The Austrian Gregor Mulhberger offered Movistar the victory in a sprint to three in the fourth stage of the Tour of the Alps played between Rovereto and Predazzo, of 152.9 km, in which the British rider from Ineos Tao Geoghean Hart maintained the lead.
Mulhberger (Haidersshofen), 29, drew on experience when it came to facing the sprint between three of the protagonists of the initial break and launched for the victory at 200 meters from the finish line, at the opportune moment, to raise his arms with a time of 4h.16.53, at an average of 35.7 km/hour in a hard day in the mountains with a cumulative drop of more than 4,000 meters.
The Austrian successfully solved an outstanding job for Movistar throughout the day, as he put 4 riders in the good break of the day. Mulhberger beat the Norwegian Torstein Traeen (Uno X) and the 19-year-old Italian Giulio Pellizzari (Bardiani) for speed. It was the seventh victory in the race for the cyclist of the telephone team and the Spanish formation in 2023.
The chasing group arrived at the finish line with Antonio Pedrero and Óscar RodrÃguez at 40 seconds, and the sector of the favorites with Tao Geoghean at 3.32 minutes in a position to retain the leader’s green jersey.
A lead that the winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia will be able to defend on the last day with a 22-second lead over his compatriot Hug Carthy (EF Education) and 28 over Australian Jaack Haig (Bahrain).
The stage was animated with 13 men in absentia, including 4 from Movistar, who faced the day with an absolute majority in the ascent of Passo Sommo (1a, 15.7 km at 7.3%). There they embedded Gregor Mühlberger, Antonio Pedrero, Óscar RodrÃguez and Sergio Samitier.
The peloton gave up the stage as lost, since none of the breakaways was dangerous for the general classification. Due to the partial victory, they began to move ahead in the ascent to Passo Pramadiccio (2a, 9.7 km to 6.2), with the top 13 km from the finish line.
Three climbers went to glory, Muhlberger, Pellizzari and Traeen, who finished with 50 seconds over the pursuers and 3 minutes over the peloton. Victory was ahead, and they understood each other.
Everything in order until the finish line was sighted. The control began, the looks, the marking, and Mulhberger resolved on the fast track, attacked at 500 meters and his rivals could no longer tie him. Movistar recovered the victorious cover with the Austrian climber.
This Friday the Tour of the Alps ends with the fifth and final stage that will take place between Cavalese and Brunico, of 144.5 km.
