Giro d'Italia stage 4 Live – First pure sprint of the race fast approaching in Lecce

We're onto the circuit now. Two laps of 12km to complete.

This is going to be fast and furious!

Bit of sketchiness as the peloton fanned across the road but there were spectators on the tarmac. Luckily no problems.

Lots of roundabouts, road furniture and other pinchpoints in this run in. It's nervous watching when they're going so fast, but proves why riders want to be at the very front.

So little room to move in the peloton right now, they're packed in like sardines and going super fast.

Visma have been a well-oiled machine today.

After his own chances over the weekend, Van Aert is likely to be the final lead-out for Olav Kooij today, who is possibly the main favourite for the stage.

About 3km from the start of the first of two finishing laps.

The so-called 3km rule is actually 5km long today, per new, flexible UCI rules.

That means any riders involved in incidents in the last 5km will get the same finish time as the group they were in at the time. That's two extra kilometres of safety for the GC riders.

30km to go

Not too far away from the circuits now. The battle for position is only going to get more aggressive.

Muñoz is up for the combativity prize, up against Roglič and Del Toro. Scandal if he doesn't win, but it's a public vote, and Roglič has many fans...

On a wide road now, so the peloton is about 12 riders across, but things will narrow again.

Bahrain are protecting the overall interests of Antonio Tiberi – they don't have an obvious top-level sprinter. 

35km to go. Visma-Lease a Bike are super organised, as are Bahrain Victorious.

Oops poor Moniquet has a puncture on his new bike after about 100m of riding! 

Issue for Sylvain Moniquet, who takes a bike change – hard moment to have to chase back on.

Irish champ Darren Rafferty is giving it a good dig for EF Education-EasyPost.

Things are just splitting up a little as we enter some tighter roads.

It's the GC teams who are currently leading proceedings at the front of the bunch. The sprint teams need to find there way up at some point.

Pink jersey Mads Pedersen is just chasing back onto the bunch right now with a teammate – unsure why, maybe a nature break or a visit to the team car.

Unless anything goes wrong, he'll likely hold onto pink today. Here's him looking very happy about that.

Love this photo taken in Pezze di Greco.

Part of the reason why the riders are so organised so early is because of the circuit – it will be a fight to get into the right position to enter the lap, as it will be more difficult to move up once we're on city roads.

The peloton will enter the finishing circuit with 24km to go.

Pedersen has a decent lead in the sprints competition, but with 50 points available at the line – the first two road stages were only 25 – there is the possibility for some shifts in the classification come the finish, especially now Kooij has 17 points to his name.

INTERMEDIATE SPRINT 2 (San Pancrazio Salentino)

Olav Kooij wins and takes 12 points! That was close with Mads Pedersen, who was second across the line, but a show of strength from Kooij.

Groves did sprint this time, taking third in the intermediate, so hopefully he feels up for it in the final.

In the bunch, the teams are all lined up for the intermediate sprint

A moment of appreciation for the Muñoz. It's not easy to be out there alone, but when your team relies on points and visibility, someone has to do it. 

Breakaway caught

And Muñoz is caught. Over 130km out front alone today, chapeau! 

Hopefully he'll be rewarded with a combativity award, but that does depends what happens in the rest of this stage.

56km to go.

They'll want to catch Muñoz before the intermediate sprint, as that will leave the maximum points up for grabs for the peloton.

The peloton have Muñoz in their sights now, as his gap dips under 20 seconds.

Wheel change for Dani Martínez. He should be fine to get back on.

Tudor are really keeping up with their WorldTour rivals here. They're protecting Michael Storer on GC, but Rick Pluimers could be a contender in the sprint too.

Relaxation is definitely over in the peloton. It's tight and tense in the front, and riders are working hard at the back too.

It used to be that stages like this wouldn't really wake up until the final 30km, but in modern cycling, the finals are getting longer and longer. 

Hello to Cyclingnews columnist Larry Warbasse! No doubt thinking what he'll write about next.

