“A big disappointment... I had a lot of legs today” - Ben Turner sacrifices stage win hopes to keep Bernal and INEOS in Giro d’Italia contention on frantic Stage 4

Ben Turner’s fourth place on Stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia told only part of the story. The Netcompany INEOS rider was not simply in the mix for the win in Cosenza. He had already dropped back to help Egan Bernal after the Colombian was distanced on the Cozzo Tunno, then helped drag him back into the reduced front group before still contesting the sprint himself.

Jhonatan Narvaez eventually took the stage win for UAE Team Emirates - XRG, with Giulio Ciccone finishing second and moving into the maglia rosa. Turner crossed the line in fourth, a result that underlined both his strength and the sacrifice he had made for INEOS’ general classification ambitions.

Speaking after the stage in conversation with Cycling Pro Net, Turner admitted the result was difficult to fully process given how good he had felt. “Yeah. Ah, feels like a big disappointment to be fair,” he said.

Asked why, Turner explained: “Ah, well, I don't know. I had good legs and yeah, it was good to look after Egan and I'm really happy he didn't lose time. So, it's really good. Also personally had good legs so that was nice and I was climbing with some really good guys and there was quite not so many guys left so was nice to have that feeling again you know so that's good to know the shape is there at least.”

The key moment came on the Cozzo Tunno, where Movistar’s tempo shredded the peloton and forced several major names into difficulty. Bernal was among those distanced near the summit, leaving INEOS with a decision to make.

Turner, who had survived the selection in the front group, was sent back to help. The move cost him energy before the finale, but it also kept Bernal in the GC picture on a day when time loss looked briefly possible.

Asked what Bernal had communicated over race radio, Turner said the issue was manageable rather than alarming. “Yeah I think you know after the rest day and easy stages it's quite a normal thing I think to be quite blocked because it was really explosive climbing,” he said.

“So, I think it's not a big stress. You know, he's for sure got the level and that's clear doesn't change anything for us. So, still a lot of confidence in him and yeah, was just about managing the effort the last 2K and we knew we'd come back," added the Brit. “Took a bit of risk going downhill, but yeah, we committed to the GC plan and that's good.”

That commitment ultimately worked. Bernal returned to the front group before the finish, while Turner somehow still had enough left to place fourth behind Narvaez, Ciccone and Orluis Aular.

Turner’s own finish made his post-stage comments more striking. He did not present himself as a guaranteed winner without the chase effort, but he made it clear that his legs had been good enough to leave him wondering what might have been.

Asked whether part of him was thinking about what could have happened had he not dropped back for Bernal, Turner replied: “Yeah, I don't it's hard to say have the legs to win, but for sure I had a lot of legs today. I think it would have been maybe a different result in the end otherwise. But look, we're here to do a team job. We have priorities and I'm really proud of the performance we did as a team and I think we're riding really well as a group. So looking forward to the rest of the days.”

That was the tension at the heart of INEOS’ Stage 4. Turner’s fourth place confirmed he had the form to fight for the stage. His work for Bernal confirmed the team’s first priority remains the GC battle.

For Turner, the frustration was obvious. So was the professionalism.