Alert Poels up to third

23 Feb 2019

Alert Poels up to third

Related riders

Volta ao Algarve stage four: Albufeira – Tavira, 198.3km

Wout Poels moved up to third overall at the Volta ao Algarve courtesy of some alert riding in the final metres of stage four.
 
The Dutchman buried himself to get across the gap as the peloton fractured across the line in Tavira. Finishing on the coattails of the sprinters, Poels clawed back seven seconds on the yellow jersey, and now sits 30 seconds back ahead of Sunday’s decisive stage.
 
Poels’ teammates had ensured that both he and David de la Cruz were well positioned heading into the final kilometre, with Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard leading from the front. De La Cruz also retained fifth overall on the day.
 
With no recognised sprinter in the lineup the priority was to stay out of trouble on the penultimate stage, setting things up for a final showdown on Sunday. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) picked up the win on the day.
 
As expected the final fourth-category Pisa Barro rise saw some brief attacks, with De La Cruz monitoring the move on behalf of Team Sky. Yet with the sprinters’ teams all massed at the front the race quickly came back together, with the day’s five-man breakaway also caught with 20km to go.
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What’s Next?
 
The final stage sees the general classification battle come to a head with a summit finish on the first category Alto do Malhao. Climbed twice during the day, the climb has been a happy hunting ground for Team Sky in previous years and will decide the destination of the yellow jersey.

Stage four result:

1. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) 4:56:07
2. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) s.t.
3. Jasper Philipsen (UAE-Team Emirates)
4. Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe)
5. Simone Consonni (UAE-Team Emirates)
23. Wout Poels (Team Sky)

Overall standings:


1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 15:12:28
2. Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb) +29"
3. Wout Poels (Team Sky) +30"
4. Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +31"
5. David de la Cruz (Team Sky) +57"