Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) climbed to the top of the general classification of the Vuelta a Andalucia by winning in Baza the 4th and penultimate stage of the race, ahead of his breakaway partner Alexey Lutsenko (Astana).
Poels and Lutsenko broke away together 15 kilometers from the finish and maintained a half-minute gap from the chasing group, which finally crossed the line 18 seconds later.
Thanks to this victory, Poels climbed ten places in the general classification and ousted Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) from first place.
Lutsenko, meanwhile, climbed eleven places to 9th overall, 21 seconds behind the Dutchman.
“It was a really hard day from the start, but we had everything under control,” said Poels. “We had four people at the front and then at the end myself and Lutsenko got away to finish off in a sprint so I’m really happy.
“Lutsenko was going and I knew he was in a really good condition so I followed him, we worked really well together and I was confident to start the sprint in a headwind. Now we have the leader’s jersey we are going to fight for it, the legs are good.”
On Sunday, the 5th and last stage of this Vuelta a Andalucia will take the peloton from Huesa to Chiclana de Segura, a 146.4-kilometre route that includes three intermediate sprints and 4 climbs.
