As it happened: Sprinters dominate Volta a Catalunya stage 4

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 4 of the Vuelta Ciclista a Catalunya!

If you haven't caught up with the action so far in Catalonia, needless to say it's been the Pogacar show, with him winning two back-to-back stages. Here's our full report from stage 3.

The official race start is somewhat opaque, with it variably listed as 11.40 and 12.45 - however it seems that riders will most likely depart in the next few minutes from the start town of Sort.

169km to go

The riders have departed and are now neutralised en route to the official start.

It appears that in true Thomas De Gendt style, Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny) has launched a two-man attack from the gun.

De Gendt's breakaway companion is Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma), and they currently have around 9 seconds on the peloton within the first few kilometres of racing.

Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) joins the two breakaway riders out front, and while the gap is slim it looks this one could stick.

Our breakaway of three – Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) – now has over 30 seconds on the main peloton.

150km to go

Well that proved decisive. There's no reaction from the peloton as these three carve out a gap of over one minute, and it now seems assured that this will be the day's breakaway.

Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) cut a relaxed figure in the start village of Sort ahead of the race start.

We're just over 20km into the stage, and the break has grown comfortably to over three minutes. There can now be no doubt that these escapees will stay out for the majority of the day. 

140km to go

The gap to the breakaway is at 3:20 while Burgos-BH and Alpecin-Deceuninck do the work on the front of the peloton.

The gradual descent from the foothills of the Pyrenees has sparked a fast start to the stage and an average for the first hour of 47.2 km/h. 

Today is Thomas de Gendt day. The veteran Belgian has won five stage at the Volta and is looking for a sixth in his final season at WorldTour level.

Here's de Gendt leading the break today.

Tadej Pogacar is in the leader's white and green jersey after dominating the two mountain finishes.

Tadej Pogacar was in demand for autographs at the start.

The stage descends from the Pyrenees to Lleida but includes the Port d'Àger climb mid-stage. 

Indeed, the climb begins in 10km. It is official only 3.9km long at 6.7% but starts to rise before that. 

With the peloton keeping the break at around 2:30, the climb will be decisive for the three attackers. 

The peloton will have to ride steady to ensure their sprinters are not dropped and so can't go full gas on the climb. 

That could give Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) a chance to extend their lead and then try to hold off the chasers in the second half of the stage.

It's another busy day of racing, with the Classic Brugge-De Panne Women race underway in Belgium. It's a WorldTour race and so Cyclingnews has full live coverage, with Amy Jones providing the updates.  

Classic Brugge-De Panne Women Live - Sprinters eye victory in Belgium

It's interesting that Cofidis, EF and Intermarche are leading the chase. 

They need a win and have a sprinter and so are picking up the work on the front of the peloton.

UAE lead the race with Pogacar but the sprint finish means other teams will have to do the work if they want a shot at victory. 

No stress for teams like Jayco so far.

100km to go

The riders are close to the summit of the Port d'Àger.

Today is a day for the break and perhaps a sprint but yesterday was the second consecutive mountain finish, which saw the second consecutive attack and dominant display from Tadej Pogacar.

Click here to read our full stage report and see our photo gallery. 

Volta a Catalunya: Tadej Pogačar does it again on stage 3 summit

Thomas de Gendt was first over the top of the Port d'Àger and scored five KOM points. 

As we expected, the trio on the attack have extended their lead to 3:30. 

The 25km descent is almost over and the break has kept a lead of 3:15.

No time or need for a bidon for de Gendt and the break.

It's a nice day for a bike race as the stage heads south to Lleida.   

60km to go

The peloton is riding at speed but so is the break. 

Thomas de Gendt seems keen to up the pace. He attacks and only Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) can follow him. It seems de Gendt wasn't happy with the contributions of Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma).

The gap to the break is 2:30 as EF, Cofidis and Alpecin and Intermarche continue to lead the chase. 

The sprint trains are staying on the wheels for now.  

There is a slight side wind and so there is a hint of an echelon in the peloton. They're on exposed plains no. 

45km to go

De Gendt an Andersen are still driving hard and sharing the work but the gap is falling. 

It is now 1:45.

Cofidis have added a second rider to the chase and that has increased the speed. They're riding for Bryan Coquard as they look to land their first win of 2024.

The riders are on a long straight road and so it's a pursuit match: Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Dstny) and Idar Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) versus the peloton.

