Pillar's ToB Daily Updates - Stage 4

08 Sep 2021

Aberaeron → Great Orme, Llandudno

Yesterday's Stage:

The INEOS Grenadiers claimed victory in the team time trial on stage three, moving British rider Ethan Hayter into the overall lead. The INEOS team completed the technical 18.2 kilometre course in a time of 20:22 min, averaging a staggering average speed of 53.6 km/h. Julian Alaphilippe's Deceuninck-Quick step finished second ahead of Jumbo-Visma who finished third after Pascal Eenkoorn suffered a puncture in the final kilometre.

After three stages, the general classification has two INEOS riders on the podium, with Ethan Hayter leading the race by +6 sec ahead of Australian teammate Rohan Dennis. Wout van Aert is currently in the third position, +16 sec down on the race leader.

Today's Stage:

Today the riders take on this year's queens stage. This stage is set out to be a challenging day in the saddle. The riders will cover a total distance of 209 kilometres, with two second category climbs and two first category climbs, including a hill-top finish. The opening part of the stage could provide a possibility of crosswinds as the riders head north along the mid-Wales coastline before heading through the Snowdonia National Park. The final climb is 1.9 kilometres up the Great Orme Climb, with an average gradient of 9.8%.

Wout van Aert took the first uphill sprint finish on stage one, can he also deliver on stage 4 to take the stage win and regain the leader's jersey. The world champion Julian Alaphilippe who currently sits fourth in the overall standing must also fancy his chances for today's stage win, as the finishing climb is well suited for him. Today's short uphill finish is also well suited for the Israel Start-up Nation team, as both Dan Martin and Michael Woods have previously shown their strengths on this type of finish.