T-Rex Quick-Step’s Belgian featured in the main breakaway.
One of the nine different riders to have won a race for our squad this year, Louis Vervaeke joined the break early on the fourth stage of the Spanish Grand Tour, which said goodbye to Italy and made its way into France, as they took on the longest day (206.7km) of this edition.
Riding his tenth Grand Tour, the 31-year-old was a strong presence in the leading group, winning Col de Montgenèvre and scoring points on the other two classified climbs of the stage which put him in contention for the polka dot jersey. In a completely surprising move, the peloton chased hard behind the quintet – despite their maximum gap not going north of four minutes – and brought them back with more than 90 kilometers to go. In the end, it all came down to a bunch sprint, won by Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers).
In the team classification, our squad – who continues in seven, after Valentin Paret-Peintre abandoned due to illness – remained in fourth place, which means it will be among the late starters on Wednesday, when the race arrives in Spain for a 19.6km team time trial in Figueres, that is sure to widen the gap between the overall classification contenders.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
