Tour of the Alps: Luis Leon Sanchez wins stage 4 in Lienz

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Luis Leon Sanchez claimed victory on stage 4 of the Tour of the Alps as Astana, once again, exploited a numerical advantage in the group of favourites. The Spaniard was one of five sky blue jerseys in the select group of 15 that formed on the late climb of the Bannberg and, after a fast descent, he attacked with two kilometres remaining to take a solo win - Astana's third from four stages.

George Bennett struck out in pursuit and finished in second place six seconds later, with his LottoNL-Jumbo teammate Koen Bouwman leading the rest of the group home a further five seconds back.

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) finished in fourth place and retained his overall lead. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida), Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), Chris Froome (Team Sky), Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) - along with the rest of the top 10 - were all in the group. There were no significant changes to the general classification, though Sanchez did leapfrog Bennett into sixth.

The penultimate stage of the Tour of the Alps once again provided a thrilling tussle between the overall favourites, many of them putting the final touches to their form ahead of next month's Giro d'Italia. The standout feature on the 134.3km stage from Klausen to Lienz was the Bannberg, a 7km second-category climb that topped out 10km from the line. What followed was a rapid descent that flattened out in the final few kilometres.

It was another fluid and open day of racing in which a breakaway didn't form until the early second-category climb of Terento after 30km. With some dangerous names in there - Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy), Mark Padun (Bahrain-Merida), Louis Meintjes (Dimension Data), Davide Villella (Astana), David De la Cruz (Team Sky), Kristijan Durasez (UAE Team Emirates), Felix Grosschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe), Mikel Bizkarra (Euskadi-Murias), and Hubert Dupont (AG2R La Mondiale) - the group of nine were never allowed much more than two minutes of an advantage.

The action between the overall contenders began on a short uncategorised climb that preceded the Bannberg, with Bennett attacking and catching the break, from which Bizkarra and Villella broke rank. By the top of the climb, Bennett and the rest of the break were reeled in by the peloton, and by the bottom of the short descent, it was all back together as Bizkarra and Villella were brought back. That triggered a flurry of attacks ahead of the Bannberg, with a group of 30 riders out front as the climb began.

As Pinot's FDJ team set the tempo, Aru made a big attack, picking his way through the fragments of that group of 30 to hit the front of the race alongside Bouwman, Nicola Conci (Italy) and Pello Bilbao (Astana). That small group was neutralised a couple of kilometres later when Kenny Elissonde put in a huge acceleration that seemed to place his leader, Chris Froome, under pressure.

Froome, however, did come through and launch a pair of attacks, though both lacked conviction and were closed down with relative ease. As a couple more moves came from Lopez and Bennett, the group thinned massively, and by the top of the climb, there were just 15 left in contention. As well as Sanchez, Astana had Lopez, Bilbao, Jan Hirt, and Andrey Zeits. Also in the group were Conci, Giulio Ciccone (Bardiani-CSF), and stage 3 winner Ben O'Connor (Dimension Data).

Pinot, a notoriously weak descender, tried to lead down the mountain but towards the bottom, Sanchez and Pozzovivo pulled out a sizeable gap. Froome soon joined them, but when the road flattened out the collaboration waned, and things came back together.

It was then time for Astana to play the numbers. Just after Pinot brought the move back, Bilbao accelerated, but his move was short-lived as Sanchez sprang from the bunch. Bennett reacted quickly but there was a gap to the rest, and that's how it would stay all the way to the line.

Pinot leads the race from Pozzovivo and Lopez by 15 seconds, with Froome a further second back and then Aru in fifth at 50 seconds. The race concludes on Friday with a stage that features the circuit that will be used in the World Championships road race later this year.

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