Read his first column: 'My Giro nearly ended before it started here in Albania' – Larry Warbasse column

Muñoz's gap has fallen below a minute now, as the teams are all lined up in colour order in the bunch. Still 64km to go mind you!

Wout van Aert has just stuffed his jersey full of bottles to take back to his teammates. Definition of domestique de luxe.

EF Education-EasyPost are joining the line-up in the front of the race here.

They're probably mainly thinking about protecting Richard Carapaz, they don't really have a sprinter here.

One more sprint left today, in just under 20km.

No bonus seconds here but more sprint points on the line.

The gap is coming down a little bit again. Peloton aren't exactly charging, but I wouldn't be surprised if Muñoz is getting tired. He's been on his own for over 100km.

Just heard from Mads Pedersen on the live coverage – he's realistic about his chances in the sprint today. A flat, fast one doesn't suit him as well as a tougher day.

A lovely shot of the bunch under bright blue skies.

Now everyone is stopping for a nature break.

On stages like this, the action really does ebb and flow. The riders want to have a dig when it's worth it, like in the Red Bull KM, but also take the chill time when they can. Muñoz's gap is stable as the peloton relaxes. 

Average speed so far today is 44.8km/h.

Lunch time for the peloton who just went through the feed zone.

Steven Kruijswijk is still on the front for Visma. He's been doing a lot of work today.

We've also officially passed the halfway mark in the stage.

Muñoz is still holding onto a two and a half minute lead. Lonely but strong day out for the Spanish rider.

Pidcock is back at the car – seems to be in a happy, chatty mood. Probably not a day for him today however.

Things are settling back down a bit – the bunch is back into row formation.

Bahrain and in particular Damiano Caruso seem to want to make this hard, but no other teams are really playing ball.

100km to go

100km to go here – still expecting a bunch sprint in Lecce, even after that excitement at the intermediate sprint.

Though riders are still attacking...

That sprint and the injection of pace in the bunch has seen Muñoz's lead cut to two and a half minutes.

Primož Roglič just loves a bonus second.

He's now seven seconds off the race lead.

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) wins the sprint from the bunch, taking 4 bonus seconds, just ahead of Roglič who takes 2 seconds!

This is much more attacking that your usual intermediate sprint – Red Bull, UAE and Bahrain Victorious all battling.

It's a bit uphill, so some punchy riders are coming to the fore here!

The peloton have just started the Red Bull KM.

RED BULL KILOMETRE (OSTUNI)

Muñoz wins the Red Bull Kilometre – that's 15 sprint points and 6 bonus seconds for him.

Reminder, the gap between Pedersen and Roglič on GC is nine seconds, so even if Roglič took some bonuses here (as he likes to do) it wouldn't change the lead.

In this sprint, there's points available of course, but there's also 6, 4 and 2 bonus seconds available.

Muñoz will of course pick up the 6, but we're expecting a decent fight for the remaining bonuses.

Latest from Jens Voigt on the motorbike, who's been chatting with Lidl-Trek again: it was a dropped bottle that caused the crash, and all the Lidl-Trek riders are fine.

On TNT Sports, the commentary team are currently discussing the first time Adam Blythe met Sean Kelly, who was topping up his tan at the time. So that's how little there is to talk about in the race. 

5km to go to the Red Bull Kilometre intermediate sprint in Ostuni.

Forgot about him for a moment. Muñoz is still out front. Wonder what he's thinking about.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have been in tight formation all day, protecting Primož Roglič.

Considering what bad luck the Slovenian has had in Grand Tours, you can see why they're working so hard to keep him safe – and it's working, because he was well away from that crash.

Speaking of Moschetti, the Italian – who was involved in the crash – just had a bike change. He's chasing back on.

Jens Voigt just spoke to Lidl-Trek DS Kim Andersen in the car, and he said the biggest rival for Pedersen today will be Matteo Moschetti. Hmm, interesting!

