Vuelta a Espana: Calmejane wins atop San Andre de Teixido

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Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) soloed to victory on stage 4 of the Vuelta a España after forging clear on the final ascent of the Alto Mirador de Veixia. The Frenchman held off the late pursuit of Darwin Atapuma (BMC), who had the considerable consolation of taking possession of the red jersey of race leader.

The stiff second category climb to the line forced a selection in the main peloton, but failed to separate the principal contenders for final overall victory, as Alejandro Valverde, Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange), Chris Froome (Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) all finished together, 2:05 down on Calmejane.

Calmejane and Atapuma were part of the 21-man break that formed with a shade over 110 kilometres still to race on the Vuelta's fourth successive day on the rugged roads of Galicia, and though the Colombian began the stage just 1:35 off the red jersey of Ruben Fernandez, Movistar were content to allow them some leeway ahead of the final climb.

When the escapees reached the final 30 kilometres with a buffer of five minutes, it was evident that they would decide the stage honours between them, and the first telling attacks began shortly afterwards. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) laid down his marker by stretching the group out on a long false flat, before Alex Domont (Ag2r-La Mondiale) zipped clear with 20 kilometres remaining.

Domont hit the base of the Mirador de Veixia with a lead of 30 seconds over his erstwhile companions, but he was reeled in after just two kilometres of climbing. Sensing a lull, the 23-year-old Calmejane belied his inexperience to launch an attack of his own and went clear alone with 9 kilometres to go.

The climb’s long straights meant that Calmejane was never out of sight of his pursuers, but he stuck gamely to his task. Pierre Rolland (Cannondale) gave chase alone, but was unable to make any real inroads into his deficit and he was passed by Atapuma, Ben King (Cannondale) and Andrey Zeits (Astana) in the final three kilometres.

By that point, Atapuma was aware that the Movistar-led peloton was beginning to close in on the break, and he risked missing out on taking over the race lead. The Colombian bounded up the final ramps of the Mirador de Veixia, and even if he was unable to bridge the gap to Calmejane, he knew that every pedal stroke was bringing him closer to the red jersey.

Calmejane had time to sit up and savour his victory as he crossed the finish line alone. A graduate of the Vendée U amateur squad, the youngster from Albi is in his first season in the professional ranks.

"It's a very great feeling. I started the Vuelta with a lot of ideas in my head but to win a stage so soon in the Vuelta is just awesome. Yesterday I was feeling good but only seven guys got in the breakaway and I didn’t think it would go to the finish. But today I just thought: 'Breakaway, breakaway, breakaway' so I would have no regrets," Calmejane said.

"I'm not really a good, good climber, but when the climb is between 10 and 30 minutes, I'm ok. This is my first Vuelta, my first Grand Tour. The goal was to win a stage. And now everything else is a bonus. I feel very good."

Atapuma out-sprinted King and Zeits for second place on the stage, 15 seconds down on Calmejane, and he then had to endure a nervous wait as the reduced group of overall contenders made its way towards the finish. Overnight leader Ruben Fernandez was among the many riders distanced on the final climb, and though Valverde launched a long, long sprint in the finishing straight, enough time had ticked by for Atapuma to celebrate the beginning of his tenure in red.

How it unfolded

There was no gentle start to proceedings as the peloton left Betanzos on Tuesday morning, as it took the bones of two hours of racing before the break of the day finally established itself. The ever-aggressive Thomas De Gendt led a group off the front on the stage's first climb, the Alto Da Serra Capela, but they were brought back soon afterwards, while a later move featuring the red jersey Fernandez was promptly snuffed out.

De Gendt finally wriggled clear ahead of the second ascent, the Alto Monte Caxado, and he was joined by Darwin Atapuma (BMC), Andrey Zeits (Astana), Nikias Arndt (Giant Alpecin), Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep), Ben King (Cannondale-Drapac), Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac), Nathan Haas (Dimension Data), Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data), Larry Warbasse (IAM Cycling), Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling), Tsgabu Grmay, (Lampre Merida), Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis), Cesare Benedetti (Bora Argon 18), Scott Thwaites (Bora Argon 18), Angel Madrazo (Caja Rural), Jaime Roson (Caja Rural), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie), Chad Haga (Giant-Alpecin), Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale) and Enrico Battaglin (LottoNL-Jumbo).

Movistar was content to allow the escapees to sally clear, and despite its unwieldy size, the group had built up a lead of five minutes by the time it reached the final 30 kilometres. At that point, Movistar began to wind up the pace at the front of the peloton, and they were helped, too, by the efforts of Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff) in the service of Contador.

Once on the climb proper, Movistar were again to the fore, setting a pace that shelled rider after rider off the back of the peloton, but gave precious little leeway to anyone seeking to attack off the front. Kennaugh was the only man to break the deadlock, but the Manxman's effort proved a cameo rather than a turning point.

Froome, Valverde, Chaves, Quintana and Contador – who had so struggled on Monday – all reached the summit together, mindful that greater challenges lie ahead. In the general classification, Valverde is second overall, 29 seconds down on Atapuma, while Froome lies a further four seconds back in third, with Chaves and Quintana just behind.
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