Breakaway and final fight on the queen stage of Belgium Tour
Team Polti Kometa once again played a leading role in the breakaway, with Diego Pablo Sevilla another day ahead of the peloton on the most demanding day of the Belgium Tour. The final selection allowed Erik Fetter and Davide Bais to stay in the main bunch, gaining positions on the climb to Durbuy to finish in the top-20.
An initial breakaway of 12 riders made its way into the fourth stage and queen day of the Belgium Tour, with the presence of Diego Sevilla. The rider from Madrid was already in the breakaway yesterday, although they were neutralised far from the finish line, and in this case he found a larger group to make his way through the five laps of the demanding Belgian terrain.
The gap was close to 3 minutes, although the strongest teams quickly increased the pace to fight for the golden KM and the overall classification, so just before the last lap, on the climb to Durbuy, the breakaway was neutralised and a new race began.
Davide Bais and Erik Fetter managed to hold on to the favourites group. Meanwhile, Vacek (Lidl Trek) tried to surprise with a breakaway that was joined by three more riders and managed about 30 seconds. But the work of UNO X in favour of leader Waerenskjold unified the main group on the last climb. Aramburu (Movistar) raised his arms, with Erik Fetter coming from behind to finish 15th.
Diego Pablo Sevilla: “Second breakaway in a row, it wasn’t planned for me but when I saw it forming I jumped in. We got together 12 strong riders, we went fast at the front all day hoping for a chance, but the favourites neutralised us. Then Davide and Erik stayed with the best riders, which shows that today the race was better for us and we were able to complete a good day for the team”.
Giovanni Ellena, sport director: “Diego got into a breakaway that was gaining strength with more and more riders. They tried to put a pulse on the peloton, but in the end they were neutralised by the favourites. In the group of 40 riders that was selected we could count on Fetter and Davide Bais, fighting for the stage victory, and on the last short climb Fetter was able to finish 15th”.
The Belgium Tour concludes tomorrow with the fifth day in Brussels, which after almost 190 kilometres will decide the winner in a probable sprint finish, but also the winner of the very tight overall classification.