Next point of interest in this race is the brand new Red Bull Kilometre, coming in 14km.

Forgot what it's all about? Here's the lowdown on the new bonus sprint: Giro d'Italia adds time bonus sprints to 19 stages of 2025 race in partnership with Red Bull to 'ignite fierce battles' in GC

It's always a shame to see riders out so early, in such an innocuous crash no less. But even on a calm day like this, a touch of wheels can have some big consequences.

Abandon: Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5)

It's official, the Canadian is out. 

That's the third abandon of this race so far. 

Add Romain Bardet, Luke Plapp and Matteo Moschetti to your list of riders affected in that crash.

As I say, nothing too serious so far, but a knock in the first week is never great.

The other riders affected are now chasing back on. It was a touch of wheels at the back of the peloton that caused the crash.

Although a lot of riders came off or stopped, no one except Zukowsky looked to go down too heavily. 

Not looking good for Q36.5's Nickolas Zukowsky – he's sat on the kerb holding his shoulder, a tell-tale sign of a collarbone break.

The Canadian was making his Grand Tour debut, but it doesn't look like he'll continue.

Lots of big riders affected in that crash: Giulio Ciccone, Tom Pidcock, several Lidl-Trek riders.

A few riders taking a moment to get going again.

Crash

A few riders have come down in the peloton!

Mads Pedersen was one of them.

All pink everything for Mads Pedersen.

Today is the first time that Pedersen has worn a Grand Tour leader's jersey on a road stage, so why not go all out?

TV coverage reminding us that Kaden Groves hasn't won for 250 days – last time was at the Vuelta last year.

He's been struggling with knee issues so far this year. He's avoided surgery – that looked to be on the cards at one point, we understand – but there might still be something missing for the Aussie.

Muñoz's gap is back down to 3:30, with still 130km to go. It's just difficult to keep up a gap and a high pace when the peloton are working. They're not chasing, but the natural pace of 180 riders vs one rider will always lend itself to the bunch.

It's chill vibes in the peloton. Just spotted Tom Pidcock and Max Poole having a chat.

The two Brits are a few years apart in age so haven't raced together lots, but Poole came up through the Fensham Howes-MAS Design team in the UK, which is run by Pidcock's dad.

Muñoz earlier in the day. This is third time in a break at the Giro.

50km complete

50km done of this stage so far. Still a pretty relaxed day for all involved. We're wondering how far Muñoz will go – it's not easy being out front alone.

Visma are helping out at the front of the peloton now. Olav Kooij has had a good season so far with three wins, and he'll be hoping to add a second Giro stage to his palmarès today.

That's not going to make any changes on the points classification standings for now, but we can learn a few things about who's targetting that classification.

And were Alpecin sending a decoy to mop up points, or might Groves be feeling a bit off the pace? Could Plowright figure in the finale?

Intermediate Sprint 1 (Polignano a Mare)

Kaden Groves' teammate Jensen Plowright wins the sprint from the peloton to take 8 points, ahead of Olav Kooij (5 points) and Mads Pedersen (3 points). The final point goes to Corbin Strong.

Reminder that Pedersen leads the points competition at present, with 54 points, ahead of Alessandro Tonelli with 35.

There's 50 points available for the winner of this stage, but a maximum of 39 available across the two intermediate sprints and the Red Bull Kilometres today.

Muñoz obviously picks up the maximum 12 points at the sprint but there are 8, 5, 3 and 1 points available for the peloton when they arrive at the sprint in a few minutes.

The sprint point is approaching, so there's some action and moving in the peloton as riders are interested in getting some points.

Jacopo Mosca of Lidl-Trek is on the front of the peloton.

He's sporting a new haircut as he returns to Italy, as he lost a bet and had to shave his head after Mads Pedersen won the opening stage. At least it's cooler in the Italian sun, eh?

A proper Giro welcome in Noci!

It's about 21 degrees Celsius out there today, and dry – nice racing weather. 

