UAE Team Emirates put in a strong team display on stage 4 of the Vuelta Andalucia with Tadej Pogacar taking victory in the yellow jersey on the hilltop finish from Olvera to Iznájar (164.8km).
Coming shortly after yesterday’s stage win from Tim Wellens, UAE were set on capitalising on their strength and wasted no time in taking their 8th victory of the season.
Pogacar was aggressive throughout the finale on the approach, responding to several attacks with Bahrain-Victorious taking advantage of their numerical advantage in the group.
Uphill kick
On the final uphill kick which begun at 1.5km to go only Enric Mas (Movistar) had the legs to respond, with Pogacar showing his class to outmanoeuvre the Spaniard.
Pogacar said: “Today was a really hard day. We had a big crash in the beginning where Rafał Majka fell hard and the group split. Everybody tried to attack us from the start. It was hard to control. The guys did an amazing job. Once the break formed it was still dangerous and we tried to control it. We worked so hard and I was really happy to take the win because the guys deserve it. The team is perfect but we’re getting tired because everybody tries to attack us. From the start, they tried to put us in a weak spot.”The possibilities to win are good but tomorrow is still a really hard day. If it’s like today we need to be prepared from the start and keep focussed.”
Tomorrow the racing concludes in Vuelta Andalucia with the final stages from Otura to Alhaurín de la Torre (184.3km) with an undulating profile.
Stage 4 results
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 4:01:11
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +3’’
3. Lorenzo Rota (Intermarche-Wanty) +9’’
Vuelta Andalucia General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 4:01:11
2. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) +1’14’’
3. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) +1’19’’
