Today's stage at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya was shortened due to strong winds: the fourth stage took the peloton from Mataró to Camprodón for 151 km, while the final climb to Vallter was cancelled following a Level 3 VENCAT alert issued by Spanish authorities due to severe wind conditions.

What was supposed to be a stage for climbers thus became an opportunity that sprinters were not about to miss, even though the road had some uphill sections: British rider Ethan Vernon of NSM Cycling Team claimed victory, securing a win that means even more for the team flying the Swiss flag but with Catalan soul and management.

Vernon, claiming his 14th career victory, finished ahead of Frenchman Godon – who maintains his race lead – and British rider Tom Pidcock.

THE RACE. Several breakaway attempts were all neutralized until the sprint with bonifications at Granollers, after 18 km, where Remco Evenepoel won and gained 3 seconds ahead of Pidcock (2") and Gonzalez (1").

Shortly after, a six-man breakaway formed with Remijn, Bouwman, Veistroffer, Wenzel, Fernandez and Kudus: after a couple of kilometers Remijn and Wenzel were caught, while the others continued until km 51 when Bouwman and Veistroffer were also reeled in by the peloton.

Samuel Fernandez of Euskaltel Euskadi and Mehrawi Kudus of Burgos Burpellet BH continued their effort, always kept under watch by the peloton which caught them 18 km from the finish.

Worth noting 12 km from the line was yet another crash, involving Derek Gee of Lidl Trek and Bart Lemmen of Visma Lease a Bike, both of whom continued racing.

STAGE RESULTS

1. Vernon Ethan (NSM Cycling Team) in 4:01:03
2. Godon Dorian (INEOS Grenadiers)
3. Pidcock Tom (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
4. McNulty Brandon (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
5. Cort Magnus (Uno-X Mobility)
6. González David (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
7. Kockelmann Mathieu (Lotto-Intermarché)
8. Dainese Alberto (Soudal Quick-Step)
9. Hobbs Noah (EF Education-EasyPost)
10. Stewart Mark (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)