Vuelta a España - Stage 4

Updated: August 22, 2023

After heading up into the Pyrenees on stage 3, it’s straight back down to the Costa Dorada - the golden coast - on stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, which should see the first sprint of the race, although it might not be a straightforward one.

Starting out from Andorra, the stage gently ambles its way down towards the finishing town of Tarragona, 40km down the coast from Barcelona, but this is not an entirely flat stage, and not quite a nailed-on full bunch sprint. Complicating matters are a pair of climbs in the final 60km, which the breakaway, or the teams who don’t want the pure sprinters around, could look to exploit.

The first is the Alto de Belltall, measuring 9.3km at 3.7%, followed by the shorter but tougher Coll de Villa - 4.9km at 5.2%. The latter tops out 30km from the line, most of which is downhill.

A bunch sprint is the likely scenario, whether that’s a full bunch or a slightly reduced group. Given the relatively gentle nature of the climbs and their distance from the finish, it would take an almighty act of aggression to firstly weed the pure sprinters out and secondly keep them from coming back.

But then again, there aren’t all that many pure sprinters on the start list, and which teams take responsibility for this stage is one of its big question marks.

Climbs:

• km 129.8 - Alto de Belltall, 9.3km at 3.7% (cat 3)
• km 153 - Coll de Lilla, 5.2km at 4.9% (cat 3)

We’ll be showing live and on-demand coverage of all 21 stages of this year’s Vuelta a España from Saturday, August 26 to Sunday, September 17, plus daily expert analysis on The Breakaway. Head over to GCN+ now to check the start times of each broadcast so that you don’t miss out on a moment of the action! As always, territory restrictions will apply.

Major Races

See All

Date	Event	Class
29 Jun - 21 Jul	Tour de France	2.UWT
12 Aug - 18 Aug	Tour de France Femmes	2.WWT
4 May - 26 May	Giro d'Italia	2.UWT
28 Apr - 5 May	Vuelta España Femenina	2.WWT

Provided by FirstCycling