Manuel Cardoso (RadioShack) won the fourth stage of the Volta a Catalunya between La Seu d’Urgell and El Vendrell at the head of a peloton sprint. The former Portuguese champion beat Giacomo Nizzolo (Leopard Trek) in a close sprint, with perennial podium-finisher José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar) in third.
“I am so happy,” said Cardoso after his victory. “The team worked hard for me; even guys like Chris Horner who had his own good GC position to protect. The last 15k they protected me and brought me to the front.
“At 1k from the end HTC-Highroad set up a train,” he explained, “but with 500 metres to go, Movistar with Rojas went to the front and I managed to take the wheel of Rojas. At 300 metres I took the lead, gave everything I had and nobody else was able to pass me, but it was close. I am so delighted!”
The beginning of the stage, which took a hilly course from close to the border with France almost to the Mediterranean coast, saw the peloton stay together; after 56km though the attacks began.
None of the many breaks were successful until finally, after 72km, a five-man break got clear featuring Alexandre Pliuschin (Katusha), Mathias Frank (BMC Racing), Ruben Pérez (Euskaltel-Euskaltel), Mauricio Ardila (Geox-TMC) and Jose Vicente Toribio (Andalucia-Caja Granada).
Within the next 30km the five riders managed to open up a lead of up to 3’15”, with the wind from the sea directly in their faces though, it was hard going for the breakaway and they were unable to get any further ahead. The headwind, a determined peloton, and the fact that the final third of the stage was a predominantly downhill run to the coast, meant that the five riders were steadily reeled in as they approached the finish.
With Contador’s lead in no danger the Saxo Bank-SunGard team was happy to allow the other teams to do the pulling on the front of the peloton; it was Cofidis and Movistar who put in the lion’s share as the fugitives advantage came down.
With 40km to go, and with the breakaway’s lead down to just over a minute, Pliuschin attacked his four companions in an attempt to reach the finish alone. The Moldovan managed to pull out another minute on the peloton, but he was only delaying the inevitable and was caught with just under 20km to go.
Despite losing its top sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, who withdrew part way through the stage with breathing difficulties, the Lampre-ISD team took the front with Garmin-Cervélo as the peloton bore down on El Vendrell.
The speed was kept high for the rest of the stage and Cardoso managed to follow the right wheels before making his own move. The RadioShack rider, who finished third on stage 2, took his first win of the season, and his first in the red and white colours of the American team.
Despite the news that the International Cycling Union (UCI) is to appeal against his being cleared over his positive test for clenbuterol in last year’s Tour de France, race leader Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) finished safely in the peloton and holds on to the leader’s jersey.