Joao Almeida all but loses GC! Santiago Buitrago wins again and becomes the overall leader of the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana
Cycling
The Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2025 is turning in to a thrilling edition of the race After the epic victory of Iván Romeo in stage 3, the fourth day offered a superb spectacle. The route offered many scenarios for victory, and that's why Pablo Castrillo attacked 60 km from the finish.
Although the Movistar Team rider went solo with 38 km to go, Castrillo was finally caught 11 km from the finish by the peloton despite his efforts. But the last word from the Movistar team had not yet arrived. Jefferson Cepeda attacked with 8 km to go.
It seemed that he was going to be able to pull off the victory, until Santiago Buitrago accelerated 500 meters from the finish line, passed him as if nothing had happened, and won his second stage of the edition, which has also placed him as the new leader of the general classification.
Regarding its development, stage 4 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana began with a breakaway of 3 riders: Jon Agirre (Euskaltel), Diego Uriarte (Kern Pharma) and Hugo Houle (Israel). The group quickly formed the breakaway of the day.
In fact, with the peloton being very slow, as Bahrain Victorious decided not to pull in the first half of the stage, the breakaway was up to 8 minutes ahead with 100km to go.
The possibility of the 3 riders fighting for the victory was beginning to be considered. However, on the Alto de Chodos they began to lose their advantage, and from that moment the gap was rapidly reduced. With 81 km to go, on the last categorized climb of the day, the Alto de Vistabella, the breakaway of Jon Agirre, Diego Uriarte and Hugo Houle was already only 1 minute and 30 seconds behind the peloton.
Pablo Castrillo on the attack
On the Vistabella climb, the attacks multiplied, but none managed to draw a response from the peloton. The climb was crowned 74 km from the finish line, with the peloton already almost 1 minute behind the breakaway. The remaining route offered a chance for the brave. And, as in the last Vuelta a España, Pablo Castrillo showed that he is not afraid of anything.
The Movistar Team rider attacked alone from the peloton with 60 km to go. Simultaneously, Jon Agirre accelerated in the breakaway, leaving his two companions behind. As a result of both moves, Castrillo and Agirre formed the new breakaway, with the peloton 1 minute and 50 seconds behind with 50 km to go.
With 38 kilometers to go, Pablo Castrillo was riding solo at the head of the race when Jon Agirre was left behind. The Movistar Team rider was looking for the victory, although there was a world left and the peloton was 1 minute and 30 seconds behind.
Castrillo's solo ride did not suit the main group at all. The Spanish rider was now the virtual leader of the general classification. As a result, the peloton increased the pace, and with 30 km to go the gap had already been reduced to 1 minute.
The hardness of the course was taking its toll on Castrillo, who 25 km from the finish saw how the peloton had closed to 46 seconds. 5 km later, the Spaniard was only 30 seconds behind the main group. Finally, the Movistar rider's odyssey came to an end 11 km from the finish, when he was caught by the peloton.
Except for a surprise attack at the last minute, the victory looked like it was going to be disputed in a sprint. The one who surprised the peloton was Jefferson Cepeda, with an acceleration 8 km from the finish line.
It seemed that no one could follow the Ecuadorian. However, Santiago Buitrago appeared 500 meters from the finish line with a lightning attack that gave him his second stage victory, and with which he also became the new leader of the general classification.
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Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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