(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) UAE Team Emirates' Brandon McNulty took the overall lead of the mountainous Tour of the Basque County on Thursday as home hope Ion Izagirre won stage four.
After coming third on the mountain stage McNulty ended the day top of the heap, leading former yellow jersey Primoz Roglic by 23 seconds, with two days' racing remaining.
On the line Astana rider Izagirre used a bike throw technique, dropping behind the saddle and shoving the handlebars forwards, to win the 189.2km run in 4hr 17min 07sec ahead of another local rider, Pello Bilbao of Bahrain Victorious.
Bilbao was sure he had won it and refused to accept defeat until he had seen the replay.
McNulty came second on the opening day time-trial and has been riding as a foil with Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, who is now fifth overall at 43sec.
After a clean sweep of the podium at the Tour of Catalonia, British outfit Ineos have been less prominent in this race, but Adam Yates is still in the reckoning in sixth at 1min 02sec. — AFP
RESULTS (Stage 4)
Vitoria-Gasteiz to Hondarribia, 189.2 km, Road race.
Overall leader
Brandon McNulty USA (UAE Team Emirates)
Stage winners
1 Ion Izagirre ESP (Astana - Premier Tech)
2 Pello Bilbao ESP (Bahrain Victorious)
3 Brandon McNulty USA (UAE Team Emirates)
Click/tap here to subscribe to Khaleej Times news alerts on Telegram. Article Script start
MENAFN08042021000049011007ID1101885196
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.