Van Uden claims stunning sprint victory in Giro d’Italia stage four

MILAN: Dutch rider Casper van Uden of Team Picnic-PostNL delivered a stunning upset on Tuesday, winning stage four of the Giro d’Italia with a powerful sprint finish in Lecce. The 22-year-old held off fellow countrymen Olav Kooij and Maikel Zijlaard in a thrilling dash to the line, securing the biggest win of his career.

The 189-kilometre stage from Alberobello to Lecce—the first of the race held on Italian soil—was mostly flat and expected to end in a bunch sprint. That script nearly unraveled thanks to an early solo attack by Francisco Munoz of Polti VisitMalta. The Spaniard launched a brave breakaway in the opening kilometres and led the race for over 130km before being caught with 56km remaining.

With the peloton regrouped, the sprint teams took control. Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen, who wore the pink jersey after winning stage three, suffered a scare when a late crash disrupted his leadout train and brought down teammate Kragh Andersen. Despite the chaos, Pedersen battled back to finish fourth, retaining his overall lead.

But the day belonged to van Uden, who outpaced his more experienced rivals in the final metres to take an unexpected but well-deserved victory.