Stage 4 of the Vuelta saw a return to long, flat and open roads for the 163.9 kilometre parcours from El Burgo de Osma to Molina de Aragon, a day suited for a sprint finish and where Alberto Dainese finished strongly to cross the line in fourth place.

A breakaway of three riders formed almost immediately after the drop of the flag but the peloton kept them close with the gap never exceeding five minutes. While the potential echelons never arrived, the wind and the constant battle for position at the front kept things interesting in the bunch and resulted in the eventual catch of the breakaway with 13 kilometres to go. From there on it was full speed ahead, with the team working hard to keep Dainese in a good position in a hectic final 10 kilometres. Despite launching his sprint early, Dainese put in a strong performance to finish fourth on the stage and take his first top 10 finish in a Grand Tour.

After the stage Dainese gave his breakdown of the result: “It was pretty calm and relaxed for much of the day then with 25 to go we tried to organise the team and go to the front. Here it was slightly downhill and super fast and hectic. Sometimes we lost each other but other times we were good together.

“The guys worked hard to get me into position before the little climb with three kilometres to go and from there I tried to freestyle a bit. I launched my sprint a bit far from the back but I see that the legs are there and I felt better than the other days so I hope that I can improve on this result.”

Team DSM coach Matt Winston added: “The last 30 kilometres were pretty hectic to be honest with a lot of stress for position. The guys did a good job though and had to keep searching for each other. There was a big old washing machine effect in the front but I think we came through in a decent way. Alberto did a decent sprint and got his first top 10 in a Grand Tour so it was a pretty good performance and we go again tomorrow.”