40km to go

The gap is down to 1:00. 

This is early for the sprint teams to catch the break but they clearly want to be in control.

Ethan Hayter is talking to the Ineos team car. He could be a contender for the sprint finish but clealry has some injuries and so maybe some concerns about the finish. 

35km to go

The gap is down to 20 seconds now but will de Gendt ease up? 

Surely not!  

30km to go

Thomas de Gendt and Idar Andersen have been caught just before the uphill intermediate sprint.  

There was a brief but intense battle for the bonus seconds.

Wout Poels won the intermediate sprint, taking three bonus seconds, Sepp Kuss was second and took two seconds, with Antonio Tiberi, also of Bahrain, third to take one second.

Kuss and Poels are fighting for places in the top ten and so perhaps top five in the final stages.

20km to go

39-year-old Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel) has attacked alone but is being chased by the peloton.

The final 20km are packed with roundabout and some road furniture. 

The riders know it and so are fighting for position.

Luis Ángel Maté is refusing to give up, asking as a hare to chase for the peloton.

Luis Ángel Maté is trying to keep his speed high and has a lead of 15 seconds.

12km to go

The tension is rising as the kilometres tick down.

The peloton is squeezed on a roundabout.  Some go left, other right, and some kind of straight across.

10km to go

Alpecin fancy their chances in the sprint today. They have Axel Laurance in Catalunya. 

He want to continues Alpecin's run of success after Jasper Philipsen's success at MIlan-San Remo and De Panne.

On a wide section of road, teams try to move up. But they're all tying to move up at the same time.

The sprint teams are lined out but packed together as the speed rises. 

This is going to be a ver fast spring finish. Hold on to your seats! 

Wow! There's a huge roundabout but which is the best line? left or right? 

It seems the left line was the best. 

Cofidis now lead the line, with Geraint Thomas up front leading Ethan Hayter.   

The speed is up to 53 km/h and so every line on every roundabout matters. 

3km to go

The final 3km are also slightly downhill, upping the speed even more. 

Egan Bernal is leading out Thomas and Hayter.

Bernal is tiring but still powers along on the front.  

Then he flicks his elbow to wave Thomas and Hayter through. 

Ineos want to be on the front in the final corners. 

1km to go

Here we go! Sprint time!

Thomas uses his power to lead it out! 

They cross a bridge and other teams come up. 

It was a downhill sprint and then a rise. Riders are spread across the road.

Coquard was there, Hayter too but Marijn van den Berg (EF) came through to win it!

He gives a thumbs up and a kiss to the television cameras. 

It's Marijn van den Berg's first win of 2024 but his fourth of his career.

Marijn van den Berg won it by a bike length with an excellent bike throw.

Arne Marit of Intermarche was second and Emīls Liepiņš (DSM) was third, with Coquard fourth.

Ethan Hayter was seventh after fading in the final metres.  

Tadej Pogacar (UAE) finished safely in the peloton and so kept his race lead for another day.

This is the shot of Marijn van den Berg  winning the sprint. 

"It was hectic with all the roundabouts but I knew that Bryan Coquard was a really fast guy, so I aimed for his wheel. I kept it until the finish and then came over him in the last few hundred metres,” Marijn van den Berg explained. 

“It was a really fast day. The plan was to go for me, so the team rode to control the break. I felt good all day and they kept me in the front," he added. 

Marijn van den Berg impressed at the Challenge Mallorca races but then crashed during the Volta ao Algarve. 

"I think I made a big step up in the winter. Things were going well at the beginning of the season but then I crashed quite hard in Algarve, had concussion and so was out for a bit," he said. 

"I started committing last week at Milan-Torino and Milan-San Remo and ame here to focus on getting in shape again, to see the out come for a stage like today. I’m back on track I’d say."

To read out full stage report and see our photo gallery, click below. 

Volta a Catalunya: Marijn van den Berg charges to stage 4 sprint victory

Friday's fifth stage is from Altafulla to Viladecans over 167.3km . The stage includes some climbs as the road heads inland on a ride to near Barcelona. 

It seems perfect for a breakaway to stay away but some sprinters, perhaps including Marijn van den Berg, will try to  stay in the peloton and fight for victory. 

Thanks for joining us for full live coverage of the stage. We'll be back on Friday for full live coverage of stage 5.