In a finish at pure speed and full of emotion, the Colombian cyclist Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) was left with honey on his lips when he lost to the Australian Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the sprint of the fourth stage of the Vuelta a España 2023, where Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) remained the leader of the general classification.
“It’s a type of final that I like, pulling up and the team had worked very well to position me perfectly, but I knew that Groves was strong and was well positioned on my wheel,” the South American told the accredited media. at the end of the segment.
Molano acknowledged that he was forced to launch the sprint ahead of schedule due to the fall of Dutchman Marijn van den Berg (EF Education First) with 500 meters to go. “I was in the position I wanted, second or third, and I was left alone in the lead and pushed myself towards the finish line. I was very close, but that’s how it sometimes happens in cycling. I have good legs and I hope to have more opportunities, even tomorrow could be a good day,” he concluded.
The Australian runner took the victory, after traveling 184.6 kilometers between Andorra La Vella and Tarragona. Molano came in second and third came the Belgian Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek). The Venezuelan Orluis Aular (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) finished in sixth place.
Regarding the general classification, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), remained the leader of the Iberian round. The Spanish Enric Mas (Movistar) and the French Lenny Martinez (Groupama – FDJ) complete the podium.
The protagonists of the escape of the day were the Spaniards Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) and David González (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) and the Argentine Eduardo Sepúlveda (Lotto Dstny), who once again was part of the escape as well as the day before. .
The trio worked harmoniously for more than 150 kilometers, but as the hours passed, the adventure of the three runners began to fall apart and ended up ending with less than 20 km to go.
In closing, there were several falls. With 4,000 meters to go, several runners fell to the ground, where one of the main affected was Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious), who after a few minutes managed to get up to finish the day with a delay of more than two minutes that left him. out of the top 10.
The Iberian round will continue this Wednesday with the fifth stage, an undulating fraction of 186.2 kilometers between Morella and Burriana with a flat finish, which includes a categorized mountain prize passing halfway through the route.
Classification Stage 4
1.- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4h05’41”
2.- Juan Sebastián Molno (UAE Team Emirates) m.t.
3.- Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) m.t.
4.- Minal Menten (Lotto-Dstny) m.t.
5.-Dris Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) m.t.
6.-Orluis Aular (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) m.t.
7.- Hugo Page (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) m.t.
8.- Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ)
9.- Sean Flynn (DSM-Firmenich) m.t.
10.- Andrea Venddrame (AG2R Citroën) +06’’
General ranking
1.- Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) 12h48’58”
2.- Enric Mas (Movistar Team) +05”
3.- Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) +15’’
4.- Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +31”
5.- Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) +33”
6.- Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bora-Hansgrohe) +37’’
7.- Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich) +39”
8.- Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +41’’
9.- Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +42”
10.- Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) +46”