Mikel Landa wins Tirreno-Adriatico stage four

Landa claims first win in Movistar Team colours and moves into 4th place on GC

The Spanish climber was victorious atop the climb of Sassotetto after a well-timed moved in Tirreno-Adriatico Queen stage's finale, now 4th overall. The Basque climber claimed the win atop the Sassotetto ski resort, following a really long (219km) day starting in Foligno, with a display of well-measured efforts in the final slopes of the climb. 

It wasn't until the final three kilometers when Mikel launched his first attack. Landa quickly overtook Miguel Ángel López (AST), who suffered a mechanical while in the lead, and got to the front easily with three other riders: Rafal Majka (BOH), Fabio Aru (UAD) and Ben Hermans (ICA).

Joining them was New Zealander George Bennett (TLJ), the only other rider to bridge across after the initial attacks.

Landa finished of with a sprint that landed him his 14th victory as well as scoring the Movistar Team's seventh success of the 2018 season.

Landa now sits in 4th overall -20 secscond behind race leader Damiano Caruso (BMC).

Mikel Landa said afterwards “The team was phenomenal all day - we've shown we've got a strong roster here. The guys protected Rosón and myself really well all day before the finishing climb. We knew there could be some riders who would go on an attack from further down the climb, but we chose to let other teams work a little bit - it was a long climb, and jumping from so far from the finish could be suicidal. Sky had the numbers at the front, and we waited for the right moment to make my move. With less than 4km to go, I decided to go after the riders who were leading - if it didn't stick, we still had Rosón behind. The strategy was perfect in the end."

"This win confirms I'm on the right path. I knew I was in good condition, but it's always important to make it count, and claiming a success with your new team so early in the season always helps for things to go easier and gain some confidence. It's even more special for me to get it here, near the home of my friend Michele Scarponi. That gesture, pointing to heaven, was for him. He's always with us and we'll always remember him. The GC? We'll have to keep on fighting until the end, but I prefer not to really look at it and go day-by-day”

VIDEO: 2018 Tirreno-Adriatico Stage Four Highlights

2018 Tirreno-Adriatico Stage Four Top Ten

1 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 6:22:13 
2 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe   
3 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo   
4 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06 
5 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy   
6 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal   
7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale   
8 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb   
9 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott   
10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale

2018 Tirreno-Adriatico GC after Stage Four

1 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 17:14:49 
2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:00:01 
3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:11 
4 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:20 
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:26 
6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:31 
7 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:33 
8 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:34 
9 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:36 
10 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:41