Norway’s Andreas Leknessund moved into the overall lead at the Giro d’Italia despite being beaten to the line by France’s Aurelien Paret-Peintre in stage four.
Paret-Peintre made a late attack with 150m remaining to win the 175km ride from Venosa to Lago Laceno in four hours 16 minutes four seconds.
Leknessund, 23, is just the second Norwegian to hold the leader’s pink jersey after Knut Knudsen in 1981.
“It’s super special,” he said.
“Obviously I went for the stage and also knew that pink was possible. I had one attack where I went all-in to drop him and I made it but he came back in the descent.
“My legs were hurting so much, but it’s super special to be in the pink. That was the goal before the stage but as everyone knows cycling is not so easy and to actually make it is unbelievable.”
This was toughest mountain stage of the race so far featuring three major climbs, including one to the finish.
It took nearly nearly 80km for a breakaway to form, with a seven-man group opening up a five-minute lead at one stage.
Team DSM rider Leknessund and AG2R Citroen’s Paret-Peintre then opened up a gap on the leading group on a steep climb close to the finish, with the Frenchman’s late surge sealing victory.
“It was a perfect day for me – the breakaway was super hard to make,” said Paret-Peintre. “After, until the finish was super hard but I’m super happy.
“I know I’m faster than him [Leknessund] so we collaborate until the finish line. I think he takes the maglia rosa [pink jersey] so everybody’s happy, maybe.”
Wednesday’s stage five is a 171km ride from Atripalda to Salerno, featuring numerous climbs before a flat finish, where a mass sprint is expected.
Stage four
1. Aurelien Paret-Peintre (Fra/AG2R – Citroen) 4hrs 16misn 4secs
2. Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Team DSM) +2secs
3. Toms Skujins (Lat/Trek-Segafredo) +57secs
4. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita/EOLO-Kometa) same time
5. Nicola Conci (Ita/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +1min 2secs
6. Amanuel Gehbreigzabhier (Eri/Trek-Segafredo) +1min 7secs
7. Koen Bouwman (Ned/Jumbo-Visma) + 2mins 1sec
8. Damiano Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) same time
9. Eddie Dunbar (Ire/ Team Jayco-Alula)
10. Aleksandr Vlasov (Neutral/Bora-Hansgrohe)
General classification
1. Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Team DSM) 14hrs 35mins 44secs
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +28secs
3. Aurelien Paret-Peintre (Fra/AG2R-Citroen) +30secs
4. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +1mins
5. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +1min 12secs
6. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 26secs
7. Aleksandr Vlasov (Neutral/Bora-Hansgrohe) same time
8. Toms Skujins (Lat-Trek-Segafredo) +1min 29secs
9. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) 1min 30secs
10. Jay Vine (Aus/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 36secs