De La Peña and Leao Pinto win longest stage after leaders quit in protest

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Spaniard Alejandro Diaz De La Peña and Portugal's Luis Leao Pinto (Hispano-Luso) won the Andalucia Bike Race's longest stage, 115km, which started in the village of Priego de Cordoba.

Although they said at the finish line that they "suffered a lot" in the strong winds of the day, the two were delighted with their first stage win of the race.

Showing their consistency, Czechs Kristian Hynek and Pavel Boudny (Ceska Sporitelna-Specialized) finished second and took over the lead of the general classification.

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Orbea's Ruben Ruzafa and Iñaki Lejarreta, who were leading the race after stage 3, did not start stage 4. They quit in protest after disagreeing with the Technical Jury yesterday and how it handled a course marking problem as it related to the general classfication.

The Andalucía Bike Race Organization issued a statement that said it "regrets Orbea's retirement, but doesn't share their disagreement, since it was a resolution taken by the Spanish Federation of Cyclism (RFEC) in keeping with Andalucia Bike Race's particular regulations and with the organization's criteria".

Czechs Martin Horák & Tomás Vokrouhlík (BMC - Factor) were third in the stage. They noted that each day they are feeling faster and improving.

David Lozano Riba and Ismael Vantura Sanchez (Bicis Esteve 1) were fourth while Casper Saltoft and Thomas Bundgaard (Team T-Bikes/Apfosss Racing) were fifth.

Kristine Nørgaard and Sally Bigham (Topeak-Ergon/Hansens) continued their dominance of the women's race with another stage victory. At the finish line, Nørgaard complimented of her teammate, "She may look tiny, but she pulled big today on the bicycle."

Tomorrow's stage 5 will be shorter to make up for today's tough going. It arrives at the foot of the Sierra Mágina, a Natural Park, then goes through the Pegalajar Mountains and back to Jaén.

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