Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) won stage 4 of the Tour of Britain in a bunch finish at Builth Wells after a demanding day of racing in Wales. The Dutch champion defeated Dan McLay (Great Britain) in a keenly-contested sprint, while Julien Vermote (Etixx-QuickStep) placed fifth to retain the yellow jersey of race leader.
The closing kilometres saw Groenewegen's LottoNL-Jumbo and André Greipel's Lotto Soudal squads vie for supremacy at the head of a reduced peloton, each man aware of the importance of positioning in the sinuous finale. The race had broken up on the rugged terrain in the final 40 kilometres of the Tour of Britain's longest stage, and a number of contenders for the win – including Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) – were distanced.
Tony Martin led the race under the flamme rouge in support of Vermote, but LottoNL-Jumbo took over soon afterwards and won the race within a race to the first sharp right-hand turn with 600 metres remaining. Groenwegen was tucked safely in second position there, just behind teammate Tom Leezer, while the Lotto Soudal train derailed.
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Leezer expertly piloted Groenegwegen through the three turns that followed, and by the time the Dutchman straightened up for the sprint, only McLay and Ben Swift (Sky) were in any sort of contention to compete for the win.
Indeed, McLay put up a fierce battle in the final 200 metres, almost drawing level with Groenwegen, but he was coming from too far back to deny him the spoils, and had to settle for second place, sportingly offering a handshake as they wheeled to a halt past the line. Swift, meanwhile, held on for third place on the stage ahead of Carlos Barbero (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Vermote.
It was the 23-year-old Groenwegen's second victory on British roads this year following his win on the opening day of the Tour de Yorkshire, and was also something of a calling card for the Dutch national selectors ahead of next month's World Championships road race in Doha.
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