MADRID —British sprinter Ethan Vernon won stage four of the Tour of Catalonia after a high wind warning in the mountains caused a hasty switch from a summit finish to a flat one.
Overall leader Dorian Godon of Ineos was outpaced to second place, protecting his GC advantage, while Tom Pidcock was third and climbed to second overall.
“There was a massive headwind,” Pidcock said according to AFP. “So it wasn’t as easy as all that. But third is good, a few bonus seconds, but it doesn’t really matter does it.”
Organisers scrapped the planned summit finish to Vallter 2000 because of an extreme wind warning, with riders instead trundling to the town of Camprodon for a bunch sprint.
“This is a special race for me, I had my first pro win here and our sponsor is also based here,” said Vernon.
“The change calmed everything down, we knew last night and made the plan to come out of the last roundabout in first place and then go for it.”
The final stage takes in seven circuits of Montjuic in Barcelona where the Tour de France starts in July.
