Lopez conquers Kals am Grossglockner, final showdown tomorrow in Lienz

Miguel Angel Lopez said it as soon as he arrived in Cles, “This Tour of the Alps has an uphill finish; I'll have to try and exploit it.” The Colombian racer of Astana-Qazaqstan didn't miss the target. He won the fourth stage of the Euroregional stage race, which started in Niederdorf/Villabassa, in South Tyrol, and finished in East Tyrol (Osttirol), in Kals am Grossglockner after 142.4 kms.

This is the second stage win at the Tour of the Alps for the captain of Astana. The first was in 2018 on another uphill finish, in Trentino on the Alpe di Pampeago.

The "Superman" went on the attack with 3 km to go on the demanding stretch of the final climb. In his first big move, he made contact with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who was riding in a breakaway for most of the day.  Lopez’s second big move was to shuck Pinot entering the final kilometer.

Fun fact: Four years ago Lopez won the stage just ahead of the transalpine rider in Pampeago. Third place today, Thursday, April 21, went to an always brilliant Romain Bardet (Team DSM), who, thanks to the bonus he gained at the finish line, moved up to just two seconds down from the Tour of the Alps leader, Pello Bilbao.

The Bahrain-Victorious rider will be at the start of the last stage, which starts and finishes in Lienz, with the symbol of primacy on his shoulders but with a large group of rivals ready to oust him. There are 12 pursuers spread over just 20 seconds – this situation makes this #TotA2022 the most uncertain edition ever.

PINOT TRIES, LOPEZ SUCCEEDS

It took more than 60 km from the start in Niederdorf/Villabassa for the day’s breakaway to show itself. 15 racers emerged at km 65 on the roads of Carinthia. They included Henao and Felline (Astana), Amador and Swift (Ineos), Prodhomme (Ag2r), Fabbro and Palzer (Bora), Caicedo and Kudus (EF), Pinot (Groupama), Goldstein (Israel), Gonzales Rivera (Movistar), Tesfatsion (Drone Hopper-Androni), Arrieta Uzarraga (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Iribar Jauregi (Euskaltel Euskadi).

The breakaway achieved a maximum lead of 2'18" ahead of the chase group pulled by the Bahrain-Victorious leader, Pello Bilbao. The Basque racer was also involved in a crash without consequences in the stage’s early sections.

Bahrain-Victorious controlled the situation until the bottom of the final climb, when the team succeeded in reducing the gap to 1'20". As soon as the initial ascent of Kals am Grossglockner began, the group sorted itself thanks to the pace set by Caicedo and Goldstein, but it was Pinot who showed the most convincing move with eight km to go.

The Frenchman seemed to have the victory in his pocket, but he hadn't reckoned with the tenacity of Lopez, who accelerated at the head of the group with four kilometers to go and chipped away at Pinot’s lead, meter by meter, before finally breaking free of him in the last kilometer.

Behind the duelists, Bardet finished ahead of Bilbao in the sprint for third place and a 2-second bonus. Fifth place went to the surprising Tyrolean, Felix Gall (Ag2r Citroen), who will be among the podium contenders tomorrow on his local roads.

LOPEZ: "FOR MY SON, FOR ASTANA AND FOR SCARPONI".

"After a long time, I finally came back to victory, and I did it with the Astana jersey, the team that I feel is like my family," said the winner. "At the finish line I thought about that, about my son who is on his way, and also about Michele Scarponi – tomorrow it will be five years since his passing, and we always feel him close to us."

"This morning we put Felline in the breakaway because we knew he had a chance to go to the finish, but my best chance was to wait, shielded in the group along with the best. On the last climb, I didn't attack on the approach because there was a strong wind, but with three km to go on the last demanding stretch, I saw Pinot in front and I realized I could try to catch him; so I accelerated. Today is proof that my form is good, and that the lead-up to the Giro is proceeding in the best way."

Another day in green for leader Bilbao, who is determined to fight to the end in the final stage. "It was a tough, hard-fought day, but at the Tour of the Alps it's always like that, and honestly I like it because of that. Tomorrow will be an all-out stage – we'll have to ride intelligently, but in a short and hard race like Lienz, there will be nowhere to hide. In my opinion, whoever wins tomorrow will take home the green jersey."

Only one change among the #TotA2022 leader jerseys: Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r Citroen) is the new leader in the blue Gruppo Cassa Centrale jersey for the best climber. The other leaders are as follows: Pello Bilbao, green Melinda jersey; Miguel Angel Lopez, red PMG Sport jersey for the best sprinter, and Thymen Arensman (Team DSM), white Würth-Modyf jersey for the best young rider.

TOMORROW THE GRAND FINALE IN LIENZ

Friday, April 22nd is the fifth and final stage of the #TotA2022. The stage spans 114.5 km with start and finish in Lienz. The route is short but full of pitfalls – after about thirty flat kilometers, we will climb to the Bannberg for the first time, where racers will ascend the most challenging side (5.5 km at 10%).    

A steep and tortuous descent leads to the attack on another tough climb that goes up the Oberassling ascent for another four km at a consistent 10%. A series of rollers and a short nosedive take the athletes closer to the finish line in Anras, but first they’ll get 15 km of breathing space before a new encounter with the Bannberg, this time from the easier side.

A few flat kilometers lead to the final 25-kilometer circuit marked by the Stronach GPM (3 km with punchy climbs in the double digits). From the top there are 10 km to the finish. The first five km are downhill, followed by four flat kilometers that give way to the 600-meter climb that leads to the finish in Lienz Zettersfeldbahn.

THE TOUR OF THE ALPS ON TV

Tomorrow, Friday, the Tour of the Alps will be broadcasted live starting at 2 p.m. CEST on RaiSport, Eurosport 1, L'Equipe Tv (France), and TV2 (Denmark).