Primoz Roglic won the fourth stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday and took the lead after winning Pico Villuercas, the first mountain finish of this edition, a climb in which Isaac del Toro showed his resilience to cross the finish line among the top 20.
The Slovenian, a three-time Vuelta champion and one of this year’s big favourites, was the smartest in the final metres of the day’s final climb, which included gradients of almost 15 per cent.
In a perfectly managed day by his Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe teammates, he beat Belgian Lennert Van Eetvelt in second place in the fight for victory.
The Slovenian stopped the clocks in four hours, 26 minutes and 49 seconds. Van Eetvelt (Lotto), Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and four other cyclists followed in a crazy sprint with the same time.
In the general classification, which began the day led by Belgian Wout Van Aert, Roglic now holds the red jersey with an eight-second lead over Portuguese Joao Almeida, third in the stage.
Del Toro, at the lift
Isaac del Toro’s debut in cycling’s Grand Tours is promising. The Mexican has gone from less to more in his first participation in the Spanish event. Consistency has been his best ally.
Although his current role is that of a rider who helps his boss (gregarious) to victory, the Baja Californian has more than fulfilled his role. Although Joao Almeida, leader of UAE Team Emirates, did not win, Isaac’s cooperative and individual performance has been the best of the four stages that have been contested until Tuesday. Today’s stage, by far the most complex one that has been completed due to the wear and tear of the climbs, Del Toro knew how to escort his teammates. He managed to stay in the main group until Roglic, winner of the race, Van Eetvelt, Almeida and four other cyclists launched an attack in the last kilometers of the competition.
His ever-improving performance allowed him to finish in 20th place, his best performance so far in the competition. Only one Latin American cyclist surpassed him and that was Ecuadorian Einer Rubio (18th).
The Ensenada native crossed the finish line 51 seconds behind the winner. His time of 4:27:40 also allowed him to climb in the general classification. After being ranked 35th, he jumped to 17th position, to consolidate his position as the best Latin American.
He is even better placed than the British Adam Yates, another of his leaders in the UAE Team Emirate (26th).
Although most of the stages remain, Isaac has shown composure and ability in one of the best teams in the World Tour.
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– 2024-08-24 18:43:10
