After the three-day detour at the start of the Giro d'Italia in Albania, the Tour of Italy reached Italian soil with the 4th stage. The section between Alberobello and Lecce was designed for the sprinters. In the end, it was a triple victory for the Netherlands: Casper van Uden (Team PicnicPostNL) won after 189 kilometres ahead of his compatriots Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team). Max Kanter finished fifth (XDS Astana Team), but was later demoted to 103rd place.

The finale was completed on a twelve-kilometre final lap through Lecce, which had its pitfalls with several narrow streets, bends and roundabouts. The peloton was correspondingly hectic. The day's winner van Uden benefited in the final kilometres from the good preparatory work of his team-mates, who led him in an ideal position in the final kilometres. In the end, the Dutchman secured his first Grand Tour stage win with a long sprint and a lead of one bike length.

"The team believes in me. But sometimes I also have to believe in myself. This victory helps me," said van Uden in the winner's interview.

Primoz Roglic wins two bonus seconds

There were no changes at the top of the overall standings. Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek), who finished fourth on the stage, defended his pink jersey. In second place is Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), who secured a two-second time credit on the so-called "Red Bull kilometre" in third place. The Slovenian is now seven seconds behind Pedersen.

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How the 4th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025 went

The teams and riders were not particularly keen on attempting a breakaway. Accordingly, there was only one escapee, Francisco Muñoz (Team PoltiVisitMalta), who was willingly let go by the peloton. The Spaniard went on to win the first and only mountain classification of the day in Putignago (4th category) after 16 kilometres and the first intermediate sprint in Polignano a Mare after 39 kilometres.

Mads Pedersen involved in a crash

Afterwards, Muñoz was allowed a maximum lead of around five minutes, while the peloton had a quiet day in the chase. However, too much leisureliness can also lead to a lack of concentration: After around 60 kilometres there was a crash in the peloton, which also involved Mads Pedersen, but he was able to continue the race immediately. For Nicolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), however, the race was over after the crash.

The race did not see any movement until the Red Bull kilometre in Ostuni after 84 kilometres. While Muñoz secured the six-second time bonus at the front, it was mainly the classification riders in the peloton who fought for further time bonuses as the road climbed. In the end, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) took the four seconds for second place ahead of Primoz Roglic, who received a two-second time bonus.

Solo escape by Muñoz over 130 kilometres

In the peloton, Lidl - Trek, Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Alpecin - Deceuninck controlled the pace for long stretches. 55 kilometres before the finish, Muñoz's escape came to an early end. The intermediate sprint a few kilometres later in San Pancrazio Salentino was won by Olav Kooij ahead of Mads Pedersen.

On entering Lecce 30 kilometres before the finish, the pace and the hectic pace of the peloton suddenly increased. The narrow roads and many bends in the city made the finale extremely demanding. Mads Pedersen was held up again 20 kilometres from the finish in a crash at a roundabout, but managed to catch up again. This time, however, the Dane had no chance in the final sprint.