Pais Vasco: Rodriguez wins stage 4 in Arrate
Henao holds onto yellow jersey
Katusha's Joaquím Rodríguez took his second consecutive win on stage 4 at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco on Thursday. The Spaniard was a part of a select group of climbers that formed on the steep slopes of the late-race climb over the Usartza, and following a fast two-kilometre descent into Arrate, he out-sprinted his rivals at the finish. Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing) was second in the sprint and Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) was third.
"Finally I did it. I knew I had to go fast in the last two corners. I had to make up something after Valverde beat me in 2012 here after a photo finish. I didn't dare to lift my hands too early. Arrate is a classic finish and it is an honor to win here," Rodriguez said.
Team Sky’s Sergio Henao, who moved into the overall leader’s jersey after placing second to Rodriguez in the previous day’s stage 3 three-up sprint, narrowly held onto the yellow jersey after placing fifth in Arrate. He heads into the fifth stage on Friday as the leader but with the same time as both runner-up Rodriquez and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in third.
How it happened
The fourth stage of Pais Vasco brought the riders on a 162.2km race from Zumarraga to Arrate. It was another challenging day with climbs over the Asentzio (cat 2), Karabieta (cat 2), Izua (cat 2), Gaintzagagaina (cat 3), Santa Eufemia (cat 3), Pinares (cat 3) and the finale Usartza (cat 1), which peaked with two kilometres to the finish line.
A large break set off at the start of the stage but it broke apart after the first 40km. Riders in that original move were Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep), Tom Danielson (Cannondale-Garmin), Peio Bilbao (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Rohan Dennis and Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Lieuwe Westra (Astana), Michal Golas (Etixx-QuickStep), Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge), Bob Jungels and Fabio Felline (Trek Factory Racing), Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Nicki Sorensen (Tinkoff-Saxo), Yoann Bragot and Romain Hardy (Cofidis).
Team Sky set the pace for the day for their overall leader Henao, and although they didn’t let the dangerous move get too far, four riders were able to skirt off the front of it and gain a couple of minutes.
Martin, who has been a highly active player in the week’s racing, drove the four-man move that also included Danielson, Hardy and Bilbao. That breakaway also broke apart with Martin and Danielson pushing on alone, leaving Bilbao and Hardy to be swept up by the field.
With Martin only one minute down on the general classification, the field kept them on a tight leash over the day’s ascents. By the time they reached the Pinares with 35km to go, the gap had begun to drop to 1:30.
Movistar assumed some of the chase responsibilities for their rider Quintana, who was in third place overall but at the same time as Henao and Rodriguez. They rolled to the front and offered to help Team Sky with the pace setting.
Further back in the field, Rodriguez lost one of his teammates, Angel Vicioso, who had an unfortunate crash while pacing himself back up to the field in the caravan.
Bad luck continued for Katusha with 24km to go as Rodriguez had to take a bike change before slowly chasing his way back to the main field ahead of the final climb.
"The break had many minutes for most of the day," Rodriguez said. "Movistar and Sky took the race in hand and the speeds were so fast... The crash of Vicioso changed our team tactics a bit. I had to change bikes and then come back so that cost me some energy, but fortunately the last climb suited me very well."
With Rodriguez off the back, Lampre-Merdia moved their riders to the front to set a quick pace for their man Rui Costa. Trek Factory Racing also joined the chase for Mollema and Julian Arredondo and Orica-GreenEdge for Simon Yates and Esteban Chaves.
The breakaway lost its momentum when Danielson dropped his chain on the descent off of the Pinares and had to fight to get back on to Martin’s wheel. However, the pair only had a 15-second margin at that point, and it was only going to drop further as the race approached the Usartza with 13km to go.
The field was all back together ahead of the day’s final cat 1 climb, which averaged 10.7 per cent and some sections as steep as 20 per cent near the top.
Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) and Ion Izagirre (Movistar) made their move and distanced the field, allowing their respective teammates Rodriguez and Quintana to sit back while the others chased.
Zakarin distanced himself from Izagirre and tried to go alone but his efforts weren’t strong enough to stop Henao from jumping across the gap him with 3.3km to go.
Movistar and Astana riders led the pace of the main chase group up the climb with Katusha riders sitting on their wheel. They managed to bring the gap to Henao and Zakarin down to three seconds as the race approached the crest of the climb.
