Stage 4

The road

At the start

Horner in red, at forty-one

Chris Horner rode past everybody on the Lobeira and leads by three seconds from Nibali and eleven from Roche. He is forty-one years old and had won exactly one race this season before Sunday. Today is a hundred and eighty-eight kilometres out to Fisterra, with the Mirador de Ezaro — a few kilometres of climbing with ramps near thirty per cent — thirty from the line.

How it was won

1. 130 km to go

   The Mirador de Ezaro, at thirty per cent

   A handful of kilometres of climbing with ramps close to one in three, and it spreads the peloton across the whole width of the road. Riders come nearly to a standstill. Nicolas Edet drags himself over the top alone with thirty-eight seconds, jersey unzipped, wrestling the bike.

2. 215 km to go

   The last of the break, fifteen out

   Txurruka slips away on the descent and gets nowhere; Movistar take control after Astana ease; and with fifteen kilometres left the race is one peloton again, heading for another uphill finish.

3. 31 km to go

   Flecha, too early again

   Astana lead into the final climb and then slip back, and Juan Antonio Flecha attacks inside the last kilometre — exactly as he did yesterday, and exactly as early.

4. 4At the line

   Moreno's timing

   Flecha's move gives Daniel Moreno the marker he needs, and while the favourites eyeball each other the Katusha climber goes past him and stays away. Cancellara, minding Horner all the way to the foot of the climb, closes to within metres and runs out of road — and Horner, dropped on the ramp, hands the red jersey back to Nibali.

The result