Tulett has been on the mark all week and although he went down quite hard on Wednesday in the third stage, he was able to stay with the best in the finale a day later. Only race leader Paul Seixas and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) opened up a gap on the final descent.
Seixas thereby strengthened his leader's jersey and home rider Izagirre climbed from sixth to fourth in the general classification. The differences are, however, small, because behind the untouchable Seixas, second through to seventh place are all within 30 seconds of each other.
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Tulett pleased with reaction after Basque Country crash
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At Visma | Lease a Bike they were above all pleased that Tulett could maintain his position in the general classification after the crash on Wednesday. 'It was another tough stage, as every day has been so far,' the climber said via the team's official channels.
'It was fast from start to finish. I wasn’t sure how my body would respond after yesterday’s crash, but fortunately I didn’t feel too bad,' said the 24-year old Brit. 'I’m happy that I could compete with my classification rivals on the climbs.'
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Can Tulett still ride onto the podium in the Basque Country?
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'There are still two challenging stages to come, and a lot can still happen. I’m looking forward to it,' said Tulett, referring to the fifth stage on Friday around Eibar, which contains a great deal of climbing. On Saturday the final stage goes from Goizper-Antzuola to Bergara, with a steep climb in the finale.
Tulett still needs to overtake three men in the general classification if he wants to make the final podium on Saturday. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe have the first two chasers of Seixas in their ranks with Primož Roglič and Florian Lipowitz.
Alongside Tulett and Izagirre, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) are also aiming to gain a few positions.
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.