Cycling: Simon Carr won the fourth stage of the Tour of the Alps. The Briton was part of a large breakaway group and was the only one able to escape to the finish ahead of the favorite group. He also benefited from a serious crash by his pursuer Chris Harper. Overall leader remains Juan Pedro Lopez, who had to fend off numerous attacks today.
Carr also wins because Harper falls
The series of serious crashes in professional cycling just won't stop. After the accidents at the Tour of the Basque Country, another rider at the Tour of the Alps has suffered potentially serious injuries. Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla) was on the verge of catching the solo leader on the penultimate descent when he crashed on a drain cover in a long left-hand bend. The chasing group then almost completely abandoned their pursuit, allowing breakaway rider Simon Carr (EF – EasyPost) to win the stage comfortably. There is currently no update on Chris Harper's condition. However, the Australian was able to sit up on his own after the crash and appeared to be conscious.
Mühlberger in the breakaway group
Eleven dangerous breakaway riders formed the escape group on today's 141,3-kilometer stage from Leifers/Laives to Borgo Valsugana. Among them were Austrian Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar) and Italian Mattia Bais (Polti-Kometa), the leader in the mountains classification. However, the biggest threat to the overall standings came from his teammate Davide Piganzoli (Polti-Kometa). The Italian was only 2:01 minutes behind the current leader at the start of the stage. When Sergio Higuita (Bora-hansgrohe) and Simon Carr (EF-EasyPost) attacked and broke away on the Passo del Compet, Bais dropped back into the peloton. This would mean he would lose the polka dot jersey to Carr, who, together with Higuita, then formed an incredibly strong duo. On the Passo del Vetriolo, even Higuita couldn't match Carr's pace.
Harper & O'Connor fall on the descent
The action was intense in the peloton as well, climbing the Passo del Vetriolo. Attacks by Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla) and Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) thinned out the group of favorites and isolated the overall leader. But Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl – Trek) refused to be dropped. On the descent, Harper and O'Connor attacked again. Harper, in particular, made up a lot of time on the descent, closing to within 15 seconds of solo leader Simon Carr (EF – EasyPost). But then disaster struck: Harper's rear wheel was thrown off by a drain cover. He then slammed his head into a lamppost. O'Connor, who followed behind, also crashed. While he was able to continue, Harper had to abandon the race. This also decided the winner: Simon Carr could not be caught, as the pace in the chasing group dropped completely for a short time after the crash.
All against Lopez
On the final climb, the chasing group regained a decent pace. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) launched an attack, kicking off the final battle for second place on this stage and for the overall classification. The Frenchman immediately broke away and quickly built a lead of over 40 seconds, thus replacing Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl – Trek) as the virtual leader. The Spaniard had to chase, but was repeatedly attacked by Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain – Victorious), and Wout Poels (Bahrain – Victorious). The four of them eventually caught Paret-Peintre. Lopez, who had almost been beaten, fought his way back time and again and successfully defended his green jersey. Second place on today's stage ultimately went to Michael Storer (Tudor), who managed to rejoin the chasing group – and overtake them – on the descent.
The casco le acaba de salvar de una buena avería a Chris Harper… Casco siempre!!! #TotA pic.twitter.com/tmPv4pzv2F
— Zero (@Errigx) April 18, 2024
Stage 3 next year? Simon Carr takes the stage win!
Tour of the Alps 2023 Stage 5
Tour of the Alps 2023 Stage 4 #TotA pic.twitter.com/DqknGPnYjX— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) April 18, 2024