Tour Colombia. Mark Cavendish opens score with Stage 4 win
Astana Qazaqstan’s Mark Cavendish opened his winning score in 2024 with a nice bunch sprint victory in Stage Four of the Tour Colombia in Zipaquirá. Cavendish won after a phenomenal lead-out of Harold Tejada, Alexey Lutsenko, Michael Mørkøv and Cees Bol as the last wheel. Also, a huge work of Harold Martín López in front during the whole day has to be noticed.
“I’m speechless. I was lined up behind my boys in the final kilometer and knew I couldn’t let them down. They were phenomenal. Not just in the final, but the whole day. After a split in the peloton over a climb, they chased with ferocity and heart, along with Movistar Team for 70km to make sure we got our sprint. The belief and passion they showed for our team brings tears to my eyes. I’m so proud we could get another stage win here in Colombia. To sprint against Fernando Gaviria in his home country was special too. He was coming so fast, and after the work of both our teams, I was delighted to share the podium with him”, – said Mark Cavendish.
“On paper it was an easy stage and we tried to control it. But with a climb in the middle of the stage the peloton divided in a few groups with Mark riding with the sprinters two minutes behind the front group. Alexey Lutsenko and Harold Martín López did absolutely fabulous job, closing two minutes in just 30 km and bringing Mark Cavendish back in front. In the lead-out we made a small change, leaving Cees Bol as the last wheel for Mark. In the first stage it was Mørkøv, but today he got a flat tire in a wrong moment and had to chase the group for a long time, spending a lot of energy. In general the lead-out train, all the guys worked out perfectly and Mark just finished the job with a solid victory. It was a great day for us as a team”, – added Vasilis Anastopoulos, Head of Performance of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
After Stage 4 and ahead of the queen stage to Alto del Vino tomorrow Astana Qazaqstan’s Harold Tejada is still second in the General Classification, just 4 seconds behind the current race leader Rodrigo Contreras.
Photo credit: @SprintCycling