After a late in the stage attack by Filippo Ganna, the sprinters made their expected run at the line, with Jonathan Milan powering through for the win from 300m out to win Stage 4 of the 2024 Giro d’Italia.
The Corsa Rosa said goodbye to the Piedmont region and moved on to Liguria with the 190 km long Acqui Terme-Andora stage, which represented a second chance for the sprinters. G.C. contenders who wanted to avoid a sprint finish could take advantage of the Capo Mele climb, whose summit came less than 3 km from the finish line.
The day opened with a 4 man breakaway of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Stefan De Bod (EF Education-EasyPost), Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Wanty) and Francisco Muñoz (Team Polti Kometa), but Ganna could not hold on.
As would be expected in a sprint stage, the leash on the leaders was help quite tight, and they never enjoyed a lead much beyond 5 minutes.
As the race neared the end, it was De Bod and Muñoz holding onto a slim 30 second lead over the peloton.
With less than 5km to go, De Bod and Muñoz were caught, but Ganna made an immediate attack, opening a 6 second gap. Fiorelli is chasing.
Alpecin-Decueninck and Lidl-Trek are hard on the chase as well and Ganna is caught with .5km to go. Milan opened his sprint with a little over 300m to go and stayed off the front for the win.
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner Jonathan Milan said: “It’s a very nice and competitive finale. I expected an attack by Filippo Ganna. My team managed to deal with it and Eddy [Edward Theuns] and Simone [Consonni] gave me a great lead out. I didn’t go for the intermediate sprints today in order to save myself for the final sprint. The first one was soon after the major climb and I wanted to keep my legs as fresh as possible. My liberating shout after the finish came out because I’m 100% focused on the Giro d’Italia. Only after this I’ll take a break and I’ll prepare for the Olympics, my next big goal. In the coming years, I’ll be back on these roads because I’d like to win Milano-Sanremo as well”.
The Maglia Rosa Tadej Pogacar said: “It’s been a great day today for me and the team. Unfortunately, [team-mate Juan Sebastian] Molano crashed. He had to change bike and we lost the sprint. When Filippo Ganna attacked, unfortunately I was in a too bad position to follow him… But I’ve enjoyed this taste of Milano-Sanremo today. I knew the roads. I often train in this area”.
Stage 4 Brief Results
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) 166 km in 4h16’03”, av speed 44.552 km/h
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
General Classification After Stage 4
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) at 46″
- Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora – Hansgrohe) at 47″
Jerseys:
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Enel –Â Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Maglia Ciclamino, leader of the Points Classification, in collaboration with Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale and ITA Italian Trade Agency – Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna (KOM), sponsored by Banca Mediolanum –Â Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider, born after 01/01/1999, sponsored by Eataly – Cian Uijtdebroeks (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
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