There were some murmurs about crosswinds, and it is a bit windy out in southern Italy, but it doesn't look like the conditions will be enough to split up the race. We'll see though!

Happy birthday to the Giro!

It's the Giro's birthday! On May 13, 1909, the first stage of the first Giro took place.

The stage was 397km (yes, 397) from Milan to Bologna, and it was won by Italy's Dario Beni.

No birthdays in the Giro peloton today, but we are celebrating the birthdays of two Dutch stars, Marianne Vos and Puck Pieterse.

Muñoz's lead is up to five minutes now, and the peloton is settling into control mode.

Alpecin-Deceuninck, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek are leading the bunch – not at any high pace though.

Mountains classification

1. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) – 29 points

2. Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis) – 20 points

3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) – 12 points

4. Alessandro Tonelli (Polti VisitMalta) – 11 points

5. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) – 9 points

No more climbing today, so this is how the KoM rankings will be at the end of the day. Another day in blue for Fortunato.

Moniquet takes the two points at the top, with Fortunato just behind to pick up one point. There's now nine points between the two riders at the top of the mountains classification, cut from 10. Probably not much to worry about.

Not so easy for Fortunato – Sylvain Moniquet, second in the KoM standings, has attacked towards the top of the climb.

The peloton are on the climb now, and Astana are doing a little bit of work to get Fortunato into position to grab a couple of points. 

One from the start. I love these things – my face would be straight in there. 

Although I'm not sure the angles line up – Pogačar had his head down in the photo...

The crowds really are HUGE. It's a Tuesday afternoon and a totally innocuous part of the race, but there's no stopping the tifosi.

The gap just ticked over four minutes, and Muñoz picked up three KoM points at the top of the climb.

And the Spaniard is still working hard here, extending his lead, which is approaching four minutes now.

He's just started the Putignano climb.

A bit about our solo leader Fran Muñoz:

He's 23, and he's from Oviedo in Northwest Spain. He's ridden for the Polti-VisitMalta outfit since 2022, having joined their development squad EOLO-Kometa 23 after some strong performances as a club-level rider.

This is his second Grand Tour, he also rode the Giro last year, and he was also in the break on stage 4! He spent 184km up the road, with Lilian Calmejane and Stefan De Bod.

Jonathan Milan won that stage, beating Kaden Groves. 

Sounds like all the riders who finished stage 3 also started stage 4 – no DNSs to report and 182 riders in the peloton, only missing Mikel Landa and Geoffrey Bouchard.

You can keep up with all the abandons throughout the race here: Giro d'Italia 2025 abandons

Muñoz's lead is up to two minutes now, as the peloton just takes some time to relax. It was a hectic time in Albania, so you can't blame them.

We're going through Noci, past packed pavements and under pink umbrellas. The Giro is officially Giroing.

Lots of fans out on the roads. Makes a nice change from Albania, where there definitely were fans but it wasn't quite as passionate as Italy.

Despite being on his own, Muñoz is committed to this. He's settled into time trialing mode and he's building a gap. 

It is a little surprising that literally no one wants to go in the break. There's not a lot to be gained – no jerseys really up for grabs, and the break is nearly guaranteed to be caught – but it's day 1 in Italy and a chance to get your jersey on TV.

Time gap of 1:00

3km in and Muñoz already has a minute's advantage. Might be a long day in the breakaway for him...

Mountains jersey wearer Lorenzo Fortunato is just having a chat with the other riders and on the radio to see if he might be allowed to nip up the road to get the KoM points.

But he also doesn't really look interested in attacking.

The one rider who has attacked is Francisco Muñoz of Polti VisitMalta.

He visibly shook his head when he realised no one had come with him. It would be a long, boring day out there by yourself.

Oof, no expected big battle after the flag drop. Just one rider has attacked...

Official start given

And away they go! The flag has dropped and racing is underway.

There's 189km and one categorised climb awaiting the peloton on the way from Alberobello to Lecce.

