James Knox features in the breakaway on the final mountain stage.
Four classified climbs were on the menu for stage 4 of the week-long event on Thursday, when the peloton left behind Llanars and headed to La Molina, an old acquaintance of the Volta a Catalunya. A hectic start to the race, with many attempts to get clear, wasn’t what the peloton had hoped for, and this meant that the field stayed together long into the stage. Not even the 11% maximum slopes of Port del Coll de Coubet could help a group slip away, the game-changer proving to be the subsequent downhill, where twenty-five men broke clear.
James Knox was there for Deceuninck – Quick-Step, picking up a bonus second at the intermediate sprint in Ripoll, home of a Benedictine monastery built in the ninth century, which during the Middle Ages boasted one of the most impressive scriptoriums in the Western civilisation. The young Brit, who is riding his fourth World Tour race of the season, worked hard at the front, helping the leaders extend their advantage to five minutes at the base of the Hors Catégorie Port de la Creuta, which was featuring for the second straight year.
The bunch started a fierce chase on the 19.9km-long climb, chewing into the gap of the escapees, who began firing attacks which split the group, just three riders cresting the summit in the lead. The others, including James Knox, were reabsorbed by the pack on the downhill to La Molina, the day’s final hurdle, where the GC contenders began throwing jabs at one another, forcing a high pace which proved too much for some riders, who were distanced.
The stage win was nabbed by Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), who also took over the lead in the general classification, where Enric Mas sits in 17th place as he continues to ease back into racing following a one-month break he took after coming fourth at the Volta ao Algarve. At the same time, the 23-year-old maintained his spot on the youth classification podium, with three days to go at the Volta a Catalunya.
Photo credit: ©David Ramos/ Getty Images
