Tour de Romandi: Michael Woods won the stage and became the leader. The Jiren Thomas Incident

Michael Woods won the fourth royal stage and took the lead in the Tour de Romandie.

Canadian Michael Woods of the Start-Up Nation team in Israel won the fourth royal stage and took the lead in the Tour de Romandie bike race. In the final meters, Britain’s Geriant Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) fell and lost his chance to get the leader’s shirt.

The stage played in the rain ended with a 20-kilometer climb to Thyon Ski Station (2,072 m above sea level), with an average inclination angle of 7.6%. The best climbers were Woods and Thomas, who were fighting each other for victory. However, 50 meters from the finish line, Thomas slipped, lost his balance and fell on the road.

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In this way, the Brit lost his chance to win his first victory in nearly three years, when he was congratulated in July 2018 with his victory in the overall classification in the Tour de France. In the end, he finished third, with a difference of 21 seconds. Australian Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) was way ahead.

On Sunday, the final stage – a solo flight will take place in Freiburg (16.2 km), before which Thomas is 11 seconds behind Woods. Former Spanish leader Marc Soler (Movistar) slipped to fourth and was 33 seconds behind. The Poles have not started.

The Tour de Romandie features the highest class of world tours. Last year, the race was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Primoz Roglik won.

Wyniki 4. etapu, Sion - Thyon (161,3 km):

1. Michael Woods (Kanada/Israel Start-Up Nation)  - 4:58.35
2. Ben O'Connor (Australia/AG2R Citroen)         strata  17 s
3. Geraint Thomas (Wielka Brytania/Ineos Grenadiers)     21
4. Lucas Hamilton (Australia/BikeExchange)               34
5. Fausto Masnada (Włochy/Deceuninck-Quick Step)         37
6. Richie Porte (Australia/Ineos Grenadiers)             42

Klasyfikacja generalna:

1. Michael Woods (Kanada/Israel Start-Up Nation) - 17:37.35
2. Geraint Thomas (Wielka Brytania/Ineos Grenadiers)     11 s
3. Ben O'Connor (Australia/AG2R Citroen)                 21
4. Marc Soler (Hiszpania/Movistar)                       33
5. Richie Porte (Australia/Ineos Grenadiers)             36
6. Fausto Masnada (Włochy/Deceuninck-Quick Step)         45

MC, PAP