Sam Bennett also said the finish looks more straightforward than it's going to be...

"I think always the first bunch sprint in a Grand Tour is quite nervous, until everybody settles in a bit more," Sam Bennett said to Eurosport at the start.

Hopefully no crashes or chaos today.

Beautiful scenes as the peloton rolls through Alberobello and the bright white trulli. Lots of bunting and decorations here, too – it's nice to be back in Italy.

Wout van Aert was almost late to the start and had to join the back of the bunch, oops.

Neutral start underway

The riders have just rolled out for the neutralised start. There's 4.3km of neutral before the flag drops.

"I'm really looking forward to it. It feels like the first stage for us. I didn't have the legs in Albania, so missed both those reduced sprints, so I'm looking forward to getting things started today with a complete, normal bunch sprint," Kaden Groves told the Eurosport cameras at the start.

Groves hasn't won yet this year as he's been fighting a knee injury, but he's a rider who can often deliver in the biggest moments.

Pedersen worked hard on stage 3 to reclaim the pink jersey so he could wear it in a road stage, so there's no surprise that he's gone for all pink today.

We'll post photos of his 'fit when they land. 

Here's a reminder of who is wearing which jerseys today:

Pink: Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

Ciclamino: Alessandro Tonelli (Polti-VisitMalta) – borrowing from leader Pedersen

Blue: Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana)

White: Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek)

Here's the official fly-through of the stage coming up today:

"Always keep smiling," Wout van Aert said to the TV cameras at the start.

He had a couple of near-misses in Albania and didn't get to wear pink like he was dreaming of, but he'll be back on lead-out duty for Kooij today.

Grand Tours really do allow you to discover things you might never know about otherwise.

In fact, here are the riders heading to sign-on in front of the famous trulli. There are hundreds in the town.

Stage 4 starts in Alberobello, which is in the surrounds of Bari, in the southeast of Italy. The town is known for its 'trulli' – white stone hut-like buildings with a cone roof, dating back to the 18th century. Look them up!

The route heads dead south to Lecce, in the heart of the heel of the Italy's boot-shaped outline.

Though Mads Pedersen sprinted to two victories in Albania, they weren't really pure sprint days, with some pretty hefty climbs in the finals. Today's stage is definitely one for the pure sprinters, with riders like Olav Kooij, Kaden Groves and Paul Magnier all on the list of possible winners.

Here's what Kooij said about the first chance to sprint:

'It will make a big difference' – Olav Kooij gears up for first flat sprint at Giro d'Italia with Wout van Aert as luxury lead-out

The key medical update on the travel day came from Mikel Landa, who crashed heavily on stage 1 and suffered a fractured vertebra. It's going to be a long recovery for the rider who is already 35.

Read more: Mikel Landa released from hospital to begin healing from fractured vertebra sustained in Giro d'Italia crash

My colleague James Moultrie, who is on the ground for the first half of the race, wrote this piece on Jayco AlUla's Paul Double, whose career progression is the definition of 'slow and steady wins the race'.

'Others called it quits, I carried on' – Paul Double on the resilient road from 'getting head kicked in' as a U23 to a Giro d'Italia debut at 28

We've also got the excellent Larry Warbasse from Tudor Pro Cycling on board as a columnist for this Giro. Here's what he wrote in his travel day dispatches:

'My Giro nearly ended before it started here in Albania' – Larry Warbasse column

Impatiently waiting for the stage after a day off? Don't worry, just because racing stopped on Monday didn't mean we did.

First off, we had this analysis from Philippa York, breaking down the opening days of the Giro:

Roglič on top and Mads the magnificent at the Giro d'Italia - Philippa York analysis

Good morning, Matilda here, Cyclingnews' Assistant Features Editor. I'll be taking you through all the action from stage 4.

After three days in Albania and a travel day yesterday, the race is back on Italian soil today, and it's the flattest stage so far – so the pure sprinters will be eyeing up the win this afternoon. 

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia!