Tour of Britain 2017: Fernando Gaviria wins stage four as Elia Viviani leads overall
- Published
Gaviria (second from right) held on in a thrilling finish
Colombia's Fernando Gaviria edged out Team Sky's Elia Viviani in a tight finish to stage four of the Tour of Britain in Newark-on-Trent.
Gaviria, riding for the Quick Step Floors team, was part of a peloton which caught a breakaway group with 3km of the 175km stage remaining.
He held on with Viviani and Alexander Kristoff applying intense pressure.
Viviani now overtakes overnight leader Caleb Ewan in the overall standings with four stages to go.
Australia's Ewan, who rides for Orica Scott, is level on time with Viviani but loses the green jersey as the Italian has been more consistent in his results across the four stages.
Gaviria sits third in the standings, just six seconds back going into stage five - a 16km time trial whish starts and finishes in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
In stage four Gaviria pounced early in the home straight. Viviani looked like he was primed for his second win of the Tour as team-mate Geraint Thomas gave chase to the breakaway group, which had a 26-second advantage with 5km remaining.
But Gaviria, 23, held on with Viviani and Kristoff either side of him. He won stage four of the Tour in 2015 but this win adds to fine form this year, where he took four stages of the Giro d'Italia.
"I've been coming back from an injury on my left leg," said Gaviria. "Everyday everything has been going a little bit better. Today everything felt good."
Stage four result
1. Fernando Gaviria (Col/Quickstep) 3hrs 43mins 30secs
2) Elia Viviani (Ita/Team Sky) Same time
3) Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Katusha Alpecin) Same time
4) Dylan Groenewegen (Ned/Lott NL Jumbo) Same time
5) Alan Banastek (Pol/CCC Sprandi) Same time
Overall standings after stage four
1. Elia Viviani (Ita/Team Sky) 17hrs 38mins 5secs
2. Caleb Ewan (Aus/Orica-Scott) same time
3. Fernando Gaviria (Col/Quick Step) +6secs
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Dimension Data) +7secs
5. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Katusha Alpecin) +12secs