Valencia: Pogacar wins on Sierra de Bernia

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Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) lived up to expectations, taking a highly anticipated victory on the steep Sierra de Bernia climb on the queen stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

The young Slovenian attacked midway up the 5.1km climb, catching overnight leader Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) off guard and distancing all his rivals. Wout Poels (Bahrain McLaren) put in a spirited chase, nearly bringing Pogacar back inside the final 500m but fell short and finished six seconds behind Pogacar. 

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos) overhauled Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) for third with Haig fighting across on his wheel.

How it unfolded

With five mountains on tap on the queen stage and the feared Sierra de Bernia the sting in the tail, stage 4 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana followed the script of a Grand Tour stage - with a six-man breakaway forging clear in the first kilometres after a flurry of intense attacking.

There were some of the usual suspects: Pello Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren), Tim Declercq (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Gonzalo Serrano (Caja Rural), Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani-CSF Faizaine') and the CCC Team pair Greg van Avermaet and Nathan Van Hooydonck.

Van Avermaet was the highest placed rider on the overall classification in the move, but the top 10 before the stage were separated by just five seconds with seven riders locked on the same time at the top of the GC behind race leader Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott).

Mitchelton-Scott took much of the responsibility for keeping the six riders on a short leash for leader Haig, with their maximum gap ten seconds shy of three minutes over the 156km stage from Calpe to the Sierra de Bernia.

The fiercely steep 5.1km climb to Sierra de Bernia would be the key for the final winner and the furious pace of the peloton pushed the escape group to breaking point with 10km to go in a high-speed pursuit match. With just 30 seconds lead, Carboni and Serrano lost contact as Van Avermaet upped the pace beyond their abilities.

Declercq, well accustomed to having his nose in the wind, helped hold that slim lead into the lower slopes of the final ascent, but the pace in the peloton was nothing short of a full-on lead-out for the climbers and overall contenders.

Mitchelton-Scott for Haig, UAE Team Emirates for Pogacar, Movistar for Valverde, Bahrain McLaren for Teuns and Team Ineos for Tao Geoghegan Hart, all amassed at the head of the bunch as CCC Team tried to ease the pace to let Van Avermaet keep his 33-second advantage as the road tilted upward. Van Hooyndonck was the next to lose contact.

The peloton had the last trio in sight as the leaders hit the steepest slopes. Van Avermaet surged and Declercq and Bilbao lost touch briefly but the Spaniard almost fought his way back to the front as Team Ineos led the peloton behind.

Bilbao was swept up midway up the climb but Van Avermaet, perhaps keen to hone his form for the Spring Classics, continued to pour on the power for a few more metres before at last succumbing, as Pogacar put in his surge with three kilometres to go.

Going earlier than most expected, the UAE rider put Haig under pressure and the Australia faded. Wout Poels (Bahrain McLaren) was the next man on the road before Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) joined him with Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos), as Haig worked his way back into the chase group.

They could see Pogacar on the steep ramps in the final metres but couldn't quite reel in the young Slovenian and Pogacar was just able to raise one arm in victory before coming to an exhausted stop after the finish line.

He went deep with a solo attack but look set to secure overall victory when the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana ends with a flat 97km stage to Valencia on Sunday.  

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