Movistar Team’s Richard Carapaz claimed a stage victory for the second consecutive Giro d’Italia with an unlikely stage win in Frascati on a 235km course that had been expected to result in a bunch sprint.

He, and Team Jumbo-Visma’s General Classification leader Primož Roglič took their opportunities when they found themselves on the “right side” of another late crash on stage 4 that caused splits in the peloton. A group of six riders – including the Ecuadorian and the Slovenian –broke away in the last kilometres of what became a chaotic stage finish.

Carapaz knew that the six included sprinters and was brave to time his move perfectly at only 400m out, after almost 6 hours of racing, to hold off a late effort by fast-man Caleb Ewan.

25-year-old Carapaz took his second Grand Tour win, and Roglič saw his GC lead grow from 19 seconds to 35, as some of his main rivals were held up in the aftermath of the crash, including Movistar Team’s Mikel Landa who dropped 36 seconds.

29-year-old Roglič retains the Maglia Rosa that he earned with his convincing win on Stage 1 in an unusually short Individual Time Trial, featuring steep climbs in the last 2 of its 8km, up to the San Luca sanctuary just outside Bologna. As well as putting down the power on that opening stage he has shown the wisdom to stay out of trouble on the following days – all part of the craft of a serious GC contender, which is exactly what Roglič looks right now!

It’s been an exciting and unpredictable opening four stages, with no doubt lots more drama to some before we reach Verona on 2nd June.