Enric Mas best in six-rider chase group on Catalonia's most emblematic ascent and moves into third on GC
Volta a Catalunya: Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) outduels Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to win stage 4 and take over GC lead(Image credit: Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) took his first victory of the season on the summit finish in Montserrat on stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya, following another head-to-head battle with Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The two sprinted side by side for the second consecutive day, with the Slovenian edging Ayuso by a wheel length on the line.
With crucial bonus seconds accumulated at the day’s intermediate sprint to add to those accrued on the finish line, Roglič moves into the general classification lead, on the same time as Ayuso, but taking control of the leader’s jersey on countback.
An elite selection of five riders fought it out for third place on the stage, with Movistar’s Enric Mas taking the final available podium spot, elevating himself to third in the GC in the process.
“Just tough, huh? It was annoying fast tempo from the start, wind, UAE put really a hard tempo, like I said, and was something left at the end. So luckily, I won," Roglič said about the stage victory.
“Hard days still to come. For the moment, I'm going, well, we are in good position, and we see. We go day by day, and we see what that means at the end.
“Obviously for the moment, the differences are really small. You never know. Maybe he goes away minutes. Maybe I go away minutes maybe someone else. So, we see how it goes.”
Primož Roglič gets the edge over Juan Ayuso on stage 4 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya took the peloton 188.7km south from Sant Vicenç de Castellet to Montserrat Mil·lenari.
The day’s action began with Roglič picking up three seconds at the first intermediate sprint after 11 kilometres of racing, with Ayuso taking a single second, reducing the Slovenian’s deficit to 4 seconds in the overall standings following yesterday’s big GC stage.
A strong group of 12 riders formed the day’s early breakaway, including Lennard Kämna (Lidl-Trek), riding his first race for his new team, and his first since a training accident in March 2024. The closest on GC was Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) at 2:50, who moved into the virtual lead for a time.
The group splintered on the first of the day’s two categorised climbs, however, with Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) and Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) able to push clear and maintain a lead of around 3:45 over the peloton on the long descent that followed.
Conditions were dry in north-eastern Spain and the pace was brisk, with a 43 kph average across the stage. The wind also had a part to play, with the peloton briefly divided in a crosswind section, as those at the front of the bunch worked to draw back the leading duo of Steinhauser and Staune-Mittet.
Johannes Staune-Mittet of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Georg Steinhauser of EF Education-EasyPost on the breakaway (Image credit: Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)
The duo continued to move further away from the chasing group of 10, though they were slowly beginning to lose time over the peloton. They formed a committed pairing though, taking on the descent that led into the final climb with bravado.
Ineos Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates-XRG led the chase, and with 30 kilometres remaining the gap stood at 2:20, as the sustained pace began to take its toll at the back of the bunch, with a number of riders dropping. With 20 kilometres to go, Soudal-QuickStep added their weight to the chase and shortly after, the gap dropped below two minutes for the first time.
The final climb to Montserrat represented a stern test, 9 kilometres in length and with an average gradient of 6%. As it began, the peloton had trimmed the gap down to just over a minute. Steinhauser took matters into his own hands, launching a move away from Staune-Mittet, while Soudal-QuickStep set the tempo on the early part of the climb on behalf of Mikel Landa.
As the climb progressed, UAE sent Marc Soler to the front and they began to eat into Steinhauser’s lead, and drop a significant portion of the bunch in the process. When Adam Yates took over with 3km remaining the group slimmed down once again, with just 12 riders still in contention.
Juan Ayuso and Primož Roglič ride side by side on final steep pitches of Montserrat climb for stage 4 finale (Image credit: Getty Images)
Shortly after that, the race leader Juan Ayuso launched, and Steinhauser’s day was done, despite determined resistance from the German. Only Landa was able to stay with Ayuso, though not for long. After missing the initial move, Roglič was able to bridge up to the Spaniard to reprise their head-to-head duel from the previous day over the final two kilometres of racing.
As the pitch increased, Roglič used the gradient to try and drop Ayuso, but he was unable to do so initially. Coming into the final 600 metres, the two looked at one another, allowing the chasing group of GC contenders to pull them back into close proximity.
A further acceleration from the Slovenian initiated a second two-up sprint between the pair, and this time, Roglič was able to hold off his young rival, and take control of the race lead in the process.
Katy is a freelance writer and journalist. She has published interviews, features, and previews in Cycling News, Rouleur, Cyclist Magazine and the British Continental. She also writes opinion pieces on her own website writebikerepeat.com and is a frequent contributor to the Quicklink podcast.
She is obsessed with the narrative element of bike racing, from the bigger picture to the individual stories. She is a cyclocross nut who is 5% Belgian and wonders if this entitles her to citizenship. Her favourite races are Ronde van Vlaanderen and La Vuelta.
In her spare time Katy is a published short fiction and non-fiction author.
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