With his second stage victory in the current Volta Valencia, Remco Evenepoel has climbed to the top of the overall standings. On the fourth stage of the race, the queen stage, the Belgian broke away from the leading group 13 kilometres before the finish and then rode solo to his fourth victory of the season.
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe used the penultimate climb of the 172-kilometre stage from La Nucía to Teulada Moraira to thin out the field with an aggressive riding style. One climb later, Remco finished the job. By the finish line, he had built up a 24-second lead over Joao Almeida. Giulio Pellizzari finished strong in third place, tying with him in time.
The daily classification also reflects the overall standings. Before the final stage of the tour, Remco now has a 29-second lead over Almeida, who is two seconds ahead of Giulio. The 21-year-old has thus taken the lead in the young rider classification.
“It was really difficult towards the line. Of course I went quite all out on the hill,” Evenepoel told reporters after the race. “But there was headwind on big road to the finish. It was tough, but I knew it was tough for the guys in the back. So I kept pushing.
“The team was really incredible today. They helped me from the first to the very last metre. It’s great that Giulio managed to finish third, even though he gave so much for me.”
“We had a clear plan today. And that was to make the race as difficult as possible,” added Klaas Lodewyck. “Everyone really committed. It was impressive by the guys. It’s a big win. Now we need to recover and then hopefully protect the result tomorrow.”
João Almeida also put in a solid performance, crossing the line in second place behind Evenepoel. Teammate Brandon McNulty also rode strongly, finishing inside the top five, as UAE Team Emirates-XRG demonstrated resilience and tactical strength on one of the toughest days of this early-season stage race.
“It was a fast day with some challenging terrain,” Almeida said. “The racing was quite hard and I did my best. But Remco was just stronger so Chapeau to him. If the climb had have been a bit longer it would have been a bit better for me, but it is what it is, no regrets.
“I think I did a good job and the team did well also so we will take it . We were just two pulling in the group behind since Pellizzari was covering Remco which was normal. I’m happy enough with the result.”
Stage 4 Brief Results
- Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) 4:14:01
- Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +24”
- Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) s.t
General Classification after Stage 4
- Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) 11:00:29
- Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +29”
- Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) +31”
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