The summit finish on Alto de Ibardin of Vuelta al Pais Vasco Stage 4 left the peloton shattered into clusters on Thursday, but Tony Martin managed a 13th place finish for Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team, despite the difficulty of the 151km stage from Eibar to Bera-Ibardin.
Martin and Peter Velits were at the front of a chasing peloton, which eventually chased down the last rider of a five man escape group with 2km to go in the race. However, in the final kilometer, Sergio Luis Henao (Sky Procycling) attacked, and the only riders able to stay with him were Samuel Sanchez (Euskatel-Euskadi), Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha Team). Rodriguez countered the attack, and soloed to victory in the final meters. Sanchez was 2nd, and Henao 3rd. The difficulty of the race was evident when the peloton split multiple times earlier in the stage, and groups of riders were still crossing the line together several minutes after the top three finishers.
Martin finished 21" back, after finishing 12" in 6th place back on Stage 3.