Roglic wins at Pico Villuercas and is the new leader of La Vuelta

Primoz Roglic has won the fourth stage of the 2024 Vuelta. The Slovenian cyclist takes the stage win and the lead in the race. His team worked throughout the stage, and the three-time Vuelta winner responded. A good start to the race for him, in an edition where he wants to equal Heras' record and win his fourth Vuelta.

The first mountain stage

The Vuelta entered this fourth stage in Spanish territory after the first days in Portugal. The cyclists faced the first mountain stage of this Vuelta today after the individual time trial on the first day and the two calm stages in Portuguese lands that were decided in a sprint with victory for Groves and leader Wout Van Aert. The Visma cyclist wore the red jersey in the second stage and won the finish of the third stage in Castel Branco.

Although he did not come to win the race, the Belgian cyclist wanted to wear red before helping his leader, the current champion Sepp Kuss. With the first mountain finish, everything indicated that the stage would be for the top riders in the general classification. Ahead, the cyclists faced a hot day of 170 kilometers with four ascents.

This time the stage did have a fight for the breakaway from the first kilometer. Beyond the combative Euskaltel and Kern Pahrma, other teams in the peloton sought to form a first group of escapees that would have the permission of the peloton and could open up a gap from the favorites. The initial chain of Cabezabellosa and El Piornal, where Evenepoel won when it was the finish of a stage in 2022, favored riders with strength and desire to try to challenge the peloton from afar and seek the stage victory. With the peloton facing the first categorized climb of the day from the start, 11 cyclists tried their luck. Among them were riders with great quality like Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), or Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech).

The peloton, aware of this, did not let them open a gap and thwarted the first escape attempt. Already in the ascent, a quintet formed by Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Dstny), Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla), Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi) managed to break away from the group to gain a few seconds at the summit and launch themselves on the descent. The Spanish teams invited to this Vuelta always being protagonists of the race.

Although Movistar and Intermarché did not want to allow the breakaway, the five cyclists managed to open a gap, also favored by a crash that affected riders from the Movistar and Ineos teams on the descent of the mountain pass. The peloton eased off and let the escapees go, facing the second climb with more calm. The quintet increased the distance to 2 minutes and 43 seconds at the foot of the climb. None of the escapees worried the team of the red jersey, Van Aert, or the interests of the general classification riders, so the gap widened to 3:35. The cyclists left behind the delays that had been seen in this Vuelta, and in the first hour of the race, they set the average speed at 48 km/h. This, combined with the heat that characterizes the Extremaduran lands, could take its toll on some favorites.

After cresting El Piornal, the Red Bull-Bora of Roglic went to work. The Slovenian wants to show that he is in top form after his crash in the Tour de France that forced him to retire. Roglic wants to break Heras' record of four wins in the general classification of the Spanish race in this Vuelta. Red Bull reduced the gap to below two minutes, but with many kilometers and two climbs ahead, Puerto de Miravete, a third-category climb, and Pico Villuercas, a first-category climb, they ended up easing off and riding much more comfortably. The peloton stretched out, and the gap with the escapees rose again above 2 minutes.

Until the ascent to Puerto de Miravete, not much happened. In the same climb, the only attraction was to see who would crest first. The escapees climbed the penultimate climb of the day together, and it wasn't until the last meters when they attacked each other. Armirail launched a powerful sprint with which he beat his fellow escapees. The Decathlon rider took the opportunity to try it alone, but Pablo Castrillo managed to catch up with him. Although the duo worked together and maintained the gap, it seemed unlikely that the peloton would let them reach the finish line. The favorites wanted the stage win, especially Roglic, who kept his team working at the front of the peloton.

Groves beat Van Aert in the sprint with about 15 kilometers to go in their particular battle for the green jersey. The Belgian, wearing the red jersey, decided to disconnect and save energy, giving up the lead in the race. Nerves in the approach to Puerto Villuercas brought the peloton closer to the escapees.

The first to try was UAE's Pavel Sivakov with 5 kilometers to go. The attack, joined by Vlasov, neutralized the escapees. Among the favorites, Roglic took charge and controlled the attack with a strong Enric Mas on his wheel. With the group of favorites regrouped, Gall was the next to attack. Same role for Roglic, who had to respond. Among the favorites, Mikel Landa and the Portuguese Almeida were suffering. The work of the Slovenian managed to drop all the favorites, including the current champion Sepp Kuss, to catch up with the leading group. Only Mas and Eetvelt could keep up with his pace.

After the effort, the three tried to recover. The pause gave Almeida, Landa, and Gall the chance to rejoin the group. They were all watching each other, and only when Landa tried it did something happen. Van Eetvelt from Lotto reacted to the attack of the Basque rider, knowing his sprinting power. The Belgian fought for the win alongside Roglic. Van Eetvelt raised his arms before crossing the line, and the Slovenian passed him in the last meter to overtake him and wear the red jersey.

On Wednesday, August 21, the Vuelta a España 2024 will experience its fifth stage, a flat route of 177 kilometers starting in Fuente del Maestre and finishing in Seville. This stage offers a new opportunity for sprinters, who will seek victory in a finish suitable for a mass sprint on the wide avenues of the Andalusian capital. Although the first part of the route presents slightly hilly terrain, the second half favors the sprinters who will compete for the win in a fast and exciting finish.

Stage classification:

1. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

2. Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny)

3. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates)

4. Enric Mas (Movistar)

5. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)