Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar) claimed his first victory in almost three years on stage 4 of the Tour of the Alps after he outsprinted breakaway companions Torstein Traæn (Uno-X) and Giulio Pellizzari (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) in Predazzo.
It was a day of relative détente for the overall contenders, and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) finished safely in the main peloton to maintain his 22-second lead over Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) ahead of Friday’s final stage.
Out in front, Mühlberger was forced to lead into the final kilometre and lead out the three-man sprint, but his experience and power won the day as he unleashed a crisp effort to claim the spoils ahead of Traæn and Pellizzari.
The former Austrian champion had three Movistar teammates for company in the break of the day, which went clear on the opening climb of the Passo Sommo, and he proceeded to create the winning move with his forcing on the lower slopes of the final ascent of the Passo Pramadiccio.
Pellizzari tracked him immediately there, and the 19-year-old later pressed clear alone midway up the climb with an impressive acceleration. When the Italian crested the summit with 15km to go and 15 seconds in hand on Mühlberger and Traæn, it looked as though he might pull of his maiden professional victory, but some hesitance on the first, rain-soaked descents proved costly.
Mühlberger and Traæn caught Pellizzari with 12km to go, and the trio combined smoothly from there to the finish.
Both Traæn, who missed part of last season to receive treatment for testicular cancer, and the neo-pro Pellizzari were seeking their first professional victories, but they were simply overwhelmed in the finale by Mühlberger, who notched up his first win since joining Movistar at the start of 2021. His last victory came in Bora-Hansgrohe colours at the Sibiu Tour in the summer of 2020.
“A lot of time passed since the last win, so I’m super happy and super grateful,” said Mühlberger. “On the last climb, I tried my best to keep up with the guys. Chapeau to the young rocket from Bardiani, this is a super rider especially for the future, he has some great time ahead. I’m happy and thanks to the team, it was great.”
Wednesday’s stage winner Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) led the remnants of the break home at 40 seconds, while the GC contenders rolled in some 3:22 down after Ineos Grenadiers had policed matters on the ascent of the Passo Pramadiccio.
How it unfolded
Rovereto sits on the threshold between the northern Italian plain and the Alps, and a race bearing this name was only ever going to take the high road out of town. It made for a bracing start to stage 4 of the Tour of Alps, with the gruppo routed up the imposing Passo Sommo almost as soon as the flag had been dropped.
The severity of the climb drew some notable names onto the offensive, including Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), who began the day just 49 seconds off Tao Geoghegan Hart’s overall lead. His effort was, predictably, snuffed out by Ineos, but it was a signal of Bora’s intent all the same.
The break of the day eventually went clear nearer the summit of the climb, with Vlasov’s teammate Patrick Konrad on board with Simon Carr, Stefan De Bod (EF Education-EasyPost), Gregor Mühlberger, Antonio Pedrero, Oscar Rodriguez, Sergio Samitier (Movistar), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën), Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech), Giulio Pellizzari, Henok Mulubrhan (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Torstein Traæn (Uno-X) and Damien Howson (Q36.5).
The escapees established a maximum lead just shy of five minutes, but with Traæn beginning the day 5:02 off Geoghegan Hart, Ineos were understandably unwilling to give them much more leeway as the race made it way along rugged terrain that included the climb to Lago di Santa Colomb and a passage through Palù di Giovo, home of Giro d’Italia winners Francesco Moser and Gilberto Simoni.
When escapees hit the base of the final climb of Passo Pramadiccio with a lead of just under four minutes on the bunch, they realised that stage victory was within their grasp. Movistar attempted to use their numbers on the lower slopes, with Samitier’s acceleration serving to tee up Mühlberger’s attack in the opening kilometre.
Pellizzari tracked Mühlberger’s forcing with notable assurance, and they were later joined by Traæn as the front group splintered on the steepest slopes of the Passo Pramadiccio. As the ascent drew on, Pellizzari’s superiority began to tell, and he pressed clear alone 4km from the summit. The youngster would be reeled in over the other side, however, and from there, Mühlberger always looked the most likely winner.
Further down the mountain, Thymen Arensman controlled the peloton smoothly on behalf of Geoghegan Hart, with the lone frissons provided by a brace of accelerations from Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi).
Ineos and Geoghegan Hart will surely face a more sustained onslaught on Friday’s final stage to Brunico, with some riders – including Carthy, Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) and Vlasov – all lying within a minute of the Briton’s lead.
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