Izagirre made another attack from the small main group, which was down to roughly 12 riders. The move was short-lived but it caused the overall pace to quicken and they caught Henao and Zakarin on the descent with just 1.9km to go.
Katusha immediately took control of the group on the twisty descent but Henao fought hard to stay at the front, dragging the field downhill and into the flatter section at the bottom with 500 metres to go.
"When Henao went, I thought Quintana would go too, but he didn’t. Then I spoke with Simon [Spilak] and told him I needed his help. Good positioning was more important than speed at that moment," Rodriguez said.
And in almost the exact same sequence as the day before, Rodriguez jumped around Henao through the final corners and took the win.
The fifth stage of Pais Vasco on Friday will include a 155.5km race from Eibar to Aia. It is the last hilly road race stage before the finale 18.3km time trial in Aia on Saturday. "Tomorrow also suits me very well. We cross the Aia pass three times. I like this stage the most of all of them. If I can recover from these past two days, we’ll see how I can do for the GC," Rodriguez said.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha | 4:05:10 |
2 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing | |
3 | Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | |
4 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | |
5 | Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
6 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
7 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | |
8 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
9 | Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | |
10 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
11 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
12 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha | |
13 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:00:23 |
14 | Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | |
15 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
16 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
17 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:00:47 |
18 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida | |
19 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
20 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team | |
21 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:08 |
22 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:22 |
23 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
24 | David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky | 0:01:56 |
25 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge | |
26 | Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 0:02:27 |
27 | Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team | |
28 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:34 |
29 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:03:42 |
30 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
31 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
32 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
33 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
34 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
35 | Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 0:04:19 |
36 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:04:58 |
37 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge | 0:06:17 |
38 | Yohan Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:06:19 |
39 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:06:28 |
40 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:06:54 |
41 | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | 0:07:29 |
42 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge | 0:07:53 |
43 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
44 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
45 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | |
46 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
47 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge | |
48 | Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | |
49 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
50 | Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
51 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | |
52 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team | |
53 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
54 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:09:03 |
55 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:09:14 |
56 | Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
57 | Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
58 | Jose Rodolfo Serpa (Col) Lampre-Merida | |
59 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:10:55 |
60 | Andre Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
61 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Sky | |
62 | Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
63 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:11:14 |
64 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky | 0:12:19 |
65 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:12:22 |
66 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | |
67 | Janier Acevedo (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
68 | Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:15:31 |
69 | José Herrada (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:18:34 |
70 | Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida | |
71 | David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:19:15 |
72 | Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
73 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
74 | Igor Anton (Spa) Movistar Team | |
75 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team | |
76 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
77 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
78 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
79 | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
80 | Antonio Molina (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:20:52 |
81 | Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | |
82 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
83 | Carlos Betancur (Col) AG2R La Mondiale | |
84 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
85 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
86 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | |
87 | Alexander Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha | |
88 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:21:46 |
89 | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
90 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
91 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
92 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
93 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
94 | Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
95 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
96 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
97 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
98 | Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
99 | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
100 | Lawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM Cycling | |
101 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
102 | Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek Factory Racing | |
103 | Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
104 | Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
105 | Jonathan Fumeaux (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
106 | Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Team Sky | |
107 | Kevin De Weert (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
108 | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
109 | Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
110 | Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
111 | Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
112 | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
113 | Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
114 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
115 | Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
116 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
117 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
118 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
119 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
120 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
121 | Eduard Beltran (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
122 | Hugh Carthy (GBr) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
123 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team | |
124 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
125 | Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky | |
126 | George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
127 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Etixx - Quick-Step |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha | 25 | pts |
2 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing | 20 | |
3 | Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | 16 | |
4 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | 14 | |
5 | Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Team Sky | 12 | |
6 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 10 | |
7 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | 9 | |
8 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | 8 | |
9 | Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | 7 | |
10 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr | 6 | |
11 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 5 | |
12 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha | 4 | |
13 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | 3 | |
14 | Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | 2 | |
15 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 1 | |
16 | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre-Merida | -5 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 3 | pts |
2 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | 2 | |
3 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 3 | pts |
2 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | 2 | |
3 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | 3 | pts |
2 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 2 | |
3 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team | 6 | pts |
2 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 4 | |
3 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 2 | |
4 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6 | pts |
2 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | 4 | |
3 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 2 | |
4 | David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | 10 | pts |
2 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 8 | |
3 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6 | |
4 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | 4 | |
5 | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | 2 | |
6 | David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky | 1 |