Itzulia Basque Country stage 4: Louis Meintjes wins from breakaway with peloton neutralised following major crash

Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty) won stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country with a solo breakaway. The win was overshadowed by a massive crash on a sweeping right-hand bend that caught out most of the pre-race contenders with 36km to go.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) were two of the riders who were the worst off, with both riders leaving the race in ambulances, while Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) also abandoned the race but were able to leave in their team cars.

Without any ambulances remaining to follow the race, both the breakaway of six riders and the peloton were stopped for a full hour as the race organisers determined how to proceed with the remainder of the stage.

Read more: Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglič involved in serious crash at Itzulia Basque Country

Ultimately, the decision was made to allow the breakaway to contest the stage while the peloton was neutralised for the remainder of the day. That unorthodox choice left Meintjes to fight for the stage win against Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), Karel Vacek (Burgos-BH), Reuben Thompson (Groupama-FDJ) and Joseba López (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).

Once the breakaway began to race again, the six riders kept the pace controlled as they warmed up after the long break and potentially to decide if they were to continue racing themselves, regardless of the official race decision.

Vacek was the first to make a move as the breakaway hit the steepest slopes of the final climb, which topped out at 10km to go. Vacek was joined by Meintjes and Thompson. He attacked again with 1km to go on the climb, which got rid of Thompson, before Meintjes returned the favour and gapped Vacek over the top. From there, Meintjes kept the pace on and powered his way to stage victory.

“It's not the way you want to win, Meintjes said after the stage. "I felt good and if there was a chance for the breakaway I would have been ready to fight for the stage, but it takes a bit of the pleasure out of it. It’s maybe a victory but it does really feel like it. You want it to be fair for everyone."