Ben Turner, the 26-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider from Doncaster, caused a major upset by winning a sprint finish in the fourth stage of the Vuelta a España, his first grand-tour stage victory.
On the final stretch of the 206.7km route in Voiron, in France, Turner outsprinted Jasper Philipsen and Edward Planckaert, breaking down in tears of shock and joy shortly after crossing the line.
He had not even expected to ride the Vuelta, summoned as a late replacement for Ineos when Lucas Hamilton fell ill and leaving the second-tier Renewi Tour in Belgium last Thursday, only two days before the opening stage of the grand tour. He had looked an unlikely winner even as the leaders swung into the final straight, with Philipsen being led out by Plackaert, his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate.
But Turner picked his line perfectly, accelerating first past Ethan Vernon — his fellow Briton — then passing Philipsen with 50 metres remaining to secure his third professional victory and, by a distance, the biggest of his career to date.
This was Turner’s greatest moment of his career to date
JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
Philipsen, left, is beaten by Turner, front, with Planckaert, right, also edged out by the Englishman
GETTY
“The last 100 metres felt so long,” he said. “Today I just had the best guys around me and I did what I had to do. It was the perfect finish for me, I really believed in what I could do. It’s just a crazy feeling, it’s been a crazy week.”
The only British representative in Ineos’s eight-man Vuelta team, Turner had ridden at this year’s Giro d’Italia and showed his good form by winning the points classification at the Tour of Poland this month. When Hamilton fell ill last week, he left the Renewi Tour mid-race, flying from Belgium to Italy for the Vuelta’s opening stages. Ineos attended the team presentation with only seven riders and Turner was included in the start list with only hours to spare.
“I’d wanted to come to the Vuelta, I still had some issues with my leg since the Giro, but the team believed in me,” he said. “I went to Renewi and then they said they needed me, so of course you say ‘Yeah!’ ”
Turner timed his sprint finish to perfection
TIM DE WAELE/GETTY IMAGES
Turner, who stands at 6ft 4in, is a one-day Classics specialist, but the finishing burst he produced demonstrated that he has the raw speed to trouble some of the world’s best sprinters. Philipsen had won the opening stage on Saturday and has won ten stages at the Tour de France in his career.
The stage from Susa to Voiron was the last of four to start in Italy, with the racing moving to a 24.1km team time-trial in Figueres for the fifth stage. The Red Jersey will be worn by David Gaudu, the French winner of the third stage.
Results
Leading positions: Fourth stage (Susa, Italy, to Voiron, France, 192km): 1, B Turner (GB, Ineos Grenadiers 4hr 50min 14sec; 2, J Philipsen (Bel, Alpecin-Deceuninck); 3, E Planckaert (Bel, Alpecin-Deceuninck); 4, E Vernon (GB, Israel-Premier Tech); 5, J Biermans (Bel, Arkéa-B&B Hotels); 6, M Pedersen (Den, Lidl-Trek) all same time. Overall 1, D Gaudu (Fr, Groupama-FDJ) 15:45:50; 2, J Vingegaard (Den, Visma-Lease a Bike) same time; 3, G Ciccone (It, Lidl-Trek) at 8sec behind; 4, E Bernal (Col, Ineos Grenadiers) 14; 5, T Pidcock (GB, Q36.5 Pro Cycling) 16; 6, J Hindley (Aus, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) same time.