Tour de Wallonie | Mathias Vacek wins stage 4 as Corbin Strong takes over overall lead

Mathias Vacek has taken a victory for the fourth time this season today at the Tour de Wallonie, however it was the first time he managed to raise his arms with an individual triumph in an international event. The Lidl-Trek rider had shown great form, and he finally managed to take advantage of it on stage 4 of the Belgian race.

The hilly fourth day of the race was expected to be important as the first stage with some true climbing on the menu, and it delivered. Whilst there had been attacks before, the route into Seraing featured a climb that finished inside the final kilometers before a downhill finish and there Mathias Vacek attacked to make the difference, forming a group of four that collaborated to then fight it out for the stage win.

With former race leader Oliver Knight of Cofidis distanced, there was going to be a new race leader, but a lot depended on how the bonifications were going to be distributed. With the gap to the peloton small, this made it a tactical finale between the front four.

But in the final sprint it was Vacek bringing it home for Lidl-Trek. The Czech national champion outsprinted Corbin Strong, who did manage to jump into the race lead by a single second due to the bonifications he captured. Carlos Canal was third whilst teammate Natnael Tesfatsion finished the day in fourth, seven seconds ahead of the peloton.