Wout Poels won stage 4 of the Vuelta al País Vasco (Tour of the Basque Country) on Thursday in Arrate, Spain. Poels (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) launched a crafty attack over the top of the final of five categorized climbs and soloed to victory in the 151-kilometer leg from Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was second and Samuel Sánchez (BMC Racing) was third.
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) finished near the front of the race to defend his overall lead on Valverde, though the Movistar rider did take two seconds back at the line. Valverde trails by 12 seconds with two days remaining.
Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) was the final survivor from the day’s breakaway, but an attacking Pierre Rolland (Europcar) led the the peloton, led by Omega Pharma, past the young Briton low on the Cat. 1 Alto de Usartza, which topped out 2km from the finish.
With a Tinkoff teammate on the front, Contador jumped up the right side of the peloton 2.7km from the summit, springing free with Valverde the only man able to follow. The peloton drew the Spanish duo back and Samuel Sánchez (BMC Racing) countered. The Olympic champion’s surge didn’t last, however, and Contador countered, again with Valverde on his wheel.
Three riders were able to escape the clutches of Contador and Valverde in the final kilometer of the climb: Poels, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr), and Simon Spilak (Katusha). Poels powered away from his companions as they neared the summit and the Dutchman led over the top, 10 seconds in front of the swelling Contador group.
Omega Pharma’s Michal Kwiatkowski defended the gap on the brief, low-angle descent and Poels held off Valverde by one second at the line.
The Vuelta al País Vasco continues Friday with the 162km fifth stage, from Eibar to Markina-Xemein. The penultimate stage includes five categorized climb, with the Cat. 2 Alto de Aiastia topping out 8.4km from the finish.
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