Söderqvist makes the most of a shortened queen stage in Hungary — with an added bonus

Jakob Söderqvist has won stage four of the Tour of Hungary. The Lidl-Trek rider impressively held his own from the day's breakaway in the race's hardest stage — though Söderqvist also benefited when the organiser was forced to cut the final circuit due to bad weather.

Stage four of the Tour of Hungary was comfortably the queen stage of the race. Two of the first three stages were won by Tim Merlier, while Benoît Cosnefroy claimed the second stage. But Saturday brought serious climbing: four ascents of the climb towards Pécs — five kilometres long, including a brutal two-kilometre section at ten percent. Proper mountain legs required.

There were plenty of riders hoping to make their mark there. Among the early leaders: one of them was Max Kanter (XDS Astana), wearing the points jersey. He was joined by Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek), Adrián Benito (Polti VisitMalta) and Samuele Zoccarato (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort). After a flat run-in, the group hit the first ascent around 80 kilometres in with a two-minute lead over the peloton.

Kanter could no longer hold the pace, leaving three riders out front. Söderqvist — a big, powerful rider — climbed the best and made life difficult for his breakaway companions. After two ascents, however, the three were still together. Their lead had narrowed slightly, but it was expected that the peloton would only turn the screws later — and the conditions in Hungary were absolutely dreadful.

The descent was treacherous, and it produced a nasty crash. Kelland O'Brien (Jayco AlUla) and Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step) both went down in a difficult corner and slid under the barriers. A frightening sight — and the Australian was clearly in significant pain once he had been helped back up from underneath.

Shortly after the incident, the organiser decided to shorten the stage because of a torrential downpour. That decision proved decisive in favour of the breakaway. Söderqvist accelerated on the Pécs climb, went clear solo, and claimed the win — along with the overall race lead. Behind him, Benito came home second, with Plapp — the best from the peloton — in third.