Nathan Haas put the icing on the cake for Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka during stage 4 of the Vuelta a Burgos, powering to the victory in Lerme ahead of Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC Racing) and Patrick Bevin (Cannondale-Drapac). Jacques Janse van Rensburg pulled on the King of the Mountains jersey after another day in the break.
Starting in Aranda de Duero, Jacques Janse van Rensburg showed once again he is coming into some great form by making the early break of the day on stage 4 of the Vuelta a Burgos. Our South African was joined by 4 other riders and the quintet proceeded to ride their way to a 3-minute lead over the peloton.
The 145km stage was up and down all day with 2 cat 3 climbs in the middle portion of the stage. Janse van Rensburg was first over the earlier cat 3 and then on the final cat 3 climb that peaked with 31km to go, Janse van Rensburg attacked the break along with Lluis Mas (Caja Rural). By going over the top of the final climb first, our South African climber took the overall lead in the King of the Mountains competition.
With the jersey secured, Janse van Rensburg pushed on with Mas but the peloton made sure the duo was caught with 15km to go. The finish in Lerma was technical and the final 700m went up a narrow 7% gradient cobbled climb. It was a stage we had targeted with Haas during our pre-race planning and so once the break was caught, our 6 remaining riders moved Haas to the head of the peloton. It was a fantastic display of teamwork by our African Team.
Being at the head of the race coming into Lerma was vital as some crosswinds saw a front split of 20 riders go clear. Haas was well placed in the front split with 2 teammates and even though they were brought back with 1,5km to go, our African Team riders put in a big acceleration to ensure Haas took the all-important left hand corner with 800m to go in the first 3 positions. From this point Haas showed his strength and class, powering up the cobbled road with nobody able to hold his wheel and taking a fine win for our African Team.
Nathan Haas – Rider
Alex Sans Vega – Sports Director