Márton Dina caresses the top-20 in Burgos after the longest stage, where Antonio Puppio rolls away more than 150 km
41ª Vuelta a Burgos
Stage 4: Atapuerca – Roman City of Clunia/Coruña del Conde (174 km)
Always complicated by its final kilometre, a 5.1% steepness that is faced at great speed, the arrival at the Roman City of Clunia gave rise to time differences that allowed a new jump of the Hungarian Márton Dina in the provisional general classification of the Tour of Burgos. The Budapest cyclist, who started the day in the twenty-fifth place, gave a few seconds with respect to the winner, the Guipuzcoan Álex Aranburu (Caja Rural), and the race leader, Iván Ramiro Sosa, but climbed three positions to place now twenty-second, 3:34 from the purple jersey. This Saturday will conclude the race in the demanding ascent to Las Lagunas de Neila; another day to cut, another day to climb. The top-20 is within reach.
Beyond Márton or Manchego Isaac Cantón, who crossed the finish line together 20 seconds from the winner (29th and 30th, respectively, in this fourth fraction), it was the Italian Antonio Puppio in charge of giving presence for many kilometers to the Kometa Cycling Team in the longest stage of this edition. The young cyclist from Lombardy, a great rider, was one of the seven members of the breakaway that, on this occasion, was relatively easy to settle for in the first five kilometers.
Along with Puppio, the French Alexis Renard (Israel Cycling Team) and Jimmy Turgis (Vital Concept), the Swiss Simon Pellaud (IAM), Ángel Madrazo (Burgos-BH), Ibai Azurmendi and Asier Etxeberria (Euskadi Foundation). As in previous days, the main group did not give much time to the fugitives. Their advantage did not exceed three and a half minutes. The passage through the Alto del Majadal broke the collaboration and generated a selection to which Puppio, initially cut, ended up overcoming the formation of a sextet at the head of the race that survived until the stage had six kilometers left. “We have been able to solve this situation well”, said the Samarate rider about the selection.
The sextet collaborated well and with intensity, but always pedaled with a rent always on the edge of the minute. Too little to dream. Puppio would return to the discipline of the platoon within the last ten kilometers. “It has been a very positive day for the whole team and for me for the fourth day in a row, I think that every day we have been doing a good job in a race with a lot of level and great visibility”, concludes the varesino.
The Vuelta a Burgos will conclude this Saturday at the top of its most iconic peak: the Lagunas de Neila. A 146-kilometre stage that will start from Santo Domingo de Silos and will reach a height of 1,842 metres from this ascent of just over eleven kilometres to an average of more than 6.5%. The hardness is concentrated in the last three kilometres, where the average slope caresses 10% and ramps of up to 17% have to be faced. “I’m learning a lot every day”, says Márton Dina; “the stages become very hard, not only because of the hills or the final mountain, but also because of the whole day. Day by day riding on narrow roads, fighting for position all day long and needing to be concentrated every second… It’s an experience”.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
