Kaden Groves, the bullet man of the Volta

Groves wins over Coquard thanks to a last kidney blow. JOSEP LAGO (AFP)

Ide Schelling, from Bora, looked back and demanded that her colleagues act as a shuttle, otherwise there would be no tutor.

He was enraged and the Dutchman was right because Cofidis and Alpecin caught the slipstream to launch the

of their fast men.

The first who tried it, fierce dance on the bike, was the Frenchman Coquard, who promised them happiness.

It seemed that his would be the laurel.

But skilful to find his hole, to attack and get up on his

, Kaden Groves, with pedaling fire, gave one last kidney blow and took the stage in the

, a triumph that marks him as the bullet man of this peloton with few

because in the Volta you look up, steep roads and high ends.

They closed the road in Llívia and the coaches crowded where they could due to the lack of space to take out the bicycles and the occasional roller, so that the runners could present themselves in society before facing a flat stage, almost the only one during the week.

“Today is a quiet day”, was the mantra that was heard by all the team managers and cyclists, since there are hardly any sprinters, perhaps Groves and Coquard, as well as the Belgian Milan Menten (Lotto) and the British Ethan Hyter (Ineos). .

“The race is being quite tough, but this stage is an opportunity to make it worthwhile”, resolved Groves;

“Let's hope that the peloton has a day that's easy to control after three hard days, that the breakaway is few riders”.

His was the glory, but it would not be easy.

From Cerdanya to central Catalonia, from the Pyrenees and land of pastures and skiing to the working-class city, the squad soon explained that it was not a day of bathing and massage.

"We always have to try," they explained from Euskaltel.

"You have to show yourself, you have to let yourself be seen and try to surprise", they added from Kern Pharma, who managed to put Roger Adrià in the breakaway.

Although there was no one more motivated than David de la Cruz, who since the Volta began had this day marked with fluorescent lights.

“The finale is in my city and it will be an unforgettable moment.

I hope to have a good day and get into the getaway because going through my neighborhood, with the friends of the cycling club cheering me on, will be a very nice memory”, agreed the Astana cyclist with that mischievous smile of someone who knows how strong he is, at least try.

Lined up one by one because the effort and pace were diabolic, bite by bite, tile by tile to stretch the whip, the peloton shaved seconds.

Although the escapees resisted their fate, pedaling as if there were no tomorrow, a titanic effort because the stage was not completely flat, with few inclines and several descents, twisty curves until entering the city.

He squeezed the levers and stuck out his tongue for the effort David de la Cruz, obsessed with his longing.

He sniffed and tasted it.

But it didn't happen because, suddenly, Quick-Step, to everyone's surprise, decided to take over and shoot alongside Ineos.

Thus, with four kilometers to go, the multicolored snake absorbed the escapees.

Penalty for Adrià and de la Cruz;

lol for the

because the game started again.

And already in the last stretch, Cofidis and Alpecin, but not Bora, unfortunately for Schelling, denied Evenepoel and Roglic the most, who also asked for their turn.

Nothing that Coquard couldn't tame or Groves finish off.

RANKINGS

4th Stage.

Llivia - Sabadell (188 km)

1. K. Groves (Australia/Alpecin) 4h.19m.037

2. B. Coquard (France/Cofidis) mt.

3. C. Strong (New Zealand/Israel) mt.

4. I. Schelling (Netherlands/Bora) mt.

5. C. Venturini (Italy/AG2R) mt.

7. Jon Aberasturi (Trek-Segafredo) mt.

13. Eduard Prades (Caja Rural) mt.

GENERAL

1. P. Roglic (Slovenia/Jumbo) 17h.01m.54s

2. R. Evenepoel (Belgium/Quick-Step) mt.

3. G. Ciccone (Italy/Trek-Segafredo) at 19s

4. Mikel Landa (Bahrain) at 44s

5. J. Almeida (Portugal/UAE) at 44s

6. M. Woods (Canada/Israel) at 48s

10. Marc Soler (UAE) at 1m.12s

FRIDAY STAGE

Terres de L'Ebre;

Tortosa-Lo Port (176.5 km)

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