Yesterday’s fourth stage of the Vuelta a España saw a surprise victory for French rider Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) who finished alone, 15″ ahead of John Darwin Atapuma (BMC Racing Team) and Ben King (Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team). The three riders had been members of a breakaway which had managed to stay clear of the peloton.
The 163.5-kilometre stage took the riders from Betanzos to San Andrés de Teixido with a summit finish at the end. The large break of 20 riders had a large enough gap as they started the final climb to enable them to fight for the stage finish and Calmejane provide strongest to take his biggest ever career win.
Atapuma’s second place has pushed him into the leader’s red jersey. The Colombian now leads the race by 29″ from Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) with Chris Froome (Team Sky) a further four seconds behind.
Most of the GC contenders finished in the same time, 2’06” behind Calmejane. The race continues today with a flatter 171.3-kilometre stage from Viveiro to Lugo.
Here are some onboard highlights from Velon.
