Vuelta a Espana: Jakobsen wins stage 4 in El Puig

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Fabio Jakobsen ( Deceuninck-QuickStep) won stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, triumphing in the second bunch sprint of the race in El Puig. The Dutch champion edged out stage 2 winner Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) by millimetres on the line. Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) was third across the line, but was later relegated to the back of the peloton after the race jury reviewed the sprint. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) was awarded third place, though his teammate Juan Sebastian Molano was relegated from 10th place.

In the end, the difference was made on one of the roundabouts on the run-in to El Puig, with Bennett taking the long way around one just over a kilometre from the finish.

While he fought his way back to the front, Jakobsen enjoyed an armchair ride from the Deceuninck-QuickStep train, who had a comparatively easy run-in as teammate Rémi Cavagna went on the attack in the final 10km.

Lead-out man extraordinaire Max Richeze dropped Jakobsen off with 150 metres to go, with the Dutchman starting out comfortably ahead of his rivals. Further back, Bennett switched from Luka Mezgec's (Mitchelton-Scott) wheel in order to chase down Jakobsen.

In the end, Bennett ran out of road, with the 22-year-old Jakobsen hanging on to take his first Grand Tour stage victory by the narrowest of margins. A couple of bike lengths back, Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) was back in the mix, taking fourth place.

"I knew [I had won] when I saw guys from the team cheering," said Jakobsen after the stage. "I threw the bike for the line and couldn't see because I closed my eyes and Sam was close to me. I'm so happy to take the win.

"We wanted to come back today and show that we're a strong team with a good lead-out. We dominated the final and Richeze did a perfect leadout.

"This is a big one, especially in the Dutch champion's jersey. I came here to win a stage in this Vuelta. I'm only 22 years old and I'm so happy I can already put this on my palmarès."

The general classification remained unchanged after the stage, with Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) retaining the red jersey for another day. Bennett may have missed out on another win but could console himself with the lead of the points classification. Earlier in the stage, mountain classification leader Ángel Madrazo (Burgos-BH) added a point to his lead.

The biggest story earlier in the stage was the abandon of Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma). The Dutchman left the race after 50km due to knee pain suffered after the team's crash in the stage 1 team time trial

How it unfolded

For the second day in a row, the Vuelta a España saw a day for the sprinters, with stage 4 from Cullera to El Puig the fourth day in a row spent in the region of Valencia. The stage was largely flat, with the main obstacle being the Puerto del Oronet, a 5.8km, 4.5 per cent climb which lay 46km from the finish.

Two riders got away as soon as the flag dropped at the end of the neutralised zone. Jorge Cubero made sure Burgos-BH had representation in the break once again, while Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal) joined him out front.

The duo quickly built up a big lead, with their advantage over the peloton ballooning out to seven minutes by the end of the first hour of racing. But with just two men in the break, a largely flat stage up ahead, and sprinter's teams keen to contest the finish, the move would never last.

For the most part a quiet stage, the biggest story of the early running was the abandon of Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma), who left the race after 50km of the stage. The Tour de France podium finisher was reportedly suffering escalating knee pain as a result of the Dutch squad's crash during the stage 1 team time trial.

Team Sunweb and Bora-Hansgrohe were among the teams setting the pace at the head of the peloton, working to limit the breakaway's gap so that their sprinters Max Walscheid and Sam Bennett. By the time the break reached the 100km to go mark, their advantage had been reduced to 4:30.

60km from the line, a number of EF Education First riders, including Rigoberto Urán, were involved in a crash. All were quickly up and running again, though the Colombian suffered a cut to his left forearm in the process.

The heavens opened as the riders hit the Puerto del Oronet, and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) suffered a mechanical before making his way back to the peloton. Up front, Wallays led Cubero on the dry roads over the top, while mountain classification leader Madrazo nipped away from the peloton to take a point.

Back in the sunshine and at the bottom of the descent off the climb, the peloton lay 1:20 down on the lead duo. Cubero's quest would soon come to an end though, as the Spaniard suffered a gear problem 31km from the finish.

Wallays pressed on alone but it was near impossible for a lone rider to hang on until the finish. The Belgian put up a good fight though, holding out until the 19km mark in the face of the massed ranks of the sprinter's teams.

EF Education First swarmed the front of the peloton in the final 15km, keen to keep the pace high and ensure Urán was safe as the riders tackled the numerous roundabouts on the outskirts of El Puig.

The roads only became more technical and twisting as they got into the town and off the highway, with Jumbo-Visma and Movistar leading the way. Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep) went on the attack 6km out, holding off the rampaging peloton until the 1.2km mark.

Unsurprisingly, it was Cavagna's team, plus Bora-Hansgrohe and Team Sunweb who led the peloton under the flamme rouge. QuickStep, as they've done on so many occasions, delivered a perfect leadout for their sprinter, setting Jakobsen loose at just the right time to seal victory on the stage.