Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step Floors) won stage 4 of the Vuelta a España with a cool sprint in a messy finale in Tarragona, joining the club of riders with stage wins in all three Grand Tours.
The 28-year-old Italian, who won stages of the Tour de France in 2013 and 2014 and a stage at last year's Giro d'Italia, emphatically outpaced LottoNL-Jumbo's Juan José Lobato, who had seemed to get the jump through a late sweeping right-hand bend – one of many technical aspects to the final couple of kilometres.
Canndonale-Drapac's Tom van Asbroeck finished third, in what was the first bunch sprint of this Vuelta and, in all probability, one of only three opportunities for the fast men.
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Quick-Step, as they did at this year's Giro and Tour, have enjoyed a dream start to this Vuelta, with Yves Lampaert winning stage 2, and it was the Belgian team that dominated the final couple of kilometres as others hesitated. And while Trentin had waited in the wings as Lampaert launched his final-kilometre attack two days ago, this time it was Lampaert who buried himself to lead Trentin into the final few hundred metres.
As the Belgian pulled over, however, through the sweeping right-hander, the lead was suddenly lost to Lobato, who had taken a more aggressive inside line. The Spaniard, however, despite being in a perfect position, didn't have the power to carry it to the line. Trentin coolly spent a couple of seconds in the slipstream before moving out to the left and then comfortably clear, sitting up to celebrate in the closing metres, while Lobato bashed his bars in frustration.
"I was really looking for a victory because I'm really going good in this last part of the season. After my crash that took me out of the Tour de France I was just thinking about coming here and winning stages," said Trentin in his post-race interview.
How it unfolded
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