Picnic-PostNL pulled off a major coup on stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia, controlling the bunch sprint and delivering Casper Van Uden to the victory.
The 23-year-old Dutchman held off Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor) and race leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) at the end of the 189-kilometre stage to Lecce.
"I didn't do it alone; we did it with the whole team. All the boys and all the people and staff back at the HQ, they all did super work," Van Uden said humbly after his victory.
"I didn't take any wind until 200 metres to go, and then I know I have a good long sprint, so I just went for it and hoped for the best."
Van Uden's victory is Picnic-PostNL's first WorldTour win of the season, and only their third of the year. The 180 points earned could be crucial for the team's future as they are fighting against Cofidis and XDS Astana for the top 18 in the three-year team rankings to remain in the WorldTour.
"Last week in Turkey, the boys did a good job, and I know that I have to follow Bram Welten and the boys. All the team did a good job and I'm happy to give them something back.
"I don't think this win is a surprise; I know the boys really believe in me. Sometimes I have to believe in myself a bit. This helps."
Maglia rosa holder Pedersen overcame a late tangle that brought down teammate Søren Kragh Andersen with 20km to go and had to fight to get to the front, but held onto the pink jersey.
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) chipped two seconds off the Dane's lead at the Red Bull km sprint, but Pedersen still leads the Giro d'Italia by seven seconds. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) is still third at 14 seconds.
How it unfolded
Having transferred from Albania to Italy over the rest day for the start of stage 4 in Alberobello, the Giro d'Italia peloton seemed to need extra rest, because when Francisco Muñoz (Polti-VisitMalta) attacked in the opening kilometre, there was no resistance from the bunch.
Muñoz was not a threat to the mountains classification leader Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) as he crested the sole classified ascent on the stage at Putignano after 16 kilometres, but Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis) attacked to take the two points ahead of Fortunato from the peloton.
The Spaniard opened up a gap of five minutes, but after the climb, his lead began to fall slowly but steadily. He swept through the intermediate sprint in Polignano a Mare with four minutes. Behind, Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck) led at the intermediate sprint with race leader Pedersen following Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) in for fourth place and three points toward the ciclamino jersey.
A crash in the peloton with 126km to go stopped Pedersen briefly and involved around ten riders. Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5) abandoned as a result, but the rest got up and resumed chasing after Muñoz.
The bunch allowed him to stay out front for the time bonus sprint in Ostuni with 84km to go. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) sprinted to the four-second time bonus just ahead of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). The bonus moved Roglič two seconds closer to Pedersen's maglia rosa.
The next intermediate sprint was too tempting for Lidl-Trek, and the surge brought Muñoz back into the fold with 56.5km to go. Despite a full-on sprint from Pedersen, Kooij claimed the maximum points in San Pancrazio Salentino.
The peloton sped toward the finishing circuits, but a crash with 22km to go from race leader Pedersen and Søren Kragh Andersen (Lidl-Trek) put the pink jersey at the back of the bunch and without a key support rider for the hectic run-in to Lecce. The team also had to expend resources to help their GC hopeful Giulio Ciccone get back into the bunch, leaving Pedersen to handle the sprint on his own.
On the final lap, Ineos Grenadiers led the bunch to keep Egan Bernal safe, as a sharp narrowing and several turns posed a danger of crashes. Soudal-Quickstep, Bahrain Victorious, and Alpecin-Deceuninck fought them for the front ahead of the worst squeeze with 7.5km to go, and the pace stretched out the peloton.
All of the riders made it through safely, and finally Pedersen found teammate Daan Houle and was ushered straight to the front of the bunch and onto Mathias Vacek's wheel inside 7km to go.
Tudor Pro Cycling surged to the fore ahead of a roundabout with 5.5km remaining, and fought Ineos for the lead on the left, while Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale led the other side of the peloton on the right. Bernal himself came to the lead to bring the race through to the 3km to go safety marker, but stayed in second wheel through a series of twists and turns before ceding control to the sprint teams.
Alpecin-Deceuninck led into the final kilometre as Pedersen had to work his way back to the front alone to be in contention. Picnic-PostNL led into the final 500 metres, but it seemed as if Visma-Lease a Bike had Kooij in prime position. However, Van Uden opened the sprint up early and held on for the stage victory.
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