In a very hard finish for puncheurs, Alex Aranburu has won the fourth stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour 2024. The Movistar Team Spaniard overtook all his rivals in the final uphill sprint and took his first victory of the season.
Precious fight for the overall in a classic type stage with a spectacular finish thanks to the fight for the general classification between Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek). The Norwegian was 11 seconds ahead before the start of the stage and the Czech managed to get away on the final circuit and take a nine-second bonus that left him 2" off the lead.
With 8 seconds to go, his lead over his rival was 25 seconds. Vacek was in an attack with Lorenzo Rota, Jenno Berckmoes and Joseph Blackmore. In the group of favorites was Alex Aranburu trying to do something for Movistar Team. Everyone let Vacek do in the leading group, as he was the only one who was interested in the overall, while the others were only interested in the stage victory.
On the final climb, the four were in the lead but the peloton was closing the gap very quickly. With just over 300 meters to go, they were caught and at Jasper Philipsen, winner of the third stage, was still in the group. However, in a finish that was too hard for a rider of his characteristics, he was unable to challenge for the victory. Aranburu passed everyone at the end and managed to raise his arms at the finish line. Waerenskjold continues to hold the lead with a 2-second advantage over Vacek.
This is an immensely moment both for the Basque rider - who is racing the Tour de France soon - but also Movistar, and also Waerenskjold who is on his way to win the overall classification after holding onto it today.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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