CABALLEROS — A strong team display from UAE Team Emirates saw Jasper Philipsen sprint home to second place on stage 4 of the Vuelta España from Garray to Ejea de los Caballeros (191.7 km).

Thanks to a superb lead-out, which was spearheaded by Rui and Ivo Oliveira, Philipsen was able to arrive first into the final corner at 250 meters to go and got a huge jump on his rivals. Only stage winner Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep) was able to come around the Belgian in the dying meters to snatch victory.

Philipsen: “It went really well. The boys did an amazing job in the final just as we had planned. The whole time I was in pole position to take the win and with 50 meters to go I felt I had it.

“In the end, Bennett came from behind with a lot of speed. I have no regrets about my sprint, we did as planned as it didn’t quite work out. I’m a little bit disappointed not to get the win but it still gives me confidence for the other sprint stages.”

This marks the best result in a Grand Tour stage for Philipsen, who will now look towards the next sprint opportunity, which is set to be on stage 9. David De La Cruz remains the best placed of the General Classification in 12th place at 2’31’’.

Tomorrow will see the riders go from Huesca to Sabiñanigo (184.4k) with 4 categorized climbs coming within the last 50 km.

Stage 4 Results:

1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep) 3:53:29; 2. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) s.t; 3. Jakub Mareczko (CCC) s.t.

General Classification after stage 4: 1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 16h30’53”; 2. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +5’’; 3. Richard Carapaz (Ineos-Grenadiers) +13’’; 12. David De La Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) +2’31’’. — SG