What a comeback! Jay Vine wins time trial on return in Burgos, Kuss narrowly holds off strong Poole

Jay Vine has won the fourth stage of the Tour of Burgos. In an individual and billiard-flat time trial of over 18.5 kilometers — from Santa María del Campo to Pampliega — he was the fastest man. Sepp Kuss retained the lead in the general classification, although Max Poole narrowed the gap to just five seconds.

After the mountain stage to Lagunas de Neila, in which Kuss achieved a double victory, the time trial was the last chance for the general classification riders to make significant gains. The final stage offered little opportunity for time differences, given its relatively simple course. With the top fifteen GC riders within a minute of one another, the time trial could still go in any direction.

Affini sets benchmark time, Vine flies in second half

However, this stage wasn't just about the general classification. A prestigious stage win was also at stake. With a flat 18-kilometer course and few corners, the time trial was a playground for the true power riders. One of them was Visma's Italian, Edoardo Affini. He set the first benchmark time, just over twenty minutes. His speed was evident, as Affini averaged over 55 kilometers per hour.

However, Affini's time wasn’t enough for the win. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) made a remarkable comeback, seeing the Australian finish eleven seconds faster. It was an extraordinary performance, as Burgos was Vine’s first race since the infamous crash in the Tour of the Basque Country, where he sustained several complicated fractures.

Vine was particularly fast in the second half of the course, as he was three seconds slower than Affini at the intermediate time check. Thymen Arensman was even faster than Vine at the halfway point. The Dutch grand tour rider (INEOS Grenadiers) recorded a split time eight seconds faster than Vine's, but he too faltered in the second half. Arensman finished twenty seconds slower than Vine, placing him provisionally in fourth position. His position in the general classification remained unaffected, as he had already lost his chance at a top finish due to overheating on the final climb on Wednesday.

Although Finn Fisher-Black was 1:01 behind in the overall standings, he was perhaps the biggest threat to Kuss's leader's jersey. The Australian (UAE Team Emirates) is a very strong time trialist, unlike the classification leader. Fisher-Black ultimately clocked a solid time of 20:07, but whether it would be enough for the overall win remained to be seen.

Uijtdebroeks looses pace, thrilling duel between Kuss and Poole

Meanwhile, another Visma | Lease a Bike contender, Cian Uijtdebroeks, got off to a great start. The Belgian, who has put significant effort into improving his time trialing, posted an impressive split time, even slightly faster than Vine's. However, Vine had already shown that the real difference could be made in the second half. Uijtdebroeks experienced a significant drop in pace, finishing 1:53 slower than Vine.

Kuss had nothing to fear from his own teammate, but he did have to worry about Poole. The young dsm-firmenich PostNL rider posted a much faster intermediate time, significantly increasing the pressure on Kuss. However, the GC leader was also performing well, recording the second-best split time, just ten seconds behind Poole. This allowed Kuss to maintain his overall lead, with a 27-second gap in the classification.

It all came down to the second half. Who had saved the best for last? Several riders had already seriously misjudged the second half of the course. Poole couldn’t maintain his lead over Vine. At the finish, the young Brit was 21 seconds slower. Despite this, he still put in an excellent performance, and came close to taking the overall lead from Kuss. However, he missed out by just five seconds. Kuss rode a strong time trial by his standards and will go into the final day of the race with a narrow lead over Poole.

Results stage 4 Tour of Burgos 2024

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