"We lost the jersey because of a penalty" - Mixed emotions for Israel - Premier Tech despite Ethan Vernon's second Tour of Guangxi stage win

On stage 4 of the 2024 Tour of Guangxi, Israel - Premier Tech's Ethan Vernon powered his way to a second successive stage victory ahead of Max Kanter. Sadly though, because of a penalty from the race jury, the British sprinter lost his overall race lead to Kanter.

“I think that sometimes that first victory gives you the confidence you need, and you can back it up. I’ve had that a couple of times in my career now, where I’ve won back-to-back races. When you get the morale and the momentum going it leads to great results. I’m super happy with another win,” reflected Vernon afterwards via a press release to his team's official website, full of praise for the leadout given by Jake Stewart. “Every time he’s nailed it – I can trust him to deliver me to the right place, and I can’t wait to keep building on that going into next year, and to see if we can make it into a successful little duo.”

“It was a real team performance,” adds Israel - Premier Tech sports director, Sep Vanmarcke. “Chris Froome and Guy Sagiv rode most of the day alone on the front, and they did it well. They controlled a very strong four-man breakaway. Later in the stage Nadav Raisberg also joined in with the work, and other teams started helping us out. Joseph Blackmore then helped bring back the final few seconds. Ethan showed how strong he is – a few guys tried to come alongside him but they couldn’t. That, together with a seventh place for Riley Sheehan and the way we kept the GC together going into tomorrow’s crucial stage for Joe means we’re really happy.”

As mentioned though, Vernon won't be starting tomorrow's queen stage in the Red Jersey of race leader, following a 20-second time penalty given to him by race commissaires. “Unfortunately, we lost the jersey because of a penalty during the stage," concludes Vanmarcke. "We have to accept it, but we’re obviously really happy with the second stage win, and now we look to the GC tomorrow.”