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Follow us on GoogleThe stripped-back fourth stage of the Volta a Catalunya was impressively won on Thursday by Ethan Vernon and his NSN team. The Brit made perfect use of the late route change, as the climb to Vallter 2000 had to be removed because of strong wind gusts, turning what had been set up as a mountain finish into a day for the fast men.
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The organisers of the Spanish stage race said they had no alternative. “Due to the activation of a Level 3 VENCAT warning, with wind gusts of up to 90 km/h forecast at the summit of Vallter, the Volta a Catalunya has been forced to shorten the route of its 4th stage, scheduled for Thursday 26 March.”
In practical terms, that meant the stage was shortened by around 23 kilometres and finished more than 1,000 metres lower than originally planned. That automatically handed the quicker riders an extra opportunity compared with the better climbers in the Catalan race. Vernon took that opportunity with both hands.
Continue reading below the photo!
Vernon studied the new finish in detail
The Brit’s win was not accidental, as became clear from his post-race comments. “We obviously wanted to win in the first three days already, but then suddenly we got another chance. This victory means a lot,” he said afterwards for NSN, the team based in Catalonia.
“And my first professional win also came here, in our team’s home region,” Vernon added. “So we wanted to control it for a sprint, and that was an advantage for us. We studied the finale well on VeloViewer and made our plan before the stage.”
“The plan was to hit the final roundabout first, because it was so close to the finish,” he explained. “In reality, you had to launch your sprint before that point, and that turned out to be true as well: no one was able to gain another position afterwards.”
Read on below the video!
Pidcock active again and third at the line
Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) also enjoyed a strong day. He picked up a few bonus seconds during the stage and then finished third at the line, where he reflected afterwards with CyclingProNet. “To be honest, I should have done more research on VeloViewer... although third is good, because the guys ahead of me are faster than I am.”
“There was a pretty strong headwind on that wide road, but my team-mates kept me well positioned at the front,” the Brit continued. “And I basically followed those other guys, so that was fine. I felt better than on the other days, but those bonus seconds are not going to make the difference either.”
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026
