Turner outlasts Philipsen to win Vuelta’s fourth stage as Gaudu grabs lead

Britain’s Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) outfoxed Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a sprint finish to win stage four of the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday, with Frenchman David Gaudu taking the leader’s red jersey from Jonas Vingegaard.

Philipsen looked well placed coming to the line at the end of the 206.7km ride from Susa in Italy to the French town of Voiron, tucked in behind compatriot and teammate Edward Planckaert, but Turner timed his move to perfection to win his first Grand Tour stage.

Planckaert finished third, while Gaudu, winner of stage three, is the overall leader, still level on time with race favourite Vingegaard but moving ahead of the Dane on the countback.

An exhausted and emotional Turner broke down in tears, with the Briton realising he had just pulled off the biggest win of his career, in a Grand Tour he was not expecting to race.

Turner was a late call-up by Ineos Grenadiers to the Vuelta, with the 26-year-old leaving the Renewi Tour on Thursday to replace the ill Lucas Hamilton, having impressed at the Tour de Pologne earlier in August, winning the points classification.

“I don’t know what to say to be honest, it was a crazy week, super crazy,” Turner said.

“I wanted to come to the Vuelta, and I still had some issues with my leg since the Giro, but the team believed in me and I went to Renewi and then they said they needed me, so of course you say ‘yeah’.”

The longest stage of this year’s race featured two category two climbs, and an early breakaway group were caught with 90km remaining, the peloton using the long descents to reel them in.

Frenchman Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) launched one final attack, going solo after the intermediate sprint with 32km left to race, but 15 kilometres from the end his solo move ended, teeing up the bunch sprint.

Philipsen had won the opening stage on Saturday, and led out by Planckaert, the Belgian appeared set for another triumph but seemed to get caught behind his teammate as Turner powered past at the uphill finish for a surprise victory.

“It’s just a crazy feeling. I was devastated in the first sprint when my chain came off, but I really believed in myself today,” Turner added.

The race reaches Spain on Wednesday, with stage five’s 24.1km team time trial in Figueres, and after the Vuelta’s sole finish in France this year, it will be Frenchman Gaudu who wears the red jersey. Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) needed to finish eight places ahead of Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) to steal the lead, and he came in 25th while the Dane was 42nd over the line.

Meanwhile, French national road race champion Dorian Godon has joined Ineos Grenadiers on a three-year contract, the British cycling team said on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old, who was with Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale since 2019, claimed his maiden French title in June, after winning the points classification at the Tour de Romandie last year.

He also won single-day races Brabantse Pijl and Giro del Veneto in 2023.

“For me it means a lot, and signing a multi-year deal is a real show of trust, which I value deeply. This feels like the start of an exciting new chapter in my career, and I’m ready to make the most of it,” Godon said in a statement.

Scott Drawer, performance director at Ineos Grenadiers, said the team will aim to quickly integrate Godon with clear targets for the spring.

“His ability to read chaotic finales, position efficiently and deliver, gives us excellent options across a wide variety of races,” Drawer added.

Agencies