Key Takeaways: Vuelta a España Stage 4

Breaking down the first major GC set piece & its significant early impact on the battle for the overall title

Primož Roglič struck the first blow in the battle for the overall title at the 2024 Vuelta a España after outsprinting an elite front group, created by Roglič’s tough pace on the extreme leg-breaking gradients to Pico Villuercas, by using incredible timing and racecraft to overtake Lotto-Dstny’s Lennert Van Eetvelt and taking his first stage win of this Grand Tour. After the dust settled, Roglič, aided by a ten-second time bonus for winning the stage, had taken the race lead from Wout van Aert and found himself with a sizable GC time cushion over every contender other than UAE’s João Almeida. Meanwhile, multiple big-name pre-race favorites, like defending champion Sepp Kuss, Richard Carapaz, and Adam Yates, were caught on the back foot and now already find themselves buried deep down the GC leaderboard, with a fleet of talented riders between them and Roglič.

Stage Top Five:
1) Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +0
2) Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny) +0
3) João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +0
4) Enric Mas (Movistar) +0
5) Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0

Current GC Top Five:
1) Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +0
2) João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +8
3) Enric Mas (Movistar) +32
4) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +38
5) Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny) +41

Time Select GC Contenders Gained(+)/Lost(-) On the Stage:
Roglič +0
Van Eetvelt -4
Almeida -6
Mas -10
Riccitello -10
Landa -10
Tiberi -28
Kuss -38
Skjelmose -53
Rodríguez -1’01
McNulty -1’07
Carapaz -1’39

Stage 4 Race Notebook

16.3km-to-go: After working all day to keep the gap to the breakaway under control, Red Bull-Bora leads the peloton into the base of the day’s final and hardest climb.

5.6km-4.7km: As the ramps go from mild to steep, UAE comes forward to take over from Red Bull, and, after less than a kilometer, Pavel Sivakov attacks/paces off the front, significantly reducing the field.

4.6km: This increase in pace from Sivakov immediately isolates Primož Roglič, whose last remaining Red Bull teammate is dropped, which forces Roglič to come to the front to pace for himself to keep Sivakov from riding clear.

4km: Roglič seems unfazed by this situation as he gets to the front and begins tapping out a hard enough pace to reel in Sivakov and deter attacks from his GC rivals.

3.9km: Even though he is at the front, Roglič is riding a bit of a false tempo as he tries to conserve something for the finish and likely reduced sprint finish. This becomes apparent when Felix Gall can attack from the bunch and get a slight gap. Richard Carapaz is struggling near the back as Sepp Kuss, the defending champion, also begins to slip back.

2.8km: On the steepest part of the climb, Roglič reels in Gall as he drops everyone but Enric Mas and Lennert Van Eetvelt.

1.9km: As they exit the ultra-steep goat path and enter the smoother tarmac of the main mountain road, Roglič, likely knowing that Almeida’s chase group behind will make contact, senses a chance to recover and sits up to let Enric Mas take the front.

1.4km: Almeida, with Felix Gall and Matthew Riccitello on his wheel, makes contact with the front Roglič group.

400m-300m: With the group all together inside the final kilometer, the pace comes off as they all begin to position for the sprint, which allows a chasing Mikel Landa to regain contact.

250m: Shortly after making contact, Landa shrewdly attacks from last wheel, hoping that the awkward distance to the finish line (too far for an all-out sprint but close enough to hold off a strong group) causes the others to hesitate.

150m: However, a confident and alert Van Eetvelt reacts, opening up his sprint from a long way out. This provides Roglič, who didn’t have a lot of great options prior, with the perfect leadout.

Finish: As Van Eetvelt throws his arm up to celebrate the victory he thinks he has, Roglič smoothly takes the long way around the corner and comes around at just the right time to take the stage win and ten-second time bonus.

Three Key Takeaways