Tour of Britain stage 4: Gonzalo Serrano beats Tom Pidcock into Duncombe Park
Four-rider break goes clear inside final 10 kilometers to beat the peloton again.
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Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar Team) took the biggest win of his career after he edged out Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) in Duncombe Park to take victory on stage 4 of the Tour of Britain.
Serrano and Pidcock were part of a four-rider group that jumped clear of the reduced peloton going through the final intermediate sprint with less than 10km to go. Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) sprinted to third with Omar Fraile (Ineos Grenadiers) coming through for fourth.
The group had a slim advantage on the bunch as it rode into Duncombe Park with Fraile pushing it on the front for his teammate Pidcock. The Movistar rider was sitting in the wheel of his compatriot and began his sprint for the line when Fraile pulled off the front.
Pidcock came from the back of the group to make his sprint and was gaining on Serrano but ran out of road and the Spaniard edged it out by less than half a wheel. With the peloton crossing the line some 13 seconds back, Serrano had done enough to take over the race lead.
“Today is a very good day, the team was incredible and they worked very good and, in the final, my legs were really good and I could win,” Serrano said after the finish. “The final was very difficult, I could see the finish line from a distance and I sprinted for the win. With Pidcock and Teuns, it’s very difficult, but I am very happy.”
How it happened
Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain saw the riders continue their journey south with a 149.5km stage from Redcar to Duncombe Park in Helmsley. The peloton faced more poor weather conditions, but it was still a slight improvement on previous days.
An aggressive start to the day made it very difficult for a breakaway to form and it wasn’t until the first intermediate sprint with just over 40km already ridden that a move went away. Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) and Harry Birchill (Saint Piran) went up the road.
The pair were never given a big lead and they had just 1:16 on the bunch when Pidcock decided to attack from the peloton over the first classified climb at Robin Hood’s Bay with just under 100km still to go. Pidcock was reeled back in and the escapees survived a little bit longer, but not much.
Sheffield and Birchill were finally back in the pack with more than 70km remaining after a big push from the Uno-X squad on the second climb of the day at Egton Bank. The high pace continued as the peloton navigated narrow roads and riders were quickly distanced off the back.
As the bunch approached the final classified climb of Carlton Bank with a little under 30km to go, Ineos Grenadiers was setting a tough pace. A big surge by the team saw Pidcock go clear over the top of the climb, taking Teuns and Oscar Onley (Team DSM) with him.
Jake Stewart (Great Britain) was put to work in what was left of the peloton in an effort to bring it back. The sprinter put in a huge effort and brought the attackers to within touching distance before peeling off ahead of the final intermediate sprint.
It looked like the group would reform but Serrano attacked out of the main group and Teuns and Pidcock quickly latched onto him with Fraile following. A lackluster chase from behind helped the quartet build their advantage and they took it all the way to the line.