Benjamin King (Dimension Data) dominated the final climb to win the fourth stage of the Vuelta, with overall leader Michael Kwiatkowski keeping the red jersey despite losing time.
King was in control through the final meters of the 161.4-kilometer stage, comfortably securing the victory and becoming the first American to win a Vuelta stage since Chris Horner in 2013.
”I didn’t start believing until the last kilometer,” King said. ”I’m still in shock. I set winning a Grand Tour stage as a goal for myself. I’ve worked so hard for this.”
Nikita Stalnov (Astana) crossed the line two seconds behind King, and Pierre Rolland (EF Education First-Drapac) was third, 13 seconds behind the winner.
Kwiatkowski had his 14-second lead cut in half, with Emanuel Buchmann moving to second place after a ninth-place finish on Tuesday.
Simon Yates jumped to third overall, 10 seconds off the lead, while Alejandro Valverde dropped from second to fourth, 12 seconds off the pace.
Wednesday’s fifth stage will take riders back to the coast through a mountainous route of nearly 190 kilometers from Granada to the municipality of Roquetas de Mar.
Ben King ‼️ #LaVuelta18 pic.twitter.com/BbLG86BVGj
— FloBikes (@flobikes) August 28, 2018
Vuelta a Espana 2018 – stage 4 results (Vélez-Málaga – Alfacar. Sierra de la Alfaguara):
| 1 | Benjamin King (Dimension Data) | 4:33:12 |
| 2 | Nikita Stalnov (Astana) | +02” |
| 3 | Pierre Rolland (EF Education First-Drapac) | +13” |
| 4 | Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) | +01’08” |
| 5 | Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale) | +01’39” |
| 6 | Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal) | +01’57” |
| 7 | Oscar Cabedo (Burgos BH) | +02’24” |
| 8 | Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) | +02’48” |
| 9 | Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | +02’50” |
| 10 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | +03’07” |
| 11 | Aritz Bagues (Euskadi-Murias) | ,, |
| 12 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | +03’13” |
| 13 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) | +03’15” |
| 14 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | ,, |
| 15 | Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 16 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | ,, |
| 17 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) | ,, |
| 18 | Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 19 | Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 20 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
General classification after stage 4:
| 1 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) | 13:47:19 |
| 2 | Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | +07” |
| 3 | Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) | +10” |
| 4 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | +12” |
| 5 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | +25” |
| 6 | Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) | +30” |
| 7 | Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) | +33” |
| 8 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | ,, |
| 9 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +37” |
| 10 | Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) | +42” |
| 11 | Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 12 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | +43” |
| 13 | George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +45” |
| 14 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | +46” |
| 15 | Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) | +47” |
| 16 | Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) | +48” |
| 17 | David De La Cruz (Team Sky) | +53” |
| 18 | Benjamin King (Dimension Data) | +01’05” |
| 19 | Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 20 | Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) | +02’00” |
