form, with Lampre-Merida’s Matej Mohoric, IAM’s Matthias Brandle, Bardiani-CSF’s Nicola Boem and BMC’s Joey Rosskopf leaving the peloton in their wake.
The four quickly built a significant lead, but Nippo-Vini Fantini worked hard in the peloton to close the gap, as they had missed the jump and failed to send a rider with the break. As a result, the pace of the peloton was remarkably high early, and some of the sprinters struggled keeping up.
Etixx-Quick-Step’s official Twitter account had this to say about the start to the stage:
In the background, GC contender Mikel Landa of Team Sky had to work his way back to the peloton after a likely mechanical issue, and it wasted valuable energy. He made it back in time for the second climb of the day—one where Giant-Alpecin pushed the tempo, and several sprinters were dropped.
Australian super-talent Caleb Ewan of Orica GreenEDGE struggled the most, while Kittel also had to push himself to the limit.
Meanwhile, the Giro’s official Twitter account noticed this couple watching on:
The four leaders were caught during the climb, and after the peloton took a couple of minutes to regroup after the descent, a barrage of attacks followed.
Kittel and his fellow sprinters were soon dropped, with Lampre-Merida pushing the tempo ahead of the final climb 10 kilometers from the finish line. Cannondale's Moreno Moser attacked almost from the base of the climb.
Ulissi created a gap on the steepest section of the climb, and the GC contenders pushed the pace in the background and caught Moser. Ulissi had 30 seconds on the peloton, but with a false flat approaching, the stage win looked unlikely.
Former Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal of Trek-Segafredo couldn't position himself at the front of the peloton during the climb, and with the pack splitting into groups, he soon found himself almost a minute behind his main competitors for the pink jersey.
At the front, Ulissi faded in the final miles, but the chasing group couldn't organise itself. Astana's Michele Scarponi attacked to put pressure on the GC riders and just about handed Ulissi the stage win, as no one had any interest in chasing after him once Scarponi was caught.
Per CyclingNews.com, Ulissi didn't know he'd hung on for the win until the very end:
"I’m really happy because we did a great job as a team. Valerio Conti was exceptional in the way he dragged the attack away. I gave it everything on the climb and was worried I’d be caught on the descent, but I hung on and got it. When I looked around with 10 metres to go, I realised I’d got it. It’s a special moment.
"
A late surge saw Dumoulin reclaim the pink, with Kittel finishing well behind the peloton.
Stage 5 to Benevento will have a similar profile as Tuesday’s stage, with just one categorised climb but plenty of bumps and hills that could break up the pack during the finale. This stage presents the perfect opportunity to the more adventurous riders looking to break in the final 30 kilometers.
Expect the GC riders not to participate in the finale, however, as the peloton will face the first major climbs of this year’s Giro on Thursday. The final climb up the Aremogna should produce fireworks and shake up the general classification, so expect the favourites to save their energy on Wednesday.
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