Philipsen 3rd, Consonni 5th in sprint

In the fourth stage of the Volta ao Algarve, the UAE Team Emirates celebrates two sprinters in the top ten with Jasper Philipsen in third and Simone Consonni in fifth behind winner Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma).

The stage covered 198.3km from Albufeira to Tavira, and the team’s youngsters were in front. The team took control of the race for the yellow leader’s jersey of Tadej Pogačar and to support its two young sprinters.

Philipsen came out of the last curve to the right at 400 metres remaining. The Belgian sat on the wheel of Groenewegen, trying to match the Dutchman when he accelerated but was not able to pass the sprinter. Consonni surged back after having started a little behind (photo Bettini).

The overall changed some due to a gap in the group in the last kilometre: Kragh Andersen and Poels gained two and seven seconds on Pogačar.
Tomorrow, the final 173.5km stage from Faro to Malhão ends with a hard climb of 3km with serious gradients.

“The day went well, the team kept everything under control,” Pogačar said. “It gave particular attention to the last 20km, when the race rhythm shot up. In the final, the group was broken up and there were some changes, but it’s important that I’m competitive tomorrow. I’m happy to have managed the stage and to have the opportunely to face the last stage in the yellow jersey, this means a lot for me and I’m enjoying a fantastic experience”.

Stage 4 results
1 Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) 4h56’07”
2 Arnaud Démare (FDJ) s.t.
3 Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
4 Pascal Ackermann (Bora-hansgrohe) s.t.
5 Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.

General classification after stage 4
1 Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 15h12’28”
2 Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb) 29″
3 Wout Poels (Team Sky) 30″