AG2R Citroen rider Aurelien Paret-Peintre dug deep and launched a late attack to win stage four of the Giro d’Italia yesterday, while Andreas Leknessund seized the leader’s maglia rosa jersey from Remco Evenepoel.
After an action-packed start to the stage, a seven-man group including Paret-Peintre and Leknessund (Team DSM) engineered a breakaway at the 79-km mark and gradually built a lead which was over five minutes at one point of the 175-km ride from Venosa to Lago Laceno.
The duo of Paret-Peintre and Leknessund expertly charged ahead of their pursuers on a steep climb close to the finish to cross the line comfortably, while Toms Skujins (Trek–Segafredo) pipped Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa) by millimetres to third.
“My main objective this year was the Giro. I trained a lot for this day, for these weeks,” Paret-Peintre said.
“We knew today was the day for a breakaway, so we came here to take a stage victory. I knew I was faster than Leknessund, so we collaborated until the end. And he took the maglia rosa, so everyone is happy I think.”
Leknessund’s rise into the lead was part of a shake-up in the overall standings, with the Norwegian now 28 seconds ahead of Evenepoel in second, while Frenchman Paret-Peintre moved up to third.
It was no surprise, however, that Evenepoel and his Soudal–Quick-Step team relinquished the jersey as they will bide their time and the Belgian will still be among the favourites to claim overall victory.
Portugal’s Joao Almeida and Primoz Roglic of Slovenia are fourth and fifth.
Today’s stage five is a 171-km ride from Atripalda to Salerno, featuring numerous climbs before a flat finish.
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