The Colombian doubled his tally at Vuelta a San Juan, for the team's fourth win of the season.
Having dominated the previous two bunch sprints in the Argentinean race, Quick-Step Floors was the big favourite in stage 4, a flat 160-kilometer one, starting and finishing in the town of San Martin. As a result, our squad took the reins in the peloton, and together with the Italian National Team and Trek-Segafredo kept the 13-man breakaway on a leash, making sure the gap doesn't go too far north of five minutes.
Inside the last 25 kilometers, the peloton really began to chew into the escapees' advantage, bringing the gap down to around one minute with 10 kilometers left. The finale was a chaotic one, but Quick-Step Floors' lead-out train lived up to the expectations once more and took the front when it mattered, paving the way for Fernando Gaviria, who out-sprinted Elia Viviani (Italian National Team) and Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF), thus taking his second victory of the year.
"It was another nice day for us, and the team did a perfect job again. They controlled every single aspect of the race and I was glad to finish off their work and score another victory in San Juan", said Fernando, who was asked by the media for the reason behind his celebration gesture. "While in Denia, I lost my bracelet, which was a gift from my girlfriend. To remind me of it and of Valentina, who's always supporting me, I kiss my wrist every time I win a race."
Stage 5, which will see Quick-Step Floors Team's neo-pro Rémi Cavagna wear for the second day in a row the green jersey that rewards the best young rider in the race, is the most difficult of the Vuelta a San Juan, as it climbs four categorized ascents, including Alto Colorado, which comes right at the finish.
Even though it isn't a stage to suit him, Fernando hasn't any plans to rest tomorrow: "Every single thing we are doing here is important for the races that will come later in the season. Of course, I don't stand a chance tomorrow against the climbers, but I won't take an off day; instead, I'll try to help my teammates and use this stage as preparation for the